Bayernbiere Bought and Drunk

Discussion in 'Germany' started by boddhitree, Dec 15, 2012.

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  1. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Matt,

    Will you provide us with a tasting report?

    Cheers!

    Jack
     
  2. Gutes_Bier

    Gutes_Bier Maven (1,339) Jul 31, 2011 Germany

    Delicious!
     
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  3. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Short and sweet! You da man!!

    Tony (@boddhitree ) generously brought me a bottle of Andechs Dunkel when he visited last year. I too thought the beer was "delicious".

    Cheers to Andechs Dunke!
     
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  4. Domingo

    Domingo Grand Pooh-Bah (4,206) Apr 23, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society

    The Andechs dunkel is one of my favorites, too. It's up there with Ayinger and Augustiner as my favorite Munich-style dunkels.
    I'm always surprised they don't showcase it more. At the abbey, they only seem to serve it at the small biergarten on the way up the hill. My two go-to grocery store beer aisles don't carry it either. Granted, all of their beers are pretty great, but that one seems be their forgotten flagship.
     
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  5. Gutes_Bier

    Gutes_Bier Maven (1,339) Jul 31, 2011 Germany

    Kneitinger's Dunkel and Eck Bräu's Wllderer Dunkel are probably my top two (not necessarily in that order). The Andechs was Delicious! but to me there are some better choices. Might be one of the better dunkels I can find without mail-order, though.
     
  6. Domingo

    Domingo Grand Pooh-Bah (4,206) Apr 23, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Never had either of those, but I'll seek 'em out next time I'm over that way...or if I see them on my shelves over here.
     
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  7. Gutes_Bier

    Gutes_Bier Maven (1,339) Jul 31, 2011 Germany

    I don't think you'll see them on the shelves in the US but by all means, please let us know if you do! Kneitinger is in Regensburg and Eck is in a small town (Böbrach) over in eastern Bavaria, near the Czech border. Both delicious. I had to order both by mail here in HD, though, and I'm not sure how available they are outside of their respective home towns.
     
  8. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I say that about all of the Munich Dunkel. On my first trip to Munich it seemed to be in every other Maß I saw filled. Wish I saw more of it exported.
     
  9. Domingo

    Domingo Grand Pooh-Bah (4,206) Apr 23, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I definitely agree. Even over the course of 10 years it seems up and down in my visits to Munich. I saw a lot of it on my first few trips, but there was a period where it seemed to be dying out. However last year I saw it everywhere I went. Hopefully it's making a resurgence of sorts.
    In terms of exports, there definitely aren't many. I see the Ayinger and Weltenburger 1/2L bottles and the HB 6-packs, but that's about it. Spaten launched theirs a few years ago, but I haven't seen it a while. I'm always surprised the bigger players like Paulaner and H-P don't send theirs. I trust them thanks to their brown bottles and dating systems.
     
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  10. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I hear you. I see the HB six-packs (maybe even Augustiner now and again) too, but it seems like they price themselves into shelf life oblivion.

    I tried the Spaten when it first came out here (I see it over the border in Wisconsin more now than I do here in Illinois), but it sure seemed pretty thin compared to what I had in Munich.

    Capital makes a Dunkel, but I can never seem to find fresh 6 packs, Sprecher's Black Bavarian is good, but it's more roasty, Northern Bavarian-like than smoother, sweeter Munich-like.
     
  11. grantcty

    grantcty Pundit (952) Feb 17, 2008 Minnesota
    Trader

    H-P sends their dunkel over here, but kegs only. There's a couple of German restaurants here in the Twin Cities that have it on tap most, if not all, of the time.
     
  12. Domingo

    Domingo Grand Pooh-Bah (4,206) Apr 23, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Out here I’ve been pretty lucky with the HB 6-packs, but the green glass still isn’t ideal. That one funky bottle or two can ruin your affinity for a beer forever. In the case of Augustiner, I won’t touch ‘em. After getting a 6-pack that tasted like skunks died in the bottles, I’ll probably never buy them again in Denver.

    We get Sprecher out here, but they’re shelf turds for sure. I bet we still have some day 1 (2011) bottles from them on certain shelves, so I rarely buy anything from them…even if they really do fine work. IMO, Black Bavarian is pretty close to the Bamberg schwarz/dunkel beers from places like Klosterbrau and Fassla. It’s drier and roastier than the Munich dunkels, so it scratches a slightly different itch. It IS good, though.

    I have encountered the Paulaner Dunkel on tap a time or two out here, but calling it uncommon is an understatement. I’m surprised they don’t send bottles, but I’m guessing they figure that they won’t sell. I believe H-P might send draft, too. I think the importer is in Littleton, so one of these days I should investigate.
     
  13. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Exactly. It holds a warm spot for me because it was one of the first micro-brewed beers I ever got to try -- long about 1986!
    There just aren't as many German places with beer on tap around here like there used to be, I need to head into Chicago* or Milwaukee proper to find them. Might be worth it to see what Dunkels I can find… of course, I have the feeling I'd see more Warsteiner Dark than anything. :rolling_eyes:

    *I just remembered that there's a new HB affiliate restaurant just outside Chicago -- I need to try it and they might just have a Dunkel vom Faß.
     
  14. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Sly Fox makes a tasty Dunkel and they can that beer:

    I had a chance to drink the Victory Dunkel last evening at the Victory Brewpub. That was a very tasty Dunkel. It is a shame that this beer is draft only and only available at limited locations (I have only seen it at the Victory Brewpub).

    Jim (@Starkbier), any consideration to package the Dunkel as a seasonal beer? Maybe in 22 ounce bottles akin to Mad King’s Weiss?

    Cheers!
     
  15. steveh

    steveh Grand Pooh-Bah (4,030) Oct 8, 2003 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society

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  16. Starkbier

    Starkbier Initiate (0) Sep 19, 2002 Maryland

    This is one of our favorites, I personally (with my best buddies) finished two half barrels and now have a sixtel on tap at home. Ultimate session bier. Ron and Bill are pretty fond of it too. We did package cases of this for many years back in the day, but it never moved well enough to stay in rotation. Perhaps another try someday?
     
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  17. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    “Perhaps another try someday?” Boy, I hope so.

    IMHO, that beer is a definition of süffig! With the aid of @Bierman9 I learned how to properly pronounce that word!:slight_smile:

    Cheers to Bierman9!
     
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  18. spartan1979

    spartan1979 Pundit (946) Dec 29, 2005 Missouri

    A couple of bars around here have had HB Dunkel on tap. I find it hard to pass up when I find it. Another bar has the Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel on tap but I haven't made it over there yet, maybe this weekend.
     
  19. Gutes_Bier

    Gutes_Bier Maven (1,339) Jul 31, 2011 Germany

    Last night I had the Kloster Andechs Vollbier Hell. I actually went to the Getränkemarkt looking for Schlenkerla's Märzen but they were sold out so I went with the Andechs Hell. Good weather for it, too, it's getting pretty hot over here. In fact, that's one of the reasons for the terrible picture - all of our shades are down so as to block out the sun. I guess I could have turned a light on, though.

    [​IMG]

    500 ml bottle x2 poured into a 1L Maßrug. Best before of xx.10.2014 (I forget, and I recycled the bottle)

    Appearance: Photo notwithstanding, this beer looks great. Golden body, nice towering head, streaming carbonation from beginning to end. Real nice.
    Aroma: White bread, in a good way.
    Taste: Fantastic. Delicious! even.
    Mouthfeel: ? Normal.
    Overall: Very, very nice Helles Lagerbier. Would recommend.

    4.00/5.00
     
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  20. Domingo

    Domingo Grand Pooh-Bah (4,206) Apr 23, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Not sure when they changed their branding slightly, but I used to think that the Andechs Hell was the most inconsistent beer in the Munich area. I kept thinking that sometimes it was super-malty and other times more crackery.
    ...then I discovered that they have both the Spezial Hell and the Vollbier Hell.
    I don't believe they used to have the word "Vollbier" on the label and I didn't know the difference anyway. Not sure if it's always this way, but the Vollbier is typically on tap on their Munich city outlets (like Am Dom and the Petersplatz cafe) while the Spezial is on at the Kloster.
     
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