Beer Advent Calendar - December 5th
Altbayerisch Dunkel
The can design summons a traditional feel with the pattern of the Bavarian flag, horse and buggy, and a coat of arms. The brew pours a dark caramel color. A tan, thin head builds. I hear it whisper my name…
My taste buds are greeted with a rich sweetness followed by very mild hop bitterness to calm things down. There are a lot pleasant hints in the flavor profile: woodsy hops, roasted malt. The main character is definitely a heavy caramel, but unlike the previous beer in this series that claimed “dunkel”, this one does it right.
This beer’s very pleasant and appropriate for the cold, winter months. It coats your mouth and the carbonation is gentle. The finish leaves a lingering flavor of toast.
For whatever reason this brew brought up feelings of being around a campfire. Don’t ask how my mind works; there’s absolutely no smoked malt to suggest a campfire, but my mind takes me there anyway. I suppose it’s that comfortable feeling of finding a pocket of warmth to fight off the cold.
Fürstenwalde, Germany
Tracking down a brewer for this one was slightly difficult at the beginning. “Altbayrisch” just means “Old Bavarian,” in reference to the Bavarian purity laws established in 1516. “Der Bierkutscher” at the bottom of the can means “the beer coachman." The first thing I came across in my research was a Bierkutscher in Fürstenwalde that delivers this brew.
Fürstenwalde is a busy town in Brandenburg very close to Berlin. These “beer coachmen” are exactly what you might be thinking: all about home service. They deliver beer, water, and juice drinks in refillable glass bottles right to your doorstep, even without shipping charge.
Interestingly enough, der Bierkutscher Fürstenwalde only offers H. Egerer beers and the website design is nearly identical to Egerer's, except the logos. Egerer is located in Großköllnbach, Bavaria, but I wouldn't be surprised if they owned this Fürstenwalde delivery service as well.
Today’s brew can actually be found on Egerer’s website with a bottle label bearing the same design. However, the Holzknecht from the December 3rd post is not listed among their beers, so that brewer still remains a mystery.
Beer photographs by me. Pictures of Germany sources: 1 - 2
This is so clever. It gives you something to post about daily throughout Advent, and it’s also a nice service to the beer drinking community. 😁
Thanks Jayna! It's been an enjoyable project so far. Researching each brewery reveals interesting locations and little facts about Germany. By the time this series ends I'll be wanting to buy a plane ticket.
Me too!
Woo, nice writeup. I have not had a dunkel in a long time. It's a rare beer to find on tap, but it's so tasty.
You're right: everything on tap is better and you're not likely to find a dunkel served that way in the states. There's a great German pub in Seattle called Altstadt Bierhalle & Brathaus. They get kegs shipped from Germany and serve a decent selection of German brews on tap. Even in that case, there's always a larger selection of weisbeirs than dunkels; the lighter brews just seem more popular in Germany, I suppose.
Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to just light a fire and have a piece of toast?
Hah Bex, very funny. Where's the fun in that? That's one of the joys with beer and brewing: to grasp such an essence in liquid form. You know you've for a brewing nerd on your hands when someone starts talking about a beverage like this. Haha.