Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Maerzen is unpasteurized and made entirely from smoked malt. Heller Trum is one of the very few breweries left in Germany that does its own malting. During germination of barley, the smoke of beech wood fire is "forced" through the germinating barley for a total of between twenty four hours and thirty six hours at varying temperatures. Therefore, Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier gains an unusual smoky dryness from this process. In contrast, the standard drying procedure for malt is to be heated in a kiln. The brew is mashed by double decoction, hopped once, bottom fermented,and matured 7 weeks.