Beer Advent Calendar - December 5th

Today, things continue trending upwards with a rich Dunkel. "Dunkel" is German for "dark", but that doesn't mean we're talking about a stout. German dark beers usually fall in a range between an amber or porter.

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

_{The streets of Fürstenwalde}

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.

_{Bridge over Fürstenwalde Spree river}

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}

_{Previous Advent Calendar entries: Intro - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4}