Cheat sheet for Ayinger, Altbairisch Dunkel. Information on hops used and flavours to expect, recommended serving temperature and chilling time, and food pairing ideas. Plus information on Ayinger and where to go to learn more about this beer.
Feeling Fruity? How to Tell a Kölsch From a Lager
There are many lookalike beers that can be hard to tell apart. Any number of similarly dark brews can give you pause for thought – mild and porter, schwarzbier and black IPA – but it’s the yellow fizzies that can prove especially challenging. They can bamboozle the attentive drinker even when you’ve moved past your visual assessment to the aroma …
Ayinger Celebrator and Roast Chicken: a Fantastic Match
We had a mini Christmas lunch of sorts, on the day before Christmas Eve. And because we were in a celebratory mood we didn’t skimp on trimmings. We piled them high: pigs in blankets, bread sauce, sage and onion stuffing, roast potatoes and parsnips, glazed carrots, broccoli, and of course the gravy. Proper gravy, not a granule in sight. I …
What to expect from… a Kölsch
Kölsch is a bit of an inbetweener. It’s an ale that thinks its a lager – or maybe that’s the other way around. Expect brilliant clarity, a golden colour and a creamy white head. So far so lager, right? But when you smell it you should find some fruitiness there. It’s brewed with an ale yeast and has the characteristic …
What to expect from… a Rauchbier
Smoky beers are pretty unusual these days. However before 1700 or so they would have been much more common. So what changed? It’s all to do with the malt and how it’s dried. The smoke aroma comes from the wood used to kiln the malt. Before the invention of direct-fire kilns all malt would either have been smoky or air-dried. …
Oktoberfest beer: what to expect
It’s that time of year again: the summer’s over, the harvest is coming in (barley and hops included) and Oktoberfest is on the horizon. Don’t be fooled by the name though, it actually begins in mid-September and runs until early October. You should see Oktoberfest beers appear around the same time. You can probably find them year-round if you hunt …