Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel

Amber in color with a fluffy tan head. Plums first in the aroma with malts and carmel, also rasins. Very malty taste, but also got dark dried fruits. A bit of a woody finish. Very smooth, but maybe a bit watery for my tastes right now. Drinkable, and tasty.

Brownish red color. Huge initial head that dissipated quickly. Smooth and tasty. Coffee with sweetness, though also light on flavor. Lacks the confusing flavor of the only other dunkel I had that made it hard to rate. This one is a good beer overall. And it gets better as it gets warmer.

This isn’t one of my favorite styles, but this version is pretty good. Dark copper/ruby color, minimal head. High malt presence, pretty light on the hops. However, there is enough hops here to tone down the sweetness of the malt. Really nice balnce here.

Bottle. Gorgeous crystal clear mahogany color, thin quick tan head. Malty, but not heavy, Well balanced bittering hops, tepid flavor and aroma hops. Nice clean finish. Tasty brew in lieu of the Fest-Marzen. Solid beer.

Bottle Pours a medium mahogany with a nice foamy light tan head. Aroma is of dark malts mostly. Flavor is of wod barrels malts, and a slightly sour taste with not much hops. Good body and smooth feel. Moderate carbonation. Woody, slightly chalky finish.

10.09.04 .5l bottle. Dark copper pour; thick tan head of soapy bubbles. Aromas are mild, grassy, white bread, milk chocolate. You really have to search to find any aroma at all. Flavor is quite lagery; plenty of mulch and hints of light chocolate; some grass, mostly bland. It’s easy to be balanced when there’s no flavor. A bit tinny everytime. I’ve given this beer too many chances to be good because it has a high rating. I have never liked it, time after time, but I can’t keep trying to find one that tastes as good as many of these glowing ratings claim.

20080927 Okay, so it’s been a while and this is due a re-rate. The weird thing is that my description from 2004 andthe other experiences does not change. I get the same flavors, mild aromas, and slight mineral characteristic, however, it’s fair to say that now I quite enjoy the beer. Ah, tastes change and we grow to appreciate the finer things, as they say. Well, it took longer that for any other style but in the last year or two I’ve come around on dunkel. Still not my favorite, but I’m bumping the score from 3-4-3-2-5-1.7 up a bit.

Pours a brown color, with a hint of red around the edges. Aroma is roasty and malty. Maybe a little bit of coffee in there as well. Flavor starts off with a little bit of sweet chocolate and finishes with a bit of burnt malt. Flavors are well balanced.

Pours out a somewhat transparent brown with a very small streaky head. Does not have a super strong aroma, but there are notes of malt. It has a nice malty flavor with some notes of fruit and a slight nut flavor. An awesome dunkel from a great brewery!