Irseer: Kloster-Urdunkel (Germany: Dunkel: 5.6% ABV)
Visual: Dark cherry touched brown. A beige touched large frothy bubbled head that leaves lots of suds. Some evident carbonation.
Nose: Dry roasted peanuts. Light chalk touch. Malt chocolate drinks. Crushed bourbon biscuits.
Body: Light cherry. Malt chocolate drinks. Light touch of liquorice. Toffee and caramel. Light wet wood. Light minerally water. Milky chocolate. Bready.
Finish: Brown sugar. Marzipan touch. Caramel biscuits. Tannins touch. Light black pepper. Milky chocolate. Cold wet stone. Bready.
Conclusion: I’m not sure which element does it, but this feels a touch more gripping than the average dunkel, more bready early on, with a kind of minerally note over time. It feels like they have filtered less out. I mean the bottle does say unfiltered so yeah guessing that is at least part of it, but unsure if it the only part responsible. Still, more evidence for my preference of unfiltered in general.
Any which way, this beer gives more grip for a nice malt chocolate to milky chocolate main body. Not super sweet, it feels not exactly dry, but just attenuated enough, but does leave room for sweeter flavours to express themselves.
That is also why the bready, minerally extra notes work so well. They are savoury contrast which makes the beer more long term drinkable rather than an instant hit and then more wearing over time.
Around that is light peppery notes, tannins and similar, just a bit extra, giving some range but nothing too heavy in this area.
That extra grip, extra bittiness is the key, giving clearer sweet notes without being sickly, clearer bready mineral backing. Everything just feels expressed that little bit better than normal for a very drinkable dunkel.
Background: Another brewery I don’t know much about, grabbed to try from Independent Spirit’s semi regular new big batches of German beers. While a lot of imported beers from other countries are much harder to get these days than pre Brexit and in craft beer peak popularity, currently this is the most German breweries I think I have ever had a chance to easily try. Googling, and auto translating their web site suggest they are an 800 year old monastery based brewery, which is always kind of cool. However I am relying on auto translate so take with a pinch of salt. Looks a darn pretty area, and they do brewery tours, if ever I am in the area may have to drop by. Music wise went again with Mallavora: What If Better Never Comes, very much digging that album.
