Ember & Grain · Field Notes · Wood · Nº 15
Beech Wood
the smoked beer
Bamberg, Franconia. A medieval tavern, a smoked beer, and the clean fire of the beech forest.
Below Bamberg’s cathedral, on the Dominikanerstraße, stands a tavern first mentioned in 1405. It is called Schlenkerla, after Andreas Graser, who took it over in 1875 and walked with a swinging gait. The brewery still malts its own barley and dries it over a slow fire of beech logs. The beer tastes of smoke, the way most beer once did.
Most beer once tasted of smoke. In Bamberg, it still does.
On the salt
In the Atlas, Beech Wood is paired with Bolivian Salt.
Field notes
| Also known as | European · common beech |
| Tree | Fagus sylvatica, beech family |
| Native to | Central and western Europe |
| Home | Bamberg · 49°53′ N |
| Tavern | First mentioned in 1405 |
| Smoke | Clean, mild, nutty · 2 of 5 |
| On the salt | Bolivian Salt · Vol. I, Nº 10 |
Continue in The Origins Atlas
The rest of this chapter lives in the book: the full story of the place, how the wood burns, the people who keep the tradition, and the hand-drawn map.
- The Place · the Franconian forest
- The Kiln · the clean hardwood
- The Taste · clean and nutty
Sources: Brauerei Schlenkerla; Wikipedia, “Smoked beer,” “Schlenkerla”; HopCulture; italia.it, “Speck Alto Adige IGP.” Imagery is illustrative and AI-generated.