Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche
Schlenkerla (Heller-Bräu Trum GmbH)

 

 

Grabbed a 2012 vintage bottle of this stuff and was blown away. 3rd of these smokey styles from this brewer, and so far by far my fave. Absolutely complementary smooth smoke mingling with the perfect malts. I want to try the whole vertical now. What a treat. Best 11-year old beer I've ever had haha.

Pours a dark brown with a creamy head. Aroma is all smoke. Flavor follows, with a medium bitterness, some roastiness, not much of the caramelly notes that you would expect from a doppelbock. That would push this a bit higher, as is it is a very good smoky dark beer.

2023-04-09
500ml bottle served in a tulip-ish glass. If there's a date, I don't see it. Full disclosure, it fell out of my fridge this morning, which broke the seal on the cap, and it sat in the fridge partially unsealed for about 9 hours before I poured it. It still gasped when the cap came off.

Pours clear dark mahogany color with about an inch of dense head. Settles slowly into a thick dusting with a stiff island in the middle, about a centimeter of uneven lacing crawling up the side of the glass. Smell is smokey and vaguely sweet.

Taste is smokey and very nutty -- reminds me of pecans a bit. Sweetness is there, too, I tend to think of dates and raisins with doppelbocks and I can't tell if my predisposition toward that is why I'm naming it that. Moderate toasty / roasty bitterness. Really nicely balanced.

Mouthfeel is rich and smooth. Overall, this is a really, really nice beer.

500 ml bottle purchased from Binnys this month (no bottling date) poured into a Salvator chalice. One centimeter head from strong pour. Dark amber with red overtones. Magnificent smokey smell, like a campfire. Tastes of smoke, malty, slightly sweet. Definitely a doppelbock. Prost!

 

16.9oz bottle purchased off the shelf from a bottle shop a long time ago and I cannot recall how much I paid (my guess is $5 to $7). I'm not sure if there is an easy way to tell when this was bottled. I think that this beer is at least a year and half old.

Look: Pours a beautiful dark amber color with a sticky, light brown head. Nice clarity. There was about a pinky finger of head from a fairly aggressive pour; that head gradually reduced to some bubbly remnants gripping to the sides of the glass. I also think that this type of beer would have more of a head retention in a different glass, but I am using a snifter. The head does regenerate nicely after swirling the glass.

Smell: It smells amazing. Even though this beer was bottled at least a year and half ago, it still has a very strong smoke aroma. It's hard to describe all the layers of notes that I am getting. Up front, it has that unctuous smoked meat kind of aroma and it has a really nice cleanness to it. There's also the impression that the beer will almost have a saltiness or umami type of character. I also get other interesting notes like dark chocolate and a bit of coffee, along with dark dried fruit like prunes, raisins, and figs....perhaps dried apricots also. Because the smoked malt is so strong, I am not detecting the sweet malty notes on the nose so much...there is a subtle toffee/caramel presence on the back end. Very mild hop aroma. Over time, a nice vanilla note is present up front on the nose. This beer smells rich. At the end of the day, it basically smells like one of the best oatmeal cookies that you will probably never have.

Taste: This beer is so complex, so tasty, and so drinkable. Up front, it has nice dark bread notes along with some toffee and caramel. The finish has a nice charcoal note to it, it is relatively dry but not mouth-drying. The palate really becomes accustomed to the smoked malt pretty quickly, and a few sips in you almost forget that you a drinking a Rauchbier. In addition to the smoke on the finish, there are really nice coffee, dark chocolate, and raisin flavors. Over time, I am able to perceive more malt sweetness on the finish. Again, over time I get more spice notes like clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg...perhaps some candied banana also. The beer just continues to evolve on the palate. Very impressive, a really fun beer!

Feel: A nice chewy mouthfeel. Around medium bodied. It actually might be a bit thinner than what I was expecting for an 8% ABV smoked Doppelbock, yet it really works well here. The carbonation is soft and relatively low and works well for this strength of beer.

Overall: This is my first Aecht Schlenkerla beer review. I think that I had a beer from them many years ago (probably the Märzen). I am really impressed with the experience of drinking this beer as it evolves on your taste buds. It is such a complex mix of flavors, and as your palate becomes more accustomed to the smoke it is able to pick up other things in varying intensity. Another thing that is really impressive about this beer is the complexity of flavors and that there is so much more to this beer than just smoke. It really is a fine, well-crafted beer that deserves to be sipped and savored, and crushed at times!

Had out of a cab now that they’ve started canning in Connecticut. Reddish brown body, light rust head. Meaty smoked nose, oak sweetness, malts. Taste follows, meat and smoke with some sweet toasted malt and then ending in a bit of drying hops and alcohol. Delicious

 

Picked up a 500 ml bottle from the Appalachian Vintner in Asheville 9-20-22 for $5.99. No bottling date; consumed 1-25-23.

Beer poured brown with a nice off-white head.

Nose is smoked malts forward with a hint of fruity esters.

Taste is nicely done as the medium malt base has a mellower smoked malt addition to the mash. The yeast does lend it a touch of dark fruit to the flavor profile. Finishes well balanced with a touch of smoky bitterness in the end.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and very smooth.

Overall a nicely enhanced doppelbock that is worth having again!

 

 

A: pours a dark, amber body with reddish hues with a white head with ok retention, but solid lacing.
S: sweet, smoked Virginia ham notes.
T: smoked, meaty notes with some hints of sweet malt.
M: full bodied and very smooth.
O: full bodied and very filling; solid.

 

Nice creamy head. Tastes smokey, almost peaty, with a background of malty fruitiness and marzipan. Ha that classic rauchbier bacon flavour. Nice and crisp.

Very nice indeed.

This stuff is great. The smell is a fine smoked meat overlaid on a lovely malty doppelbock. The mouthfeel is rich without being sticky with a satisfying wash of fine bubbles on the palate. The beer has a well rounded malty flavor and the hops are there but not overbearing. The word is balanced and unique.

 

 

 

Purchased from Purvis Beer in Melbourne, Australia, in July 2022 and drunk in August.

The beer pours a ruby brown, pushing towards copper. There's a firm, off-white, centimetrish head that lasts throughout the glass. Lacing sticks happily to the edges. The beer almost looks thick in the glass, with carbonation lazily rising through the middle of the beer.

Smell is smoked ham, minerals and sweet malt. You can't hide from the smoke. It announces itself in big, booming notes to the point my wife, a non-beer-drinker, remarked upon it when she begrudgingly bent her nose to the glass.

The taste is complex. There's an initial hit of sweet, tangy caramel quickly overtaken by wood, ash, burnt toast and bitter chocolaty notes. The bitterness and burnt toast notes are tinged with traces of alcohol. The beer finishes dry. It's very tasty, but likely not for the uninitiated.

The mouthfeel is smooth - it feels exactly like it looks in relation to the earlier comment that the beer looks thick. There's a slight gummyness to it, but it works really well.

Overall this is an excellent beer. I think a 25-year-old AzfromOz would have spat the beer out back in 1998, but going in to the beer having an idea of what was coming left me very satisfied and looking for more.

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

Of the relatively obtainable Schlenkerla beers, this is my last new one. I doubt I will ever get to try the Krausen blended version, the unfiltered version, or the low alcohol version, at least in the US. That being said, I’m very excited to see how the smoke will play with a bigger beer like this

Pours a mostly clear brownish amber with a ruby glow and a finger of off white head that quickly fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

Oh man, the smoke is heavy and intense in the aroma. I’m picking up on aromas of charred oak, campfire smoke, toffee, smoked ham, dark toast, and subtle dark fruit

There’s more depth in taste, still remaining smoky but more malty sweet. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting sweet caramel, dark bread, smoked ham, dried oak, raisin, light toffee, and light pepper. The swallow brings notes of campfire smoke, raisin, caramel malt, toffee, pear skin, dried oak, and light molasses

A medium body pairs with moderate carbonation, resulting in a smooth and slick beer. Finishes neutral and smoky

This is quite good, but they do much better. Again, I hope to one day try the other variants, but for now I’m happy to have had all of the main ones, and will continue to drink them

 

 

16 Dec, 2022


Look:
Dark mahogany brown that borders on chestnut, esp in dim lighting. Ruby highlights show when the beer is held to a light. 1 finger creamy beige head hangs around for a while, leaving good lacing.

Aroma:
Smokey and malty. The smoke is 'finer' or more rounded and even elegant (if smokiness can be elegant!) than that in other Schlenkerla offerings but it is prominent nonetheless. Some brown sugar and either wheat or dark bread. I am reminded of a log on a fire (without the ash) and a glazed ham or some bacon cooking on the stove.

Taste:
Laid back but prominent smoke and also toasted grains. Brown sugar. The hops assert themselves some, but just enough to dry things out and keep them balanced. Finishes on a slightly bitter note. The alcohol is well hidden.

Feel:
Smooth and slightly creamy with a somewhat dry finish. The body is medium.

Overall:
A tasty Rauchbier that is a nice sipper on a chilly night.


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17 March, 2022

4.05/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Look: Chestnut/Mahogany brown with reddish highlights. Can't see through the bulb of the tulip. 1.5 finger beige head that fairly quickly dissipates to a thing covering. Decent lacing.

Smell: Smokey and malty. The smoke is somewhat 'finer' or more rounded than the normal beechwood that Schlenkerla uses but it is prominent nonetheless. Some brown sugar and either wheat or dark bread. I am reminded of a log on a fire (without the ash) and a glazed ham or some bacon cooking on the stove.

Taste: Smoke and toasted grains. Brown sugar. The hops assert themselves some, but just enough to dry things out and keep them balanced. Finishes on a slightly bitter note. The alcohol is well hidden.

Feel: Smooth and slightly creamy with a medium body

Overall: Not my favorite brew from Schlenkerla, but a tasty Rauchbier nonetheless that is a nice sipper on a chilly and overcast night.

500ml bottle from Total Wine - they gave me a $2 coupon(!!!!!!)

Dark brown. Smell is delicious: smoky and salted with 1000 aspects of a dank old fishing cabin somehow distilled into the scent, down to the oak/beech wood, preserved fruit and dusty leather boots. Insanely smoky, but with a depth. Surprisingly easy to drink, slightly meaty and/or fishy, but with a nice sweet malt backing that carries the intense woody smoke and flavor

Very memorable stuff, might buy another and pour half in the slow cooker with a nice chunk of beef

 

 

Bottle. Dark caramel brown color. Khaki tan head.

Smokey and bacon and ham. Caramel malts. Would be tough to pick out a dopplebock, but I could maybe see it coming from this brewery. Solid per usual.

500ml bottle.

Pours clear amber with moderate retention and lacing. Strong smoke in the nose with malt. Medium bodied with a soft mouthfeel. Smoky malt on the palate with more smoke following through. Finishes smokey.

I just dont like this one as much for some reason. Not even sure as to why I just strongly proffered the Urbock one. This tastes essentially the same to me but just... less.

500ml bottle into a pint glass. NO freshness dating.

Bit of a murky look to this one. Head doesn't hang around for long and there are some serious floaties.

Mild sweet and smoky aroma, like glazed ham.

On tasting, it's certainly a lot sweeter than the other Aecht beers I've had. Smoke element is milder. Good body.

Mouth above medium, finish sweet with a light smoke.

Overall, a good beer as it stands, but not my favorite from this brewer.

 

 

My first ever "smoked" beer...damn!

I had been saving this waiting for the "right" time to try. I had never come across a smoked beer until now and was both intrigued as I harbored some misgivings about it. Well, this was a surprise - a good one at that. Not only did this look good, but the smoked smell translated to an equally strong smoked flavor that had a hint of maltiness as well. I can't begin to express how unique (at least to me) this beer was. So much so, I think I'm gonna start researching smoked beer recipes to try on on my own. For the rest of us, if you come across this, you must grab and try. As a craft beer drinker, you won't be disappointed.