Rauchbier

On a random whim, I poured my only bottle of Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Ur-Marzen, purchased, I think, in Boston a year ago. Some people hate this beer and regard it as a sausage-y over-smoked monstrosity. To those people I say: FUCK OFF!!

I love this beer. German beer is a weird thing for me. I have little-to-no desire to brew German pils (Czech is better), Marzen, Helles, the main-stream stuff, you know... I like the oddities: I've made three batches of smoked beer; I just bottled a Kolsch; I could imagine doing a Schwarzbier; I'm working on an alt. Anyway, the Schlenkerla is the weirdest, most enigmatic beer made outside of Belgium. It has a hugely smokey nose and a layered, provocative malt character.

Smoked beers have been a mixed bag for me. My first one was a resounding success. My second one sucks at this point. It may come around with more lagering but I'm not optimistic. The third attempt is a smoked pils, which I think should come out pretty well, but the jury will be out until mid-summer.

I'd like to take smoke beer in the direction of lower-maintenance ales. Sometime this summer I'd like to smoke a bunch of Munich and Pilsner malts on the Weber over, say, applewood or something and produce a big, gutsy smoked American ale, sort of in the Rogue style...