Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel

Brewed by Brauerei Aying
Style: Dunkel/Tmavý
Aying, Germany

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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Excellent aroma, but disappointing head. Not as good as their other offerings, but a solid effort nonetheless. One gets spoiled after having their Celebrator Doppelbock.

Tap at ayingers, munchen. Clear reddish brown color, small white head. Aroma of suryp, sweetness, roasted malts, some smoke. Balanced smooth taste, hops, roasty, smoke.

In Ayingers Speis und Trank.
Appearance: Clear, dark brown. Some tan head. Aroma: Dark malt, some dark fruit. Taste: More dark malt, still nice balance. Some sweetness. Info: 500ml draught, 6/4-2013

Bottle, 5%. Clear dark brown with small beige head. Aroma is malt, caramel, nut, chocolate and hop. Flavour is malt, caramel, nut, chocolate, hop, bread, medium sweet and a little bitter.

Bottle. Clear dark brown with a tan head. Aroma is light roast mat. Flavour is light caramel, sweet with a powdered bitter nut finish.

Dark copper. Solid dunkel. Easy to drink. Roasted with some sweetness. Some slight hop finish. Good lasting flavor. Easy to drink but nice flavors. Great exams of a roasted type lager. Spring and fall works best for this one. Great for style

500 ml bottle poured into pint glass. Appearance is dark ruby/brown with very thin off-white head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is rich toffee and caramel with a slight plum scent as well. Taste is similar, though less strong and with a distinct lager taste. Smooth, lightly carbonated feel. I was expecting a bit more chocolate, but otherwise about what I expected. A good, though somewhat weak, beer.

Pours a very dark amber with a thin but lastin head. Light aroma of dark malt and bread. Nice taste of pure malt and a little caramel. Nice palate of pure malt due to being a lager

Bottled. Pours clear deep amber to brown with a medium sized off-white head. Aroma of slightly roasted malt, bread, nuts and caramel. Sweet flavor that ends up with with bitter notes. Medium bodied, oily texture and soft CO2. A very drinkable and pleasant dunkel. ★★★

I poured a 500ml bottle into a large mug. There was no freshness date.

Appearance: Very dark amber to brown proper hue. Translucent with carbonation visible. Forms a small, off-white, soapy head that mostly evaporates and doesn’t lace the glass much.

Smell: Lightly sweet scent of confectionery flavors of toffee and caramel while still giving off a distinct lager aroma.

Taste: I have to admit I didn’t have high hopes for Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel. Most German beers are pretty old by the time they reach America and buying one at the beer store is a gamble since many sit there for months on end. Since this isn’t a generic pale lager I hoped the distinction would at least make it decent, if not good, but it wound up being very good. I can’t believe there’s this much flavor in this beer. It’s the palate most Oktoberfestbiers are supposed to have but don’t - a sweet, smooth flavor caramel and toffee that’s not cloying or off-balanced.

You might almost call this an English brown ale in lager form. Plenty of caramel, candied apple, milk chocolate and roasted nuts throughout the palate. A slight increase in bitterness at the peak of the swig, but it quickly reverts back to its sweet malty base. I may even detect some smokiness in here as well. One of the most pleasantly surprising beers I’ve had in a long time (thanks to whoever recommended I review it!).

Drinkability: I compared the taste to that of a brown ale, but Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel also drinks like an ale. The mouthfeel is a bit on the thinner, bubblier side, but nothing spastic. It has a comfortable mouthfeel and a super smooth finish. It’s quite refreshing while in the mouth and leaves an almost completely clean aftertaste. At only 5% ABV it’s extremely efficient for its size and also versatile since it could work in pretty much any scenario involving beer.