Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

the dating stuff is not put on exported beer for some reason.

although most german beer only has the best-by date and not the bottled-on date.
Most Hefeweizens usually get 9-12months after bottling+




























2üq#ä

 

Ayinger recently changed their labels, at least in these parts so I've used that as an informal date code. The diagonal bar was the old style, and the circular style is new. Jarhundert for $3-4 per bottle is a regular purchase for me.

 

I too am reticent in purchasing Ayinger bottled beer due to the lack of bottle dating. The vast majority of my Ayinger drinking experiences are via draft.

Cheers!

 

Fastenbier showed up here today. $4.59 per bottle. I reserved 4 bottles from a local retailer. Unlike most limited releases, there doesn't seem to be a run on these.

 

Well, count my lucky stars, I stumbled across some Andechs Doppelbock recently, and, seriously, there are a lot of lucky stars to count, because this is an absolutely wonderful brew. Date code is L3013, which puts bottling near the end of Oct 2013. Not ideal, but I hadn't seen Andechs in quite a while, so I figured I'd give it a whirl.

Took me a minute to put my finger on what I was smelling in the nose, and then it came to me -- it was some caramel-laced chocolate I had recently, whose brand I can't remember. Maybe a little bit of nuttiness or spice thrown in there, but it's caramel chocolate through and through. Palate followed the nose, surprisingly sweet, though not in a cloying way, and with a certain richness that belied its fairly thin body. Said thinness wasn't a bad thing in the least -- if anything, it helped keep the brew from careening into a diabetes-induced coma. (I love a good, thickly rich brew as much as the next guy, but after a long day of work, sometimes you don't want to drink something that immediately puts you to sleep!) The finish was smooth and sweet, with notes of dusty cocoa and lingering traces of caramel.

There were moments when the body of the beer almost felt on the verge of being too watery, almost unable to carry the decadence, but it somehow held on, and I can't help but wonder how a fresh bottle would compare. Either way, this is a tremendous brew, and it has me salivating indeed to try out other German doppelbocks available in my area (Celebrator, Optimator, Salvator, Korbinian, etc.) Cheers, my friends!

 

Lucky!

I went to revisit this one and discovered most of the Andech's at my store were a year old. Bummer.

 

They did have the Vollbier with the same date code (Oct 13), and in that instance I just couldn't pull the trigger. Figured the Doppelbock had a better chance of surviving that long and, sure enough, it did so splendidly. If you've got that available, give it a go!

 

I had high expectations for the Vollbier, but it fell pretty flat. Sort'a thin and weak in flavor -- and it had a good date. Your choice on the Doppelbock was a good one.

 

Not sure about that choice of glassware, though.

 

Really? When Andechs first hit here I had the Vollbier and it ranks right up there as my favorite Helles....period.

Although, a few recent tries on draft in the last year have been mediocre. As with any import, it's a gamble even with a good date due to transport. And who knows what dates some of the kegs are at a bar.

 

Hahaha, as I've begun my German beer exploration, I've realized how terrifically lacking I am in proper German glassware! Of course, it appears Germany was the progenitor of the current US craft nerd obsession with glassware -- pils glasses, kölsch stanges, lager dimpled mugs and maßkrugs, willi bechers (a personal favorite we seem to have appropriated in US craft), pokals, and on it goes!

 

Not for me. Still like Weihenstephan Original, HB, and Ayinger Jahrhundert much better. They all have bigger body and more of that malt character I identify with Helles -- the Andechs was disappointing, especially after the Weizen and Doppel were so good.

 

My favorite for German beers too. The Imperial Pint you have looks like the one I have from the Libbey set of beer glasses, they have a great Becher in the set too; sturdy glasses and not as pricey as others.

I actually saw Metropolitan Brewing using the Pilsner glass in their videos about their beers.

 

In fairness, aside from Schlenkerla, I've never seen a dedicated "Dopplebock glass". I will sometimes use my Andechs "bock" steinkrug:

...but I don't really see it as a proper, dedicated Doppelbock glass, and for unfiltered lagers it has for all intents and purposes been replaced by my Spezial Keller steinkrug.

 

You never seen this?

Edit: I kinda like this one too, although it seems to be an older glass:

 

Good call. I lived in Heidelberg for four years and we had zero Ayinger distribution. Literally the first (and only) time I ever saw that glass was when I was visiting England.

 

Huh. That looks almost exactly like my footed pilsner glass:

 

As I said before, it could vary based on handling during travel. Ayinger Jahrhundert has been nothing but outstanding for me, both in bottle and draft.

I honestly can't recall too many times I've had Hofbrau since I was in Germany. Weihenstephan is a classic, had some that were only a few months old this past weekend. Did a side-by-side of Weihenstephan against Southern Tier's new Helles.....and I must say, it was fairly spot on. Give it a whirl if you see it in your area.

 

Southern Tier Where The Helles Summer? is a very tasty Helles beer.

Cheers!

 

Southern Tier is supposed to be available around here, but I haven't spotted it yet.