There’s a couple of bottlos where you are just about guaranteed to find a beer you haven’t tried. Dan Murphys at Manly Vale, the Porters on the corner of Sydney and Woodland Streets and one up at Newport. In Melbourne, the bottlo near the Pensione Hotel is of a similar vien. On Sunday, I think I found the most unique beer I’ve tried.
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier literally means Original Schlenkerla Smokebeer. It is made in a tavern in Bamberg, which looks like a beautiful German town that wasn’t destroyed in WW2. Bamberg is famous for this variety of beer. The website has a number of amusing stories about the origins of the name, the fun that can be had at the tavern, the taste of the beer, what is discussed in the tavern and how the beer makes you more garralous. The site is worth visiting, but the slogan on the Coaster is worth repeating.
Even if the brew tastes somewhat strange at the first swallow, do not stop, because soon you will realize that your thirst will not decrease and your pleasure will visibly increase.
The etymology of Schlenkerla is also brilliant. Its roots lie within the Frankish vernacular, in which “schlenkern” is an expression for walking not straight – just like a drunken person does. Allegedly one of the former brewers had a funny way of walking due to an accident, or maybe due to the beer, and so he was called the “Schlenkerla” – the little dangler. Schlenkern would have described my gait on Friday evening, I’m sure.
The beer is very strange to smell and drink. I’ve bought liquid smoke from barbecue shops to try on ribs and that is the closest approximation I can give to the aroma of smokebeer. It tastes like it smells. It is not totally unpleasant, but it doesn’t slide down easily either. The colour is quite beautiful. It comes in a 500ml so you drink enough to get past the first swallow, but my pleasure wasn’t increasing. I’m sure that if I was in Bamberg, enjoying the delights of the tavern – it might be different. Maybe a second bottle might have done the trick. Aah well, you are only live once.
back of the ferry 