Schlenkerla Rauchbier (Smokebeer)

I'd never tried a smoked beer before but I sure am glad that I did today!

We've got two German deli's here in town and I bounce back and forth between them. Today I stopped at Alpine (it was on the way) for soup and a sandwich. They were out of soup so I decided to get a salad and something different to drink. I picked a Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen from the beverage cooler and brought it home.

It probably wasn't the best choice to go with a Cobb salad, but forget the salad, the beer was the really interesting part. The first thing you notice is the smoke, it's there in the aroma and in the flavor. Wow! Very different. It seems less sweet than most Märzen that I've sampled, but that might be the bitter flavor of the beer overwhelming the malt.

I'm going to have to get another bottle and put it aside for the next time I eat sausage and cheese, I think that'll be a perfect match. Or maybe for the next time we cook bratwurst. Yes, I'm definitely going to have to try more.

I found a couple reviews at Epinions and BeerPal (I'd never heard of BeerPal).

Update: I had to change the title a wee bit once I realized that Rauchbier literally meant Smokebeer (see rauch).