A couple of years ago I openly embraced the sharpness that is rauchbier, after many years of shying away. As I report here, the beer that did it for me was Aecht Schenkerla Marzen. I found it had just the right degree of dry smokiness to off-set the beer’s natural sweetness but not too much to overpower. I have returned to that beer a handful of times in the past couple of years and find I consistently enjoy it. I am now far more open to smoked beer than in the past and actually have found a few I enjoy; although I still tend to find most are either too timid or too strong on the smoked malt.

And then a few weeks ago I saw a SECOND Aecht Schenkerla beer on Alberta beer shelves. Their Ur-Bock. The time length of my debate whether to purchase one could probably only be measured by the Large Hadron Collider. It was not too many days after where I tasted it and jotted down a few notes.

It is dark brown with ruby highlights, deep and rich looking. It builds a formidable very light tan head with both tight bead and loose bubble. Soft acrid smoke hits my nostril immediately, at first smelling like burning wood. Beer aromas follow with some raisin, a deep bready malt and a clean lager sweetness.

The beer starts just like a bock should. Soft bready malt with an accent of caramel create the impression of a rich sweetness. however, this sweetness doesn’t stand alone for long. A earthy smoke rises until it hits the roof of my mouth. It builds through the sip until the linger is sharp and woody. The smoke is never angular or too acrid – it finds a way to keep a nice balance with the malt underneath. Alone the beer would be a substantial bock with big breadiness and a chewy mouthfeel. The smoke tightens the presentation while adding a perpendicular flavour trend, creating a truly unique profile. I like that it is both sharp and sweet simultaneously.

This is a lovely and balanced beer. Smooth with enough smoke to remind you it is from Bamberg. It might prefer the Marzen better, simply because the two halves come out a bit more in that one, but this one, with its all-around heavier presence still walks the line well.