United Nations of Beer

Aecht Schlenkerla Smoke beer

by Diana Diller
(Beer Delegate, Germany)

Aecht Schlenkerla Smoke beer

Bamberg and the smoke beer belong together like Pisa and the crooked tower.

In the heart of the old town, directly underneath the great cathedral, the greatest source of smoke beer is brewed and matured in 700 year old cellars, deep down in the hills of Bamberg.

It's called Original Schlenkerla Smoke beer (in German: Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier). Schlenkerla is well known in Franconia and around the world, but many do not know where this word originated.

'Schlenkerla' comes from 'schlenkern', which is an old German expression for not walking straight (swaying, staggering... just like drunks do).

Now legend has it that one of the former brewers had a funny way of walking due to an accident – allegedly – and so he got the nickname "Schlenkerla", which is Franconian dialect.

After a while, the people of Bamberg started to call the tavern Schlenkerla too and although the sixth generation of brewers are running it now, the name remains to this day.

It now stands for the tavern in the heart of Bamberg, for the brewery and the unique Aecht Schlenkerla smoke beer.

This German beer from Schlenkerla has a deep and dark clear ruby color and a slightly smoky aroma. It tastes like smoked bacon or smoked ham. It is marked by a mellow malty flavor and dry smokiness on the palate.

It is surprisingly smooth, given the dominate smokiness throughout.

The real beer lover drinks it slowly with relish, but steadily and purposefully and he knows that the second one will taste better than the first. He drinks Aecht Schlenkerla smoke beer in the evenings, drinks it alone, or in company.

It is a common tradition in Franconia to drink it in public. It brings together the locals with the strangers and if it is drunk in the old tavern, it makes one feel at home at once.

But one warning I shouldn't have to give you. If you don't like the taste of smoke, smoked bacon or smoked ham, then don't drink it. The taste of smoke is heavy.