By now everyone knows I am a huge fan of Aecht Schlenkerla (for proof read here and here). The classic Bamberg rauchbier brewery turned me on to smoked beer a few years ago. Where I find most smoked beer either too assertive or too subtle, Aecht Schlenkerla seems to hit the sweet spot.

Their Marzen has been around for a couple of years now, with the Ur-Bock slipping across the border a few months back. The most recent arrival, here only a matter of weeks now, is their Doppelbock. You can appreciate it didn’t take me long to buy a bottle and see if this one was just as satisfying as the others.

In short, hell yes!

It pours dark copper and forms a loose white head that lingers quite nicely. Lighter than I expect it is very clear and clean. the aroma builds that classic clean, woody smoke I have come to expect from them. I do say I find less malt aroma than I expect, just some light breadiness in the nose.

In the sip a rich bready malt meets you at first. Some toffee and a bit of dark sugar tag along as well. Initially it has a very rich, bold taste to it. However, the smoke moves in quickly, first to complement then to take centre stage without pushing the other actors off-stage. It is clean, woody and almost peaty. I like that it never fully takes over – the malt lasts throughout, even into the linger. Although after a while the smokiness in the linger does outlast the malt. A very clean beer otherwise, allowing the dual features to stand on their own. No alcohol heat gets in they way either; it is a very smooth 8% alcohol.

If anything the more assertive malt character of the doppelbock increases the sense of balance in the beer. The smoke is present, even dominant, but never overpowering. You never lose sight of the fact the base beer is a doppelbock. Which is an added feature to my mind.

Just another classic example of what you can do with smoke if you know what you are doing. Just an average day for the folks at Brauerei Heller.