Bürgerbräu Wolnzacher (Nikolausbier) Altfränkisches Dunkel

Brewed by Bürgerbräu Wolnzach
Style: Dunkel
Wolnzach, Germany

Reddish amber, very cloudy. The head that forms a top of it looks like the top of the rocky mountains, in the clouds mind you. Intricately fruity nose surprises me because of its syrupy edge that I somehow associate with a purple aroma, some flower I’m not familiar with. The fruit top ground is sleeping in a yeast pillow, it might be old for it shows more musty character than I’d expected even from such a yeasty line. Light caramel and damp earth catch into the floral hallertau to bring out weird oregano and grapes flavours, branches included, pretty vegetal in fact. The first thing I think of when sipping (and it might be pure hazard with this beer) is blood oranges. Growing on you tart character, earthy, dry and fruity, a few grapes were left in the old attic of the country house you just bought. Apples, pears, cherries etc. Fun beer, I want more by the end of the glass. Fairly light bodied still, though fully carbonated. One of those mysterious beers that I’d need to have 2-3 of before figuring out how I feel about them. Is this really brewed with regards to the 1516 purity law?

Pours a murky dark orange body with lots of floaties and a thick diminishing rocky offwhite head. Aroma of spices and fruits. Flavor of spices (pepper) and citrus and yeast, it’s acid too, the hops are excellent. Light to medium body, dry mouthfeel, soft carbonation.

Cool cloudy brown pour with a thin white head. Nose had caramel, chocolate and possibly citrus hops. Quite hoppy. The taste was quite enjoyable but a bit too sweet at the end. There was some white wine which worked well. The palate was very creamy and my favorite part of the beer.

Pours a medium brown and mostly clear with a good head. Aroma is sweet and caramelly with hints of chocolate and some earthy/spicy hops. Flavor is lots of caramel chocolate and backed by some hops. Overall I think there was too much of a caramel sweetness (maybe from too much munich?) but it was pretty good. Ayinger albairisch dunkel was more enjoyable and a better representation of the style.

Bottle
Subtle toffee and aromatic hop aroma. Crimsom coloring and a creamy tanned head. Honeyish malt, roasted chocolaty notes blanketaed with a herbal and flowery hop profile. Medium to light body, sparkly mouthfeel. Nice, must be really good fresh.

Bottle. Deep russet color. Nice off-white head, minimal lacing. Aroma is fruity, malty, toffee. Hints of hops in aroma. Body is medium, smooth mouthfeel. Taste is malty, good carbonation levels. Hops are peppery, not overdone, but present. Very pleasant beer.

On tap at the Anam Cara. I’m not well versed in this style, but from what I’ve had this is a solid version. Light toffee and smokiness in the aroma. Medium body, velvety head and smoothness; quite a bit of chocolate milk in the flavor, firm malts, dry finish.

2004 bottle (I presume). I was reading style guidelines and usual characteristics of dunkels before trying this (having not had too many of the style). It surprised me how well this seemed to fit the style; almost exactly. Medium brown color, nice and cloudy from the bottle conditioning. Some light auburns and dull copper tones in there as well. Head was small and mostly fleeting but present: a light beige color. Aroma has toffee, sweet nuttiness and hints of caramel and yeast. Little hops in the aroma. Flavor is wonderful. Starts out with a big caramel malt mixed in with the lager yeast that is lightly pungent, and adds great complexity without getting dominant. Hops surprisingly do make an appearance, probably from the freshness of this beer; they are lightly spicy and a bit astringent. The chocolate characteristics present are more of a rich milky/caramelly chocolate, not much cocoa at all. The body is medium and the palate has a bit of a zip to it (could be a bit more smooth, but that’s a bottle conditioned lager, I guess). Wonderful beer, this brewery is outstanding. It could use a bit less hops though.