Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche (Schlenkerla Oak Smoke)

Last month a wooden keg of this stuff was tapped at Brasserie V. I wasn't able to make it but I did pick up a bottle of the Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche (Schlenkerla Oak Smoke) over the summer in Milwaukee. I've seen the Märzen, Urbock, and Wheat around Madison but never (until the keg announcement) this nor the lager.)

Schlenkerla Oak Smoke is a doppelbock that uses malt dried over an oak wood fire instead of a beech wood fire like all of their other brews. Until yesterday I'd never had it before and was expecting something along the lines of the Märzen but it was quite different.

I got a nice frothy head when I poured it and it lasted a fairly long time instead of dissipating right away. You can see the nice deep reddish-brown color above. Unsurprisingly, it had a smoky scent but it wasn't quite as dominating as I thought it would be and swear some malt sweetness peeked through. Maybe my nose was stuffy.

Completely unlike the Märzen, which is the rauchbier I've had the most of, the Oak Smoke didn't assault the tongue with the first sip. Don't get me wrong, the smoke flavor is very prominent but not nearly as strong as the Märzen. Another contrast was that this stuff felt way less viscous on the tongue. Not as syrupy. For a doppelbock, it had a surprisingly agile mouthfeel. It also had much more hoppiness, especially in the finish. This is probably the most balanced of Schlenkerla's offerings that I've had.

As far as the beech vs. oak smoked malt, the difference is subtle. Rauchbier is often described as being like liquid bacon and, while the oak retained that general flavor, to me, it tasted less like bacon than the beech and just woodier, if that makes any sense. Many people are put off by the flavor but your tongue's smoke shock goes away pretty quickly and you're left with it as one of many flavors, albeit the dominant one. And, as I said above, the Oak Smoke has more hops than I'm used to and achieves a really nice equilibrium.

Junk Food Pairing: I find that rauchbier goes well with lots of fat. For Oak Smoke I suggest some Vegetable Thins crackers (or a generic equivalent) smeared with some good cheddar cheese spread.