Schlenkerla is a historic brewpub in Bamberg, Franconia, Germany, renowned for its smoked Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier.[1]

HellerBräu Trum KG
Map
LocationBamberg, Germany
Coordinates49°53′30″N 10°53′05″E / 49.89167°N 10.88472°E / 49.89167; 10.88472
Opened1405 (1405)
Websitewww.schlenkerla.de
Active beers
Name Type
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Rauchbier
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen Märzen Rauchbier
Helles Schlenkerla Lager Lager Rauchbier
Schlenkerla Rauchweizen Weizen Rauchbier
Seasonal beers
Name Type
Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche Christmas Doppelbock
Aecht Schlenkerla Fastenbier Unfiltered Rauchbier
Aecht Schlenkerla Kräusen
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock Bock-Rauchbier
Schlenkerla Rauchbier being tapped straight from the cask (2003)

Beers

edit
 
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen

Aecht Schlenkerla is recognized for making traditional Rauchbier (smoked beer) including urbock, märzen, weizen, oak doppelbock, lentbeer (Fastenbier), a Helles Marzen blend (Krausen), Helles (filtered and unfiltered) and Hansla (low alcohol). [2] The brewery releases vintages of the Doppelbock and Urbock that have been aged in rock cellars. A schnapps made from Rauchbier is also available in Schlenkerla's pub and restaurant.

The brewery's restaurant has been ranked among the top places in the world to have a beer by All About Beer magazine.[3]

The pub

edit

The brewery has been in operation since 1405, when it was a pub known as Zum Blauen Löwen ("At the Blue Lion").[4] Schlenkerla tavern features a Gothic ceiling known as the Dominikanerklause. It is located in the old town section of Bamberg, a UNESCO World Heritage site tucked away in the Franconia section of northern Bavaria.[5] Each year the brewery celebrates "Smokebeer Preservation Day" on July 23.[6] On that day in 1635 the first smoke free malt drying machine was patented. Soon most beers became smoke-free and Rauchbier became rare. Only a small number of Bamberg breweries continued the use of traditional fire kiln malt drying, preserving the style. The style is now made by a limited number of breweries around the world and is recognized at the Great American Beer Festival with a Smoke Beer category with six subcategories.[7]

Name

edit

Schlenkerla roughly translates as "Dangling". Schlenkern is a German verb meaning to swing or to dangle (literally "to slink"). The -la suffix is typical of the East Franconian dialect. The name reportedly comes from a brewer with a hobbling gait whose image can be seen on the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier bottle. The brewery's legal name is HellerBräu Trum KG, after the Trum family that has owned and run it for six generations.[4]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Schlenkerla Tavern & its Heller Brewery and Rauchbier (Smoke Beer), Bamberg". www.whitebeertravels.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  2. ^ "Schlenkerla Smokebeer Varieties". Schlenkerla. 21 January 2022.
  3. ^ "150 Perfect Places to Have a Beer". Lyke2Drink. 12 June 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Smoke and Beers: Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen". Phoenix New Times. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Around the World in 80 Drinks: Drinking Smoke -- Rauchbier in Bamberg, Germany". Lyke2Drink. 9 December 2011.
  6. ^ "History of Smokebeer". Schlenkerla. 21 January 2022.
  7. ^ "GABF Beer Style Guidelines" (PDF). Great American Beer Festival. 21 January 2022.
edit