New Old Lompoc C69 Munich Brown

Brewed by New Old Lompoc Brewery
Style: Dunkel
Portland, Oregon USA

A very dark lager, that is still session to me and quite good. The malt flavors are spicy and a bit sweet, but not enough to ruin the lager base.

<b>15-Sep-08</b> <i>(22-oz bottle with a brewery-printed competition label only: Free sample bottle for stewarding the 2008 World Beer Cup in San Diego, CA)</i> Entered into the Aged Beer (18A) category, this category requires that entries are aged from 12-24 months (but not wood or barrel aged), so figure this bottle has seen a minimum of 18 months of aging. What? Aging a German-style dunkel? You bet, this beer is fantastic! The chocolaty, earthy, woody, and lightly smoky nose is very compelling and certainly demonstrates the characteristics of an aged dark beer. On the palate, the beer is very malty and moderately sweet, featuring dark toast, chocolate, mild roast, and lots of rich earth and decaying wood, with a mild campfire smokiness in the finish. Medium-full bodied and softly carbonated, and despite the sweetness, the beer still finishes relatively dry. Chestnut brown in color with ruby highlights and perfect clarity, capped by half an inch of fine, dark-tan foam stand. Retention is good, slowly settling to and holding a thin, nearly complete layer. Some spotty and patchy lacing remains on the glass. As a fan of cellared beers, this is a real beauty. It didn’t medal, but it was up against stiff competition like vintage Old Numbskull (which won the gold).

On tap at the brewpub. 69 Munich Lager Deep chestnut brown with tan head that leaves spots of clingy lace. Sweet marshmallow, banana and smells of toffee and marzipan. Sweet & roasty, soft & creamy with a touch of spice. Lots of caramel but excellent lager-like subtleness. Smooth and creamy, but not as easy to drink as lighter versions.

Draught at Horse Brass Tavern. Nice malty aroma. Dark brown with white head. Malty flavour with a bit of toast and a balanced hop finish. A very worthy example of a dunkel I wish they bottled it.