Style: Doppelbock
Brewery: Brauhaus Riegele
Origin: Germany
Size: 33cl
Alcohol: 7.5%
Price: 25kr
Systembolaget: 10744
This isn’t my first Oktoberfest themed beer tasting I have held, but I always end up with one problem: there is so much lager! In a tasting, I like to vary the flavours as much as possible, going from big hoppy IPA to dark and heavy stouts. When doing an Oktoberfest tasting though, you need to focus on lagers which can all be rather similar unless you find the right range. That is why I was glad when I found this dunkel. Meaning dark in German, this beer is indeed at the darker end of the lager spectrum. It is completely different from the festbier we had tried earlier in the tasting, and so I hoped it would give a new angle on the genre to some people who might not have tried this style before.
This beer was ruby red to chocolate brown with a long-lasting off-white head. The aroma was sweet, with some lovely syrup, sultana and leather aromas all escaping the glass which when combined smelt delightful. The body was rather sticky and really stuck to the lips and tongue even after swallowing. The taste was a sweet blend of dark malt bread, syrup, prunes and even hints of milk chocolate buried towards the end of each sip. The aftertaste was substantial and lingered on the palate with a pleasant sweetness for a long time.
This was a real delight, it must be said! I had never tried before and went into tasting it blind, but I was extremely happy with this beer! Big fruity, sweet flavours and aromas worked beautifully together to create a dark and well-balanced beer experience. This is highly recommended if you’re a fan of stouts and would like to try something in a different genre for a change.