Schlenkerla Old Inn boasts smooth rauchbier

If your regular beer isn’t smoky enough for you, head down to the Schlenkerla Old Inn, in the heart of Bamberg and try a glass of rauchbier. If you don’t like the first one, keep drinking, it gets smoother.


Schlenkerla Old Inn boasts smooth rauchbier
By Mark St.Clair, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, January 10, 2008

BAMBERG, Germany — Some say that unless you’ve had a glass of rauchbier (smoked beer) you’ve never really visited Bamberg.

Possibly the best place in town to try it in the colder months is the Schlenkerla Old Inn, located in the heart of old town.

Frequented by locals, students and tourists alike, Schlenkerla is a lively place steeped in tradition and Franconian charm. Shlenkerla’s name is derived from an old German expression, “schlenkern,” which meant to walk crookedly.

As the story goes, one of the former brewers had an accident and couldn’t walk normally, causing the locals to refer to him as the “schlenkerla.” The name eventually became synonymous with the brewery, tavern and the beer itself.

Schlenkerla’s rauchbier is brewed in three varieties: the dark, bottom-fermented Märzen; Schlenkerla Smokewheat, an unfiltered wheat beer with a lighter flavor; and the seasonal Urbock, a mature beer tapped from oakwood casks from October through December. Feb. 6 marks the beginning of the seasonal Lentbeer, served until Easter.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51521