Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel

Brewed by Brauerei Aying
Style: Dunkel
Aying, Germany

Deep reddish brown. Foamy head is mostly diminishing but leaves a ring of lace around the top of the glass. Sweet malty aroma with hints of raisins, dough, and yeast. Round, creamy mouthfeel with mild but noticeable carbonation. Front is very lightly sour and somewhat sweet. Fruity malts come out in the middles along with some roast/smokey notes that linger into the mildly bitter finish. Subtle and superbly balanced.

From bottle. Pours the color of dark wood with a smallish head. Aroma of malt, wheat and caramel. Flavor is fairly mild and caramel sweet, finishing with some chocolate and a surprisingly refreshing hop finish. I enjoyed this, but found the flavors a bit thin and subdued. retried 5/19/09: Ayinger Altbeirisch Dunkel 5/18/09 (bomber poured into an English pint glass. Color is ruby-brown, clear, with a creamy head. Aroma of dried fruit, chocolate, and earthiness. Flavor is a continuation of the aroma: smoky, peaty initial note, “old,” with toasted nuts and dried fruits. Flavors linger with nuttiness. Palate has a medium mouthfeel, not particularly dry or otherwise. Leaves mouth a bit clammy though. Interesting take on a dunkel.) 3.4.

500 ml brown European bottle. No freshness date seen, but it has a set of cryptic notches in the front label, at the bottom. Poured out a deep mahogany color, almost a dark caramel of sorts. Aromas are of coffee, toffee, slightly roasted malts, yeast, and caramel. It has a decent, but short lived tan colored head to it. It slid back to a generous lacing down the sides of my wheat beer glass. Tastes are of roasted malts, espresso notes, sweet caramel, and some English toffee. Medium mouthfeel coats the tongue well, but it’s not sweet or cloying. Some alcohol notes in the middle, leading me to believe it’s in the 6% ABV range. Dry finish to this beer, with little or no hops presence. Slightly bitter from the malts, not the hops. A really well made dunkel, in my opinion.

Well decided to try a dunkel tonight. Nice reddish brown with a thin head. Brown sugar and nutmeg aroma, sweet palate. Simple beer but quite tasty.

Molasses and heavily roasted malt aroma, which approaches that of dog food. Very clear brown, with a thick light tan head. Very malty and kibbly flavor. Probably good with stew, but just a bit too similar to Alpo.

Dark ruby color with a medium fading off white head. Aroma is light malt and a little nuttty. Flavor is toffee like with a hint of coffee. Finish is slightly dry and the palate a bit thin. Not bad, not great.

Bottled, standard Euro-1/2liter, thanks Sammy. hard pour reveals a lovely ruby red dark lager complete with fluffy mocha cap and beautiful lacing. Well carbonated. Smells of burt treacle over ripe fruit. Front end is dominated with huge chewy malts wonderful decernment of coffee and sweet roasty bready malts...dried fruit notes like dates..finish is prolonged where the toasty sweety malt and dried fruit tastes converge into a coffee and toasted raisin bread flavor which slowly dries under the influence of the herbal-woodsy hops catching up on the palate in this malt pronounced, hop attenuated dunkel. This is dark lager as it should be...pretty much as close as you’ll get to sex in a lager glass.

Solid Dunkel from Ayinger, of course I was pretty sure it would be since they have yet to let me down. Aroma has a warming buttery, smokey, milk chocolate thing going on with a good bread quality. Dark brown pour with a thick creamy lasting head, and good lacing. Filling and silky to the palate, this drinks with great ease. Very tasty with numerous layers of flavor. Fresh buttered bread and burnt molasses, chocolate malt, red grapes and over ripened bananas. Top notch lager.