By Greg B. Some beers defy styles, while others define them.  The Shlenkerla smokebeers (Rauchbier = Smokebeer) essentially define the smokebeer style.  Since the dawn of beer making, maltsters have needed to be skilled at selecting appropriate barley grains, germinate them appropriately and almost as importantly, roast them to perfection.  However initial malting of barley was very crude.  Temperature control was almost non-existent, and getting an even roast is still difficult today with modern technology (though admittedly, we do a damn good job of it).  And because of the material used to malt the grains, hundreds of years ago almost all beers had a distinct ’smoke’ flavor to them, just by virtue of being roasted over fire.  It wasn’t until more modern brewing times that brewers had access to more ‘pale’ malts and were able to use other techniques to remove the ’smoke’ from the beer, and showcase a multitude of other flavors.  Today, smoke beers are made from barley malted over fires with peat, giving it a delicious smoke flavor and smell.  And now that we have our new Cigar expert, Tom, writing for the website and bringing insight into the world of cigars, I figured this would be an excellent time to top the cap on this beer and sample it for you all!

This beer is one of three types of rauchbeer that Schlenkerla brews, but possibly the most common to find.  They also make an urbock and a weizen, but I’ll get around to reviewing them in the future.  The most appropriate way to serve this beer, in it’s full 1pint 6ounces, is in a glass large enough to hold it.  And fortunately, I have just such a glass, a stein bought for me as a gift by my family from a trip to Germany a few years ago!  I don’t use this stein often, mostly because I don’t usually drink beer in this quantity, but something about this rugged north-German beer required the stein.  The beer pours a beautiful deep copper/amber color with red highlights, and showcases a very frothy and thick light tan head that rises up and really stays with the beer the entire time you’re drinking it.   As I pour, aromas of smoked meats jump out at you, visions of hams, smoked sausages, bacon and smoked pork are really strong.  When you take your first sip, be prepared for a weird, mind-altering experience.  If you’ve never had this beer before, you’re going to think you’re drinking a baconed-ham of sorts.  The mouthfeel is very smooth and creamy, and the smoke flavors just permeates your ability to taste or smell much else.  And why else would you want to?  This beer is not extremely over-the-top with the smoke, and it really is an easy drinking, slightly malty beer with a great smoke flavor and aroma.  But when you’re drinking a smokebeer, you want that smoke.  And this beer has it.  4.0/5, 5.1% abv

Suggested Food Pairings – For a beer like this, I’d stick with the meat and cheese element.  Pair smoke with smoke, so hit up the smoked gouda, bacon wrapped scallops, any smoked or preserved meats (Smoked fish might be a great pairing as well, especially fatty fish like trout, mackerel, salmon or bluefish!).  The pairings will wonderfully compliment each other, as this beer will bring a little sweetness to the table for the meats, which will contribute a nice salt component to each bite.