Schlenkerla Fastenbier (in cans!!)

Thanks for the reply. After reading your posts it completely jogged my memory that I also have had experience with canned helles maybe 6 months ago. I had 3 or 4 cans that were extremely carbonated. They behaved like an infected beer and it took several small pours and probably 10 minutes to get the whole foaming beer into a glass. I didnt notice anything off flavor wise but all the cans I bought at the time did it on various occasions.

 

It depends on the Mill, but that is probably true for an older brewery. Newer breweries that wet mill flush the mill with water.

I doubt any gets introduced in the kettles or fermenters, as those get cleaned everytime.

 

B. United Instagram video about their tank containers, if you want to get your nerd on

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CAEH6sKls1w/?igshid=17eyqzs4ghpkm

 

It's sort of a second-hand smoke making use of residual flavors and aromas from their directly smoked beers. Think sitting upwind from the campfire as opposed to downwind.

From previous correspondence with B. United, Schlenkerla cans are canned in Connecticut and the bottles are bottled in Bamberg.

 

Yeah, I think they canned it last year too. So tasty.

YES!! I've been waiting for them to put Marzen in cans. It's my favorite in the entire lineup. Thanks for posting this

 

Found some of their new Helles cans over the weekend.

 

I had the Fastenbier/Lentbier from a can just a month or so ago and it got a perfect score from me. One of the best crafted beers on the planet IMO. The others from Aecht are darn tasty as well but this one was a standout.

 

Pretty certain I had this in cans last year. Either way, the more Aecht Schlenkerla we have on the shelves the better life can be. And the more they can be delivered in cans, the better etc.

 

This is the only time second-hand smoke is a good thing.

Yup, it strikes the right balance between malty, bready goodness and smokiness.

 

Obviously not a BBQ fan.

 

Really enjoyed the Helles, the smoky flavor tasted weird for a moment but after that it was really enjoyable. Quality lager

 

... and I finally gave in to temptation.

Yeah, this was THE beer that flipped the switch for me many years ago. Changed my life. Drinking this one right now and it tastes divine. But, I was surprised by the appearance. Mine was as opaque as a very murky NEIPA. (The pic doesn't really communicate this.) It's very possible that I'm underestimating how murky this beer always was in my past experiences... this beer was always a bit of a black hole... but whether the difference is real or imagined, the sludgy appearance of this one really jumped out at me.

When B. United canned the Helles, it was an "unfiltered" version, but the can label stated this distinction and the Märzen can label makes no such claim. Looking it up on their Instagram, sure enough, they state that this canned Märzen is "unfiltered, unpasteurized - just like it is served in Bamberg." Unlike others, I seem to have some hesitancy with this direction, but this particular beer was great. I wish they'd state it on the can though.

@herrburgess - Any thoughts?

@TongoRad

 

Unfiltered would be my default assumption with any of those cans. Maybe it would make a slight improvement if you let it settle and then decanted, but you'd need to do a direct comparison to be sure.

Fwiw, I'm finding the bottled product to taste incredibly fresh lately, last year or so- very reminiscent of the draught, in other words. I got a few bottles just last week, or I would have been joining you with those cans.

 

Have they put any packaging dates on the bottles yet? The one place that I can find the bottles has what I assume is super old stock but it'd be nice to know if they ever get new stuff in

 

Nothing as far as I can tell, although that wouldn't have mattered this time around because I was placing a delivery order and couldn't check dates anyway. But in this particular case I'm a regular and know that they only re-stock as the previous case sells out (which can take a month); so at least on the store's end it hasn't been sitting around for a while.

 

ahh ya I've seen them on the cans. I'm curious about the bottles since they are regularly available to me but the cans come and go

 

a couple months back, my distributor said they needed to introduce me to this german guy they deal with a bunch and who sometimes comes to visit. turns out it's matthias, the head (I believe) of B United. gonna see if I can glean the info on all this from him. will report back if/when I do.

 

Overall I’m very happy. I feel fortunate to have had the option. I’ve only imbibed three beers from my box so far. Only bought one Schlenkerla since I was like a kid in a candy store. The 2002 JW Lee’s Harvest quickly put me over the edge to place an order.