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Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen

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Rating:

70% of 100

45 Reviews

Style

Speciality Beer

Country

Germany

Brewery

Heller

ABV

5.2%

Bottle Size

500ml

Serving Temp

6 to 8°C

5.2%

500ml

Details
Reviews

Details

First mentioned in 1405, the historical Brewery Tavern Schlenkerla can be found in the middle of Bamberg, Bavaria, directly beneath the mighty cathedral.

The Rauchbier is an interesting style that is unique to the Bavarian city of Bamberg, Germany. Its intense smoky flavour is achieved by smoking barley malt over beech-wood logs and it’s the Brauerei Heller that has mastered the art and produces the world’s best smokebeers.

The Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen is a traditional German wheat ale with a smoky aroma that is oftentimes reminiscent of smoked bacon! The wheat ale base gives this beer notes of banana, clove, spicy wheat and malty sweetness whilst the smoked grains give a subtle smoky flavour. Smooth and silky, the distinct qualities of this beer create a pleasant drinking experience.

Reviews

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Like the morning of November the 6th

100%

Review by Wayne 10/09/2019

Smokey, woody, malty and refreshing when served chilled.
Such a wonderful combination of hops malt and smoked wood that refreshes a vast majority of pallets. Not for everyone but well worth a try of a great beer.

Almost

80%

Review by Phil 21/03/2019

Not as good as the Marzen but still a great smoke beer.

Very interesting

80%

Review by Sean 08/12/2018

The original version grew on me after a while but I think this is better. Maybe the wheat element takes the edge off the smoke but it's very complex and very drinkable. Definitely a must try due to its uniqueness!

5 / 10

60%

Review by Jo 21/02/2018

Copper brown colour, clear, little carbonation
Very thin off-white head, dissipates quickly
Smoky, ash, bacon, honey and slight malty aroma
Medium creamy mouthfeel with some carbonation
Smoked sausage, sour orange and slight malty flavour
Sweet, slightly sour, slightly smoky and bitter aftertaste

Smokey BBQ Flavours

80%

Review by AndyH 25/01/2018

Strong Smokey aroma. Lees Smokey flavour with a taste of BBQ pork. Cloudy brown beer. Light carbonation nice head.

Strange mix of tastes

40%

Review by Rob 21/01/2018

very weird beer, smokeyness against a medium sour, almost yoghurt taste

Smoky with hidden depths!

80%

Review by Mark 24/12/2017

Smoky aromas dominate at first with this beer, with beechwood smoked malts throwing off intense BBQ, smoked meat aromas and flavours. As time goes on and you dig a bit deeper, the classic wheat beer flavours reveal themselves with banana and clove aromas and flavours. A really interesting beer style, a really refreshing, fruity and slightly spicy beer beneath a brash exterior.

One at a time...

60%

Review by Phil 19/12/2017

Not as good as the Marzen. Can only drink one at a time before the smoke overpowers.

Smoky and sweet

80%

Review by Peter 08/12/2017

Lovely smoky bacon notes with a hint of sweetness coming through.

Smokey

40%

Review by Mike 27/11/2017

Ok I was mostly persuaded by the cool looking bottle and it being German. Bound to be great right? Well, not really, bit unusual quite frankly and smokey?! Nah.

Not for me

40%

Review by martin 21/11/2017

A smoked wheat beer? Very off putting colour, smokey aroma with a taste thats hard to describe...not for me!

A little sour

60%

Review by Bryn 15/10/2017

Lovely smokiness but also very sour, the two flavours didn't mix too well

Aroma better than the taste

60%

Review by James 28/07/2017

Nice meaty aroma, but upon drinking it just doesn't deliver. Smokey taste but just not as tastey as I'd have liked.

MEATY

40%

Review by Jonnyb 14/07/2017

if you like your beer to taste like a smokey ham sandwich then this is the one for you. If not id probably avoid.

Not to my taste.

60%

Review by John 22/05/2017

I little too smokey for me, but not bad.

Unlike any other

80%

Review by Westy 10/05/2017

Hammy, smokey, wheaty and round. Very unusual but very good.

Brilliant

80%

Review by Beebo 11/04/2017

Aroma: smoked malt, bacon, meat. Appearance: brown, hazy without head. Taste: wheat malt, smoked, smoked meat, Palate: medium body, light carbonation.

Smokey!

80%

Review by Snozz 02/03/2017

Murky brown with a nice creamy head, some sticky lacing. Smokey aroma of bacon and ham, with some banana. Taste get a lot of the smoke, balance by rather sweet malts, some caramel and ripe fruits. The bacon & ham dominates though, lingering til the finish and in the after taste. Low bitterness, medium body and soft carbonation. Lovely beer.

Unusual but great

80%

Review by Petem 14/02/2017

Not tasted anything like this before. Smoky and subtle with complex flavours. Recommended

Smokey!

80%

Review by MH 30/01/2017

Brown body, big fluffy white head. Aroma of smoke (lots), bacon (lots), malt, light caramely notes. Flavours of smoke, bacon, stronger malt profile, sweet notes. Not as smoky as the nose suggest. The smoke is well balanced by the malt. Medium-long smoke, burned wood and bacon finish, slightly dry.

Unsure of the smokiness

60%

Review by Londonjef 29/01/2017

I'm not usually a fan of smoked beers, they tend to have an overpowering smokey flavour. This one is probably one of the better ones though. I would recommend it to people who want to experiment with smoked beers, but are not 100% sure.

Delicious and interesting

100%

Review by wgardner 06/01/2017

What a brilliant beer. Lovley Weizen beer, with subtle smoke and roasted malts. So complex - recommended.

good to try

60%

Review by Kurt 05/12/2016

not really my thing, but its worth a try at least

Smokey and the Bandit

60%

Review by Manos 04/12/2016

Smoky. An experience worth trying but it is a strong taste.

i love it

100%

Review by Peter 15/11/2016

its a smokey beer which I really enjoyed. If youre willing to try you will be pleasantly surprised

smokey beer

60%

Review by Anton 10/11/2016

found this beer really rather smokey. whilst i loved the fist few sips, the novelty soon wore off. saying that, my dad loves it , so I guess you either love it or hate it

And now for something completely different

80%

Review by Llamaman 07/08/2016

This is a marmite beer - you either like smoky beers or you don't, and if you don't you'll struggle with this.
I'm not normally a wheat beer fan, but I think I prefer this to the Marzen - the smokiness is less aggressive and you don't get quite the same aggressive 'er, did I just taste HAM?' effect. Instead, it's there as pleasant warming note - a bit like a Lapsang Souchong tea. But with a bit of ham.
Not something you'd down several of, but also more than just a novelty.

smoke bomb

40%

Review by doomlord 29/05/2016

way too smokey for me, started off quite a novelty but really struggled to finish the whole bottle in the end, like licking the ceiling of a 1970's miners club

A very pleasant surprise!

80%

Review by Beer In The Bay 27/04/2016

I was bought a box of Beerhawk beers and when i saw this one i wasn't expecting to like it in any way at all, this style has never been my cup of...well, beer. I was very wrong. It is definitely an acquired taste given the smokiness but the wonderful banana and clove flavours really work well with it. Great mouthfeel too, which left me wanting another sip straightwaway.
Worth trying as a stepping stone to other beers of this style with even more smokey punch.

Acquired taste

60%

Review by Londonjef 27/03/2016

This is a fantastic beer, but you definitely need to develop a taste for it. It's unusual smokiness means that it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Okay

60%

Review by Paul 16/03/2016

Unusual taste. Enjoyed the smokeyness but it did over power the other flavours.

Holy smoke

80%

Review by Good head 04/03/2016

Not lightly smoked in my point of view like the descriptions claims. I do like the smoky taste that lingers on the palate. It might be my imagination, but it did seem to get less smoky as I drank it and some of the other flavours did seem to become more noticeable,

smoke ruins it

40%

Review by whatever 22/01/2016

this starts off great on entry, but then the smoke hits you and destroys all the other flavours... you get a slight hint of those flavours for a split second and then boom all you get is smoke.

would love a version of this beer without the smoke

Astounding Taste Shock

100%

Review by Turning German 04/09/2015

Having put up with the best that the Supermarkets can offer, seeing really decent German beers appear briefly, and then disappear again (Obviously, No Demand - .Der..!) Was glad to find this site that sold Schneider Weiss. Bought the selection on offer here that included this and was brilliantly surprised when I first tried it. Cannot see how anyone could fault the magnificent smoky taste (I AM Sure) that it offers. Can only recommend it very highly, and hopes that Beer Hawk continue to stock it, as am a real convert.

It's like bacon weissbier!

100%

Review by interzen 02/07/2015

Rauchbier (smoked beer) is, shall we say, a bit of an acquired taste - this is the 'little brother' of the Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen and, when all is said and done, it's a smoked weissbier.

Maybe I got lucky because the advertised flavours of banana, cloves and their ilk were definitely there under the overarching flavour of barbequeued meat and the combination was rather special indeed.

A decent introduction to smoked beers - this isn't nearly as in-yer-face smoky as the Marzen but it's just as drinkable.

Smokin'

40%

Review by 101proof 29/05/2015

Not as smokey and lacks the bite of the Marzen. I didn't enjoy this one too much

A must try!

80%

Review by AJC 27/05/2015

If you've tried the original brew and found it a bit too overpowering, then this may be what you've been looking for. Think of a BBQ crossed with a wheat beer. Definitely worth trying!

Not my cup of tea

40%

Review by Wardywolf 15/04/2015

Way too smoky for my taste buds, almost like drinking beer then sticking your head in a fire.

Strange

40%

Review by stuartybarlow 18/02/2015

Smoky beers are not my thing it seems - the smoke overpowers the other flavours. Tastes like camomile lotion.

One of those beers I keep coming back to.

100%

Review by Quitekate 07/01/2015

This has become one of those beers that I forget about for a while and then, on drinking a bottle, wonder how I ever could. Beautiful smooth smokiness and delightfully savoury. A wonderful beer.

Bit different but great beer

100%

Review by Paul_B 06/01/2015

I love this beer and it's very hard to get on tap in the UK. The smell is best likened to a smoked cheese and the taste is very distincitve and quite smokey. That said, I've tried quite a few and this is very drinkable. If you're not sure, there is a Schlenkerla smoked Helles lager which is a much gentler introduction and they also do (a less readlily available) Oak Smoked version which is much heavier.

Gets better the more you drink.

80%

Review by Paul 27/11/2013

Wonderful beer, albeit unusual. It can be a shock at first sip however it becomes more appreciable towards the end of the glass. I prefer it to the Marzen.

smokey

80%

Review by Andrew 07/08/2013

after tating its older brother, this does not dissapoint.

Unusual and Tasty

80%

Review by TommyBurns 12/12/2012

It says flavours of banana and cloves but really the smoked flavour just dominates. But I will be ordering this again as it is truely delicious and my first experience of a smoked beer has wet my appetite.

Unusual

80%

Review by Glass half full 01/09/2012

"Lightly smoked" says the description. We are not so sure. Full of flavour and a taste shock if its your first smoked beer. Rich and meaty and it gets better as you travel down the glass and leaves you ready to try a fully smoked version.