Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel
Ayinger Privatbrauerei

 

 

 

0,5l at the brewpub/restaurant in the old town of Munich. Looks, smells, and tastes like a proper Munich Dunkel. Roasty malt, super drinkable, easy finish.

 

 

 

Clear, reddish brown body with a large beige head and good lacing. Nutty, sweet malt aroma along side caramel and toast. Malts hold the spotlight on the tastebuds. Notes of dark bread, toasted almonds and a hint of chocolate add to the depth' Smooth, medium-to-full bodied, modestly carbonated mouthfeel. Delicious.

1/29/23 On tap at Pies and Pints in Morgantown WV.

Aroma is slightly spicy and very definite tea!

It goes down with a nice carbonation tingle on the sides and tip of the tongue.

Flavors of tea, a hint of root beer, and roasty caramel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a bottle

Appearance - Pours a dark brown/amber body with a finger thick head that fades quickly to some very thin foam. Minimal lacing
Smell - Malty, Chocolate, caramel
Taste - Light smoke, malty, some dark fruits
Mouthfeel - Medium body, lighter carbonation.
Overall - Nice enjoyable smooth Dunkel.

 

 

 

 

 

bottle into glass
Creamy, thick and frothy, ivory head. Clear, medium dark orange/chestnut look. Sweet, spiced caramel and medium dark roasted malt aroma, the spice being a whiff of mace/clove essences. Smooth, ever so lightly sweet, caramel and medium toasted grains, with the slightest mace/clove essence, for the taste. Medium bodied and having a good caramelized roasted grain finish.

Pours clear, dark tan in color with one half inch head. Taste is dark bread and cola. Medium light body, moderate carbonation, slightly sweet. Delicious lager. Could drink this all day. Gotta drink the classics more often. One of my favorites in the style.

Deep amber/copper hue; beige head with good cap retention; heavy ring; spots of lace with agitation; excellent clarity. Fresh baked bread, toasted brown bread crust nose. Taste follows nose, malt forward; toffee; not sweet and no bitterness. Medium body; moderate minus carbonation; soft feel. Overall a very easy drinking lager with an almost nutty linger.

Ayinger 'Altbairisch Dunkel' @ 5.0% , served from a 500 ml bottle
A-pour is gold from the bottle to amber in the glass with ruby hues along the edge of stein with a large size fluffy off-white head leaving a spotty lace after every sip
S-hints of chocolate
T-dark malty beer
MF-ok carbonation , big medium body , filling heavy beer
Ov-best served with a good German meal , (Bratwurst , Rouladen , Sauerkraut , Schnitzel , Spaetzle)
prost LampertLand

 

A: Pours a dark ruby/brown color. A dense beige head forms, rising to over two fingers. Good retention and some lace left behind.
S: It takes a little bit to open up. Once this warms, all the baked bread goodness come out that I love. Soft brown bread, doughy malts. A bit of toffee in the nose as well. Wonderful.
T: Like the nose, that nuanced malt character is amazing. Its like walking into a bakery. Doughy malts, brown bread. Toffee, a bit of dark fruits, just enough earthy hops to balance.
M/O: A medium body, a moderate carbonation. Soft and velvety smooth. Finishes on a sweeter note, but not cloying at all. Downed in big gulps, and am wondering how I finished it so quickly. Looking for more.

This is one were it really helps to let this warm. As it opens up beautifully. As usually for Ayinger, the malt character is on another level. This is the first time I have seen this on the shelf around me, I don't know why this has been hiding from me, but I'll be searching it from now on.

 

Masterclass of malts.

 

Look: Rich mahogany brown and even my gentle pour brings on a nice, off-white head that holds at 1 finger and looks almost nitro-silky as it settles
Aroma: Fresh baked brown bread, lightly toasted grains, melanoidin, toffee, wafts of dark fruit, bread dough, and light earthiness
Taste: Bread, dough, and grains intermingle up front and develop depth as toffee and earthy notes begin to weave their way in and join. Toffee holds center stage in the middle and oddly, the carbonation seems to dominate the dark fruit notes as I’m not getting much of them in the taste
Mouthfeel: Full, pretty high carbonation, clean, and a spritzy finish
Overall: I dig it. This is a tasty Dunkel and one I haven’t had in a while so it was fun to revisit. However, I feel like the carbonation needs dialing back a tad unless I just had an older bottle as it cut into several subtleties that the nose was alluding to but that seemed to instead be smothered by the spritzy and spicy carbonation. Still pretty good though

 

Poured the color of strong tea and the light brown head was never more than a cm tall but for all the world the carbonation looked like I had just poured a Coke.
The aroma, as for most to my poor, damaged nose, was mild. Only impressions of malts made it through. (Hence I seldom mark higher or lower)
The taste was not what I was expecting. Certainly very tasty and had elements of a dunkels that I have had in the past, but far lighter in density of flavor (if that makes sense) Still, it was quite refreshing and served its purpose well.
The feel I was less than amazed by - it certainly wasn't bad, but I think maybe the bottle I had was either old or something as despite the cola looking carbonation there was almost no carbonation "bite" in this for me, which helps cut through the thirst, ya know?

 

0.5 L bottle
Bottle Date: L9136 => 16 May, 2019
Consumed on: 2022-jun-22
Glass: 0.5L Fest Mug
Pouring Temp: 48.7 F


Look:
Chestnut brown that is difficult, but not quite impossible to see through. I can vaguely see my fingers through the glass, especially when I hold the mug up to a light. The beige/light tan head is initially 2+ fingers (it fills the remainder of the glass) but quickly dissolves to a ring and a very thin cover. The lacing is decent.

Smell:
Rich dark malts. Lightly toasted dark bread. Semi-sweet or even milk chocolate that is a hint dry (like a chocolate powder).

Taste:
Follows the nose. There is an earthy note here. Also some metallic notes that tell me that this beer is showing its age (its bottle date is 37 months ago). A light bitterness and tartness can be found in the background. Each sip finishes somewhat dry and slightly bitter or astringent.

Feel:
Soft with the aforementioned slightly astringent finish. Medium body.

Overall:
A pretty solid and good Dunkel. Easy to drink and would go well with food, especially German food. Unfortunately, this bottle is a tad old, and is starting to show its age. This beer is better than what my rating indicates. I will re-review and update my rating(s) when I get a fresher bottle.

Appearance: Pours a clear, deep brown and amber color with a strong and creamy light tan head that sits for days. (4.25)

Aroma: Moderate aromas of rich dark bread, cocoa, toffee, caramel, and more bread notes with only a slight spice. (4.00)

Flavor: Strong flavors of toasted and roasted Munich malts giving flavors of dark breads, brown bread, black malt, some light tobacco notes, before a strong brown bread crust, sweet caramel malt finish. (4.25)

Feel: Medium-bodied. Moderate carbonation. Yet, a large, bready, mouthfeel. A silky, smooth and creamy finish. (3.75)

Compared to Hofbrau Dunkel 1/2023: Pours similar, similar aromas. More nuts, brown bread, chocolate. Less grains, flower, earthy Munich malt. More balanced here. Winner Ayinger.
3/2023: Pours similar, stronger head. More earthy grains, dark bread, chocolate, Less earthy honey, skunk, caramel. Dryer cleaner, and more complex

Compared to 608 Brewing Dunkel Dark Lager 3/2023: Pours lighter, similar head. Milder aromas. More earthy German yeast and bread. Less chocolate and grains. Dryer and cleaner with more carbonation.

Overall: This one just keeps getting better. The appearance was impressive. The nose was very nice and bready. Then on the flavor is when you really appreciate this one. It nails you with the deep and dark bready notes, cocoa, complex dark malt flavors, but goes back to the relying on the bread for the finish, without being too sweet. The complexity for 5% here is unparalleled. A top-notch dunkel and I've come to expect nothing less from this great brewery. (Rating: 4.23)

Date code: L1258 (Sep 15, 2021), so firmly in the "not-so-fresh" camp. Sad, but a fact of life for most European imports around here.

Clear dark amber-reddish-brown body. Moderately carbonated with small bubbles rising to a thick off-white 1 inch head from a gentle pour.

From the aroma I get caramel, toasted malts, and dark fruit.

The flavor starts with toasted bready malts and dark fruit from the aroma. Toffee. A bit of spice. It's light and yet malty. Malty and yet not overly sweet. Very well balanced and tasty. The finish is lightly bitter with a touch of astringency.

The body is moderate to thin.

Overall, a tasty, malty, and well balanced dunkel.