I had bought a bottle of this a couple weeks back and it had been languishing in my fridge too long. What a wonderful beer! For Rauchbier lovers, that is.
I popped the cap on the bottle and as I turned to replace the opener in a drawer I could smell the smoke-roasted malts just from the spout! Having seen so many light, golden bocks come from Germany lately, I was pleased to see how dark, ruby red this beer was, and quite clear when held to the light. Nice white head, though not long lasting.
Aroma was, of course, deep smoky malts - and the flavor followed suit, yet the after taste was pleasingly dry and clean - not sweet as Schlenkerla's Marzen's aftertaste.
The body also tended toward thinner than the Marzen, but make no mistake - there's plenty of body in this beer. The dryness and thin mouth feel is no doubt due to the higher alcohol content common in a bock beer (6.6 ABV in this one according to Beer Advocate), no residual sugars here.
The only problem in tasting this beer is that I only had one bottle! Time to pick up some more.
Have had the other two, including the Marzen while in Bamberg. While I enjoy the Marzen, I found the Weizen a little lackluster - but the Ur Bock - all I can say is, I need more!
If you think it's good from the bottle, N_E_V_E_R go to the beautiful city of Bamberg where this and 2 other beers of this type are brewed. You would probably not survive!
There it is served on tap, poured out of the keg by gravity. The kegs are usually sitting on a copper topped bar, the ceramic mugs used unfortunately mask the color and the thickness of the foam top, as well as the true content.
What a heavenly experience! A truely amazing taste that the bottle variety can't come close to delivering.
And the city of Bamberg has a lot to offer in addition to the Rauchbier. Great sausages. I had a crispy, chruchy grilled pork knuckle with Bavarian style sauerkraut with my Rauchbier.
What an event, I'd do it again on a moment's notice!
You are correct about drinking the RauchBier at the source. I have done it and I know Steveh has also. Truly magnificent. I have also sampled the knuckle at the Haxenaur in Munich. I would recommend it to all. As I write this I am sampling a bottle of Rauchbier from the Brauerei Spezial (Christian Merz) in Bamberg. While its no Schlenkerla, I am enjoying it none the less. As it warmed up the smoky nose became more prevelent . Definitly more flavor as it warms as well. I first get a carmel / tart flavor that disolves into smoke. Very Pleasant. A typical German dunkel with a smoky finish. It is 4.6% by vol. and you don't get the alcohol at all until after the aftertase has set in. It complements the smoke. I am enjoying it and wishing I was back in Bamberg drinking the magnificent brews fresh from the source!
Linear Mode
