Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock

Brewed By: Heller Bräu Trum KG in Bamberg, Germany
Purchased: 1 Pint 0.9oz bottle (16.9oz) purchased at Binny's in Naperville, IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Smoked/Rauchbier, 6.5%

Rauchbiers or Smokebeers are one of the most intriguing German beers. At least in my opinion. Of course, if we talk about German beers, that means we take a trip to the German Beer Institute. I love the German Beer Institute, and if you need to waste some time at work, or just love beer, you owe it to yourself to check out their website. According to the GBI (on Rauchbiers):

"Once upon a time, all beers were Rauchbiers, so to speak. The term Rauchbier simply means "smoke beer" in German, and with the ancient kilning methods of drying green brewer's malt over open fires, all grains picked up smoky flavors and passed them on to the beers made from them. Today, however, with "clean" malt being the dominant brewing grist, old-style "smoke beers" have set themselves apart as an atavistic rarity, a throwback to a time gone by. Most Rauchbiers, like most Bavarian beers, are barley-based lagers. They are darkish-amber and opaque, with an alcoholic strength ranging from 4.8 to 6.5% by volume."

Smoke + Beer = Campfire Companion

The modern Rauchbier evolved over time as a specialty beer, in the Franconian city of Bamberg, and the surrounding areas in northern Bavaria. A number of breweries make the authentic stuff to this day (including the brewery that makes tonight's beer). In fact, according to the GBI, the only readily available Rauchbier in the States is the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier.

The brewery makes a number of smoked beers (as you can see HERE). The Schlenkerla Rauchbier is a traditional Rauchbier, the Schlenkerla Rauchweizen is a smoky Weissbier, and the Schlenkerla Lager is a smoky Helles/blond beer. They also brew their Urbock in October, which is similar to a Bockbier, and their Fastenbier, a Doppelbock-like strong beer only available in the spring.

Aecht Schlenkerla is pretty much the standard for modern Rauchbiers. They are the Henry Ford of smoked beers...or whatever. The word "aecht" means "true" or "original." There are, however, other brewers in Bamberg that make Rauchbiers. Noteable example is Brauerei Spezial.

A final interesting note: most smoked malt comes from commercial malting companies (one example is Weyermann Malting Company, located in Bamberg). Schlenkerla is one of the last German breweries that still malts their own grain. With that said, we should probably roll over to the Schlenkerla website and see what they are all about.

Schlenkerla began as a monastery in the 14th century, but exchanged hands/owners many times. The full list of the owners of the brewery can be found on the website. Between 1405 and 1615, the original Schlenkerla building was sold a number of times. And during the 30 Years' War (1618-1648), the house was destroyed and rebuilt. Noteable owners include Johann Wolfgang Heller, who took over in the mid 18th century. He owned an old rock-cellar for beer storage on the hill "Kaulberg" outside of Bamberg. Eventually, this facility was moved to another hill called "Stephansberg," which is in the middle of the town. In the 19th and 20th century, the brewery was moved to the location above the ancient cellars of Stephansberg. During that transition, the brewery took on its official name, "Heller-Bräu." In 1877 Andreas Graser became the brewery owner. He had a handicap and moved his arms in a funny way when he walked. This was called "schlenkern," and soon the people started calling the brewery Schlenkerla. In 1907, his son, Michael Graser, took the brewery over. In 1960, part of the the brewery was bought by Graser's daughter, Elisabeth, and her husband, Jakob Trum. In 1967 they handed the brewery to their son German Trum. And that seems to be where we are at today.

EPIC lagering cellar...

I'm going to wrap up the history and get on with the review...but one last thing that is pretty fucking sweet is the brewery's write-up of how they smoke their beer. Check this out! 

If you roll over to their beer page, you can get the lowdown on the Urbock. This is a full-bodied smoked Bock beer for Bamberg's strong beer season (October through December). This beer is brewed in the summer, and matured for moths in the rock-cellars beneath Bramberg. This beer clocks in at 6.5% ABV, and packs 40 IBUs. For BJCP style guidelines, roll over to 22A. Classic Rauchbier.

The beer pours a brownish/black/cola color in low light, and has a very nice 3-finger head. The head is a nice light tan/khaki color, and has a nice thickness about it. The head is reminiscent of Guinness with that nice root beer float thing going on. There's a persistent pinky's worth of creamy head hanging around, and it left some lacing as it fell away.

What's really interesting is that in bright light you can almost see through this beer, and it has a dark ruby red/brown color going on. You can also see some carbonation in there.

The aroma on this is really nice...provided you don't find smoked beers offensive. I probably should have disclaimered at the top of this post that this style of beer is pretty much love or hate. I happen to love this style of beer, but in moderation. The smoked malts on these authentic German smoked beers are really nice...it's not like a piece of bacon raping your nostrils. You get some smoked wood, sauna, campfire, wet campfire, earthy, beef brisket, smoked cheese, hints of bacon or ham, and the whole thing has some really big underlying malt sweetness. There's a huge sweet malt backbone with this beer, as I find some caramel under all the malts. 

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock

Again, the taste is really nice...in fact, it starts out pretty subtle, and doesn't lay on the smoked malts right away. But the smoked malts do hit home, and I'm getting smoked cheeses, smoked sausage, and hints of ham and bacon. Actually, as a Polak, I'm getting some big Kabanos out of this. Yay, nostalgia! Up front is some thick maltiness, and you get some bready caramel, hints of dark fruits, and then the beer gives way into the smoked malts. I'd describe it as biting into a piece of bread...and then getting a piece of sausage in the middle. Yum. 

This is a niche beer...I mean, it is what it is. Palate depth is wonderful, and the smoked malts are really subtle and complex, with lots of layers of wood, smoke, earthiness, meat, and cheese. It is a complex beer! It's also rather drinkable, in my opinion. But how much of this do you really want to drink, and how frequently? I guess that's the question. This has a medium-full mouthfeel...up front are fat and dense caramel/bread/fruit malts; this rolls into some really nice wood and smoke; the back end is lingering wood, smoke, meat, hints of caramel sweetness, and a nice smokey finish. The thickness has duration, and this is pretty thick throughout. It really would be a great beer to drink on a cold Autumn day in front of a fire.

Rating: Divine Brew 

I like this beer a lot, and this is a Light Divine Brew for me. Will you like this beer? There's really only one way to find out...be brave, be bold, and try a smoked beer. Seriously though, this beer is tight and refined. The smoked malts are subtle, and the malt profile is fat and dense. It has some substantial "umppp" to it, and gives this beer some nice weight on your palate. At 6.5%, this almost drinks heavier than you might expect. Food pairings are obvious: beef brisket, smoked cheese, anything grilled really, cheesy soup, mashed potatoes with cheese, or even a sandwich with some meaty center (pastrami? mmm). This beer will also pair well with a campfire and a cold Autumn night. Again...I know this style is love or hate, but check this out.

Random Thought: There's a lot of red lines for misspelled words in this post. It must be hard being German.