Having received as a gift a package of wildly unfamiliar European beers (a very thoughtful, useful and *hopefully* enjoyable gift, I might add), I’ve been looking forward to trying them.

Tonight I’m tasting a beer from Germany. Frankly, I don’t know what to expect. The label on top says “Original Schlenkerla Smokebeer” (I assume Schlenkerla is a place…?) And I know that “Rauchbier” is a style of making beer where they take the malted barley and kiln it over beach-wood or some kind of open fire to get that smoked flavour.

So let’s crack this open and see what’s what…

First impression – looks like rootbeer, smells like campfire. The smokiness is certainly the predominant aroma, although there’s a kind of orange zest and salty smell that’s coming forward, as well. I’m excited to taste this one, but solely to satiate my curiosity; I don’t think this’ll be a beer I wanna smash into my face. But I remain cautiously optimistic.

Sip. Swish. Gulp. Sip. Gulp.

Tastes like Hickory Sticks converted to liquid. With a bit of sweet dark toffee maltiness and dry roasted coffee beans. Strangely reminding me of playing Monopoly with my incredibly ruthless Step-Mother. But … I find myself smiling, and pleasantly surprised. I’m delighted, in fact. The beer is actually fairly light in body, easy-to-drink and the sweetness of the malt balances out the smokey flavour perfectly. I’m emphatically enjoying this beer and if this is any indication of what I’ve got in store with these other random Euro brews, then tomorrow can’t come fast enough.