Heller-Trum Aecht Schenkerla Erle Schwarzbier

 Heller-Trum Aecht Schenkerla Erle Schwarzbier. Mit Erlenrauchmalz. Schenkerla Alder Wood Smoke. 

Black, near-perfect opacity, small brownish head. 

In the nose: mild smoke meets dark malts. Uncured ham plus cocoa. 

In the mouth: exceptionally smooth and hearty. There’s nothing like this. I love a nice, malty schwarzbier, but this is another thing. Rich and delicious, with that unique smoked malt touch. I can’t tell you what makes alder wood distinctive, but it works. 

Town Hall Minneapple Smoking' Rauchbier

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery Minneapple Smokin'. German Rauchbier. Brewed with applewood smoked malt. 6.8% ABV.

Clear, bright cherry red coloring, slim white head, swiftly evaporates.

Nose is all smoke, charred wood, fruit, malt. Delightful.

Intense smoke on the palate. Slightly sharp, rich malt favors. Surprisingly light bodied for such robustly flavorful beer. Excellent consumability. I'll polish off this mini growler in no time.

And you know what? I did. Sorry the picture's so lousy, though. Happens sometimes.

Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche Smoke Oak Doppelbock

I saw a new label on the shelves the other day, and it got me wondering: have the beers of the Heller-Trum brewery, makers of Aecht Schlenkla, of Bamberg, Deutschland, home of the rauchbiers, made an appearance here? I searched via "tags" and only found two listed under "rauchbier", the version Harriet brews, Rauchfest, and one from August Schell. I've had the Aecht Schlenkerla brews before, but not, by this reckoning, in the past four years. Now I know I haven't had the dopplebock, so why not start with this one? Why not, indeed.

This one calls itself "Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche", the last word, I'm guessing refers to the German word for oak. Also on the label, below "doppelbock", "Schlenkerla Oak Smoke." I'll peruse the rest of the label once the bottle has been drained.

8% Alc./Vol.

 Appearance: thick and hazy, deep amber-hued, with a caramel-tinted, off-white head of foam atop.

Aroma: Smoke hits the nose first, with toffee and caramel malt notes coming right behind. Cured and smoked meats remains the dominant association.

Taste: Rich and delicious. Smoked malt flavors remain high, but are more mellow and integrated with the doppelbock flavors. Chewing on a bite of wurtz before the deep malty goodness washes over. Full-bodied lager, with a long, malty finish. Hearty stuff, here. Good as it gets.

Okay, I'm getting the glasses on now, gonna read the label. Here goes…."While for the classic "Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier" beech has been--and still is--used, the malt for "Aecht Schlenkerla Oak Smoke" is kilned with oak wood. The resulting Aecht Schlenkerla Oak Smoke Malt is smoother and more multi-layered smoky note than the intensely aromatic Beech Smoke Malt. The hence complex smokiness in Schlenkerla Oak Smoke is paired with the multifaceted bitterness of finest Hallertau aromatic hops. With 8% alcohol and amber color, it matures for months in the deep brewery cellars underneath Bamberg into a special treat for smoke beer lovers."

I'll say.

Brewed and bottled by Brauerei Heller-Trum, Bamberg, Germany.

Harriet RauchFest

Here's one I've been sitting on for a month, because I didn't know what to do about the last sentence. Could I fix it, improve it, come up with a better way to put it?
It's an Oktoberfest, mixed with a rauch(smoked) beer.
This was a brewery-only release, no kegs going out to bars. I wrote this from a growler pour, shortly after the RauchFest event in late September:

Harriet Rauchfest 2011. Growler.

Clear, bronze/copper-hued, slim-to-none head.

Aroma: smoked malt, German malt, bacon, yup. Slightly sweet. But, oh, so smokey.

Taste: more of the same. Rich, meaty maltiness, coats the palate, spreads semi-sweetness, matched by smoke. This delivers the sweet, malty flavors of a marzen wrapped up in the smokiness of a rauchbier. There's not a single damned thing wrong with this, and several things right. 

Not too much to say about it. 

Looking back, there's nothing to apologize for; simple is not bad, Oktoberfests are hardly complex, smoked beers, well, they're smokey.

Schell's Stag Series # 3: Rauchbier

Schell's Stag Series #3: Rauchbier

Clear, dark amber coloring, under a slim beige head.

Big smokey aromatics. Bring on the bacon. Pale and caramel malt aromas below it.

Taste: Beefy bite of smoke smothers the palate at first sip, then fades back and mellows. Brisk and sprightly at first, then soft, smooth. Medium bodied, sweet malty flavors, fading smokey finish.

Tasty stuff, easy drinking, …yeah, I'll have another. Maybe not two, though.