Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lagerbier - Brauerei Heller-Trum / Schlenkerla

yelterdow

New Jersey

4.38/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Found this at Oak Tree Buy Rite in South Plainfield... last one, I couldn't resist.

Served in a nonic at fridge temperature, alongside a nice meatball parmesian. No freshness date.

Appearance- Pours a crystal clear straw, the palest of yellows... with a nice three finger soapy head. Craggy lacing is left behind, looks pure.

Smell- Schlenkerla's signature bacony smoke aroma, just a hell of a lot lighter than their other offerings. Great malts and a whiff of hops, becoming richer and bolder as the beer opens up.

Taste- Great, smooth, tasty brew incorporating the smoked malts into an easy drinking lager. Pleasantly different, and refreshing. A sweet, lush hop character unfurls beneath the malts with terrific balance. Mild smoke and bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability- Light to medium in the mouth, and effortless to drink. What a great alternative for this summer.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2006 17:11:08 | More by yelterdow

goodbyeohio

Oregon

4.35/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

stubby, single-serve bottle with striking blue-on-white label imprinted with gothic lettering.. the r-word figures prominently as a testament to german quality.

pours a familiar lighter shade of school bus yellow and absolutely crystal clear. speedracing fat bubbles rise perfectly vertically. the head is slight and lacing is present. looks drinkable.

and by gosh it is!

smells like salted crackers, slightly meaty with hints of a richer yet subdued marzen style maltiness. clean and not much in the way of dominant aromas.

drinks like a toasty lager. clean finish preceded by a smooth and rich semi-sweet malt peppered with charred rauch smoke. didn't think this element of schenkerla would show up so prominently in this beer but it does.. perhaps its the lightness to the beer that allows it to shine. however, in no way does it dominate like in the yellow-label rauchbiers of this brand. this is drinkable, and would be recommended for those who like lagers but can't take the extreme bacon qualities in other offerings.

drinkable through the roof and like jcalbi said, an awesome session brew. anyone who finds this on tap would benefit karmically from letting me know where they found it.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2006 05:04:45 | More by goodbyeohio

Bourre

France

4.13/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Smooth, thick, compact and lasting head, on a transparent pale golden color. Quite desirable.
The smell is essentially malty, with light roasted notes, a bit like roasted corn. Sweet with some burnt caramel. The taste gets quite enjoyable: a good lager, showing a round and smooth maltiness, combined with interesting notes of smoke. Some sweet fruitiness too, citrus, some orange peel, hints of lemon, with a light dry hoppy grapefruity finish. Well balanced, a more than decent brew by Schlenkerla.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2005 16:46:41 | More by Bourre

GuinnessSmurf

Missouri

4/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a golden orange color with a fuzzy head of small bubbles on the top.

Smell: It has a very mild smell - a delicately refreshing blend of yeast/pretzel smells.

Taste: It begins very refreshing and brisk with bitters. Then it turns into a smokey rich flavor at the end. A very smooth transition between the two.

Mouthfeel: This beer has a big body to it - very round in the mouth. The body is not highly carbonated and is very smooth going down.

Drinkability: Although very rich, I could see myself drinking several of these in a row.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2005 20:51:52 | More by GuinnessSmurf

rastaman

United Kingdom (England)

3.43/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Nobbad, quite enjoyed it. Lightly smoked, bacon flavour, dry-ish, slightly herbal hops finish, a bit salty aswell. Not as heavily smoky as there other beers, which on one hand makes it easier to drink, but on the other hand its less flavourfull and less complex. I think i prefer the Marzen a lot more.(Draught- GBBF 03')

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2003 01:12:31 | More by rastaman