Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock - Brauerei Heller-Trum / Schlenkerla

inebrius

Michigan

4.95/5  rDev +19.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This brew is an extraordinarily balanced composition of sweet and smoked malts and bittering hops that just begs to be drunk. Pours a nifty umber underneath a fine and lacy head. Nose is a smoked honey-baked ham on xmas morn. The velvety body pins a sublime aftertaste on the buds and I would love to have a stock of Schlenkerla Urbock whenever the mood calls for one.

If you like beer and smoked foods than get your lips on this my friend. Superb!

Cheers to VENOM for the sample!

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2002 05:38:24 | More by inebrius

Mick

New Jersey

2.75/5  rDev -33.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

Definitely an acquired taste. Very intense smoked aromas, followed by an even more intense smoke taste; pungent. Dominating smoky flavor doesn't allow for additional tastes to be realized. Drinkers of this beer pursue as a love/hate relationship, there are no medians. The drinkability gets a 1.5 I could be more objective but I'm giving that rating solely on preference.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2002 06:05:06 | More by Mick

beerluvr

New Jersey

5/5  rDev +21.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Pours with a nearly white creamy head over dark amber liquid with slight hints of garnet red. Nose is intensely smoky...so much so that I can smell the smoke emanating from the glass 1&1/2 feet away from me as I jot down the tasting notes! The taste is wonderfully smoky, sweet & pungent with excellent mouthfeel, not much in the way of hoppiness here, but when there's this much flavor packed into a beer like this it's hardly missed! Finishes long with huge notes of smokiness with sweet malts coming in behind. Just a fantastic example of the Brewers art here! For the novice: try it, if you don't like it...try it again. It may take 3 or 4 bottles, but once you acquire the taste it's nothing short of one of the greatest drinking experiences you'll ever have!

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2002 19:48:08 | More by beerluvr

Murph

Arizona

3.85/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a ruby/dark amber color with a thin tannish head that sinks fairly quick. Huge smokiness that almost reminds me of smoked bacon with a bit of caramel sweetness mixed in. Sweet caramel and a touch of chocolate before the smoke took over command of this brew. In the smokiness I definitely get a smoked bacon flavor or just smoked pork in general and it is definitely giving me a craving for some right now. Mouthfeel on this one is a bit thinner than I would like it to be and that brings down the drinkability of this one a bit but it is an otherwise nice brew and could be fabulous with some smoked eats.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2002 22:19:53 | More by Murph

John

New York

3.83/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Though I'm not particularly a fan of smoke flavored beers, I enjoyed this brew. The color is a very attractive deep amber brown. Good looking head with nice lace. Predominate, assertive smoke aroma but not overtly so. Smokey malt flavor, that becomes a tad sweet as it warms. The sweetness balances the smokiness fairly well. An interesting changeup brew, one that, IMHO, would be better paired with food.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2002 07:58:56 | More by John

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.45/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The appearance of this beer is lovely - deep scarlet red. Very nice clarity. Some little bubbles form a nice little peninsula in an otherwise headless surface. I love this aroma. Great smoke characteristics. Almost like smelling a campfire from a distance. Woody and dry. This is a nice tasting brew. Not for the weak however. I don't think the smokiness here is quite as strong as say a Batch 5000, but it is nice. A little more subdued. Quite a bit of sweetness coming through too. Probably from the bock style backbone of this rauchbier. (Maybe that is why I prefered the Batch 5000 a little more than this. Less sweet from what I remember.) The body of this is medium to full. Maybe a little syrupy sweetness coming through. Beer conosieurs do need to give this a try.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2002 20:04:38 | More by Bighuge

Jason

Massachusetts

4.18/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Presentation: 16.9 fl oz bottle with no freshness date, Brewed According to the Reinheitsgebot 1516 on the label.

Appearance: Ruby tinged brown with a decent clarity through the darkness, slender tan lace stays put almost all of the way down the glass.

Smell: Smells of the same smokiness of a smoked Gouda cheese or imported German ham. Faint grain in a charred kind of aroma with a growing maltiness.

Taste: Thick medium to full body, deeply textured carbonation to bring on a smooth mouth feel. A tight ball of chewy maltiness hits the palate first with its sweetness. Smokiness is multi-level, with straight on smoke flavours to woody, charred and mild charcoal flavours. Hop? Where are they … the smoke is here and here to stay. Mild spicy alcohol and warming in the back. Maltiness stays, it does not disappear it just is an underlying flavour pretty much throughout. Slight caramel and toasted grain flash past the palate before another round of smoke flavour hits. Light residual sweetness is played by the leftover smoke flavours.

Notes: An obvious acquired taste. Love it or hate it. I love it but it is not a brew that I could drink more than once in a while. I love to visit it especially when I am having BBQ or any kind of grilled meat. I paired it with some cheeses, aged sharp cheddar and a ripe sheep’s milk cheese.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2002 17:07:01 | More by Jason

Longstaff

Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Looks are deceiving with this beer, it looks like a normal dark malty German bock. But once you get whiff, you know this is a smoked beer and is like smelling your clothes after a weekend of camping and sitting around the fire. The big malty bock backbone and the strongish alcohol flavor match very well with the smoked flavor. Easier to drink than the Marzen. A bottle of this would make a great lunch with some smoked fish, radishes, onions, bread and cheese.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2002 07:52:10 | More by Longstaff

stoutman

Michigan

3.9/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This beer is heaven in a glass. An outstanding package of malt and smoke with neither overpowering the other. This bock is an impressive beer that is just a bigger and better version of their Marzen. This beer is good and easy drinking (for a smoke lover)! Great with eats.. jawohl, tastes like a gut smoked cheese haha.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2002 17:07:07 | More by stoutman

marc77

California

4.65/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark ruby in color, with a thin head. The clarity is excellent and is indicative of ample lagering. As with their Marzen, the powerful smoked beechwood aroma dominates. A rich, decocted melanoidin aroma can be discerned beyond the heavily smoked malt. It's quite full bodied, and although the aroma would indicate liquid smoke sausage, pronounced Munich malt flavors manage to balance the smoke flavor. Although hop flavor is negligable, hop bitterness does a good job to balance the fairly complex malt flavors and is actually fairly high for a bock. The finish is clean and surpisingly dry. This is a tremendously flavorful brew. I would love to make a spicy chili using this beer as a base.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2002 20:38:13 | More by marc77

pbrian

Connecticut

4.3/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

The aroma alone was enough to knock my socks off. I never believed others' reviews that a beer can smell like smoked sausage and bacon but, alas, that what it was. How do they achieve that 'greasy' feel in an aroma? I brought the beer up to my face three times before I could drink it.

Based on the aroma and initial smokiness upon tasting, you'd think that the whole experience would just be too much. But then the smooth bountiful malt flavors kick in to tame its mischavious brother. The bock characteristics are evident and welcome. Overall, a superb beer drinking experience, though I couldn't see myself drinking more than one in a sitting, thus the low drinkability score.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2002 09:04:36 | More by pbrian

Bierman9

New Hampshire

4.6/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Superb! Better than their Märzen! Deep, dark, clear chestnut hue, with a fine, creamy tan head which fades quickly. Great smoky/malty nose... Unbelievable aroma of smoked meats. Lovely! Quite smooth and almost full-bodied... The extra sweetness present by being a Bock makes this a wonderful bier. A perfect level of sweetness with a huge dose of Rauch! Awesome! Dry finish with smokiness lingering long and hard. Mmmmm!!

Zum Wohl!

overall: 4.6
appearance: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | mouthfeel: 4.5 | drinkability: 4.5

3

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2002 13:50:34 | More by Bierman9