Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel

Brewed by Brauerei Aying
Style: Dunkel
Aying, Germany

This is just about the best Dunkel I’ve ever had. Dunkel is not a style I am generally all that excited about, but this is just very nice. This looks about like any dark lager, it’s a deep brown with a fluffy white head that has perhaps one of the greatest retentions I have ever seen, I actually drank half of this beer last night at home, left and went to the bar, and when I came back an hour later it was sitting there in the mug with a head still on it! Plenty of lace is left on the glass. The aromas are strongly of sweet roasted malt. The flavor is lightly malty sweet with a very faint roastedness, however there are just a ton of flavors in this coffee, chocolate, and raisin are the first that pop into the head. This has a nice soft palate and is very easy to drink, I had a Budweiser after I drank this and that bud was just harsh in comparison.

Nice designed Bottle 50cl. Pours a red-brown clear brew with a huge dense head. Appearance is amazing, top score here! Roasted malt taste is dominant, but there is no disturbing sweetness. Hops decent, a very balanced brew. Highly recommendable for dark beer lovers.

Bottle. Pours deep amber with a beige head. The aroma is malty sweet with toast and caramel. The flavor is more toasty and less sweet than the aroma. Nice.

17oz bottle-pours a foamy light tan head and copper/amber color. Aroma is sweet medium malt-caramel/toffee, some hay/wet blanket. Taste is sweet medium malt-caramel/toffee, some hay/wet blanket, some roasty/cocoa, some fruit, faint earthy hops. Soft carbonation. Easy drinking malty beer.

<b>15-Sep-08</b> <i>(500-ml bottle: Sample bottle from the "local" Merchant du Vin rep)</i> Not that I needed a sample bottle from the importer to know how wonderful this dunkel is, but it serves as a good reinforcement. Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel may well be the best example of the style imported into the United States. Ruby-brown in color with stunning clarity, the beer is capped by an inch of dark-tan head. The nose presents clean, rich aromas of chocolate, dark and toasty malts and a touch of earth along with a slight floral-hop backdrop. Core flavors of toasty, chocolaty and lightly sweet malts abound with that rich, worty, melanoidin profile that’s characteristic of dark German beers. Medium in body and carbonation, clean on the palate. The head settles to a wide ring while leaving a few spots and patches of lace. A classic example of the style, one of the best.

<b>10-Nov-05</b> <i>(500-ml bottle: $2.69 at Windy City in El Cajon, CA)</i> I think Ayinger is one of my favorite German breweries whose beers are imported into the U.S. Chocolaty and toasty malts are dominant in this tasty dunkel, with sweetness and bitterness being pretty mild. The chocolate really takes over in the finish. The nose is less chocolaty than the flavor, showing more of that dark, malty, worty aroma typical of many dark German beers. Medium bodied and pleasantly carbonated. The beer is a pretty medium brown color and is capped by a gorgeous tan head that builds to nearly two inches before gradually settling to a thin, complete and creamy layer. Lacing is left in large patches. Overall, not significantly better than most of the German dunkels I’ve tried, but better nevertheless.

500 mL bottle from Wine Warehouse. Reddish brown pour with a 2-finger head. Big roasted malt aroma with some fruity notes and a slight touch of smoke. Roasted malt taste is slightly grainy with raisin notes throughout. A little thin in the end.

bottle, dark caramel color, good malty nose, flavor is fruity with roasted smoke accents, finish is a bitter caramel but smooth

Brown pour with a dark red tint. Yeasty aroma with sweet malt and molasses. Very bready. Similar flavor with caramel maple notes and a strong malt presence. A bit of sour lactose as well. Bitter finish. Very flavorful and delicious!