Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock
500mL bottle (no dates or codes) poured into a weizen glass. Pours a deep ruby brown with a thick khaki head. Aroma is a combination of Robitussin cough syrup and root beer. I've had a few Schlenkerla rauchbiers, all of which I've really liked - and this is the first one that doesn't smell good to me. There's this cherry syrup aroma I just can't get past. Taste also has a medicinal quality, but more of a numbing Chloraseptic taste. I've picked this sensation/taste up in other rauchbiers too, and it has to be a function of the smoke - but it has never been so pronounced. Thankfully the cherry syrup characteristic I picked up in the aroma is diminished in the taste, or I might not be able to finish this. Otherwise, this beer has a nice brown ale/Mrzen sweetness after I get used to the beech smoke - medium body, good mouthfeel. The numbing aspect of the smoke is still a little overpowering. The label says that the Urbock is similar to Schlenkerla's Mrzen but has a "higher smokemalt concentration and longer maturation" - maybe the smoke is just a little too much for me. Overall I'm really not sure what to make of this one, and I hate to ding a beer from such a great, unique brewery. But this is definitely not my favorite rauchbier and I can't say I'll be coming back to it. I'm not really enjoying this beer very much. Note: Given the early responses to this thread http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/4151434 I might give this one another shot.