Let’s start with the White Ales. A classic example hailing from Canada: Unibroue’s Blanche de Chambly (90 points) is a benchmark for the style. Frothy and quenching with a finish that will keep you coming back, it is an excellent beer to session with after some good old-fashioned manual labor. If you were planning on having a snack with this one, try some goat’s cheese. Take it a step further with brown butter-seared scallops. Another notable entry would be the Issaquah Brewhouse White Frog Ale (88 points). Try some ginger-spiced shrimp with this one.

Hefeweizen is always welcome during the warmer months and you’re sure to see many fans quaffing tall glasses of this ale into the warmth of early fall. The low hop content and moderate alcohol make it very drinkable and the same characteristics make it an excellent match with lighter fair, such as seafood or chicken.

Privatebrauerei Aying produces their Bräu-Weisse (97 points). If you are new to the style, this is an excellent example to try. If you want to go the traditional route, pair this brew with some warm pretzels and weisswurst. Feeling experimental? Grill up some fatty fish and garnish with capers and lemon slices. This is a great way to refuel and replenish the system. Other excellent examples of the style included Grieskirchner Weisse (91 points), Brooklyn’s Brooklyner Weisse (89 points), and Burleigh Brewing Co.’s Burleigh Hefeweizen (85 points)―all excellent summer refreshers.

Flavored wheat ales are common in the market these days, with a myriad of flavors to be found. Samuel Adams Blackberry Wit (90 points) is a fun one. Think berry farm-fresh flavors with a clean finish, a great brew to treat yourself to after the meal, or just to whet your whistle. Breckenridge’s Agave Wheat Ale (90 points) was definitely an intriguing entry, well–balanced and quenching. Some fish tacos are in order here. Lastly, Maui Brewing’s Mana Wheat (86 points) is one to seek out; it’s brewed with Maui Gold pineapple and highly refreshing. Try this one with some roast pork sandwiches.

Hope this helps inspire some creative ways to reward your buddies for their hard work. Thanks again to all of the participation breweries and judges for their efforts. One last note, always lift with your legs! Cheers!

Plenty of new styles of ale have been showing up on the scene recently. Barrel aged ales, wildly fermented ales and a myriad of hop-bombs to entice the beer hunters out there. Experimental styles seem to generating a lot of intrigue, but for flavor and balance, be sure to stop by and give your old friends, the lagers, a visit once in a while.

Here are a few to revisit or try the next time you’re in the mood for a crisp, clean quaff. As far as pale lagers go, treat yourself to the Imperial Lager (91 points) from Lion Brewery Ceylon in Sri Lanka. An incredible lager to spend some time enjoying, considering its ABV weighs in at 8.8 percent. To amp it up a bit, invite some of your favorite curry dishes to the party. If the occasion is game day, and you need a great session brew to pair nicely with some homemade chili, try the lager from River Horse Brewery Lager in New Jersey (87 points).

Many brands these days are calling themselves pilsners. It is, after all, the most widely replicated style. Buyer beware: many in reality are watered down versions of the classic. Here are a few that will give a taste of true pilsner perfection. Zatec Bright Lager (90 points) from the Czech Republic, the home of pilsner, is highly drinkable and well balanced. Germany’s Paulaner Brauerei (88 points) brews another fine example of the style. Even Scotland has shown us an interesting take from the Atlas Brewery: Latitude Highland Pilsner (90 points) is soft on the palate and highly thirst quenching. Try any of these brews with some encased meats and hard cheeses at your next session with friends.

When fall rolls around, many breweries offer fine examples of malty Oktoberfest beers to grace the autumnal celebrations. From Germany, try Hofbrähaus München Oktoberfest (92 points) or Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest (90 points) as benchmarks for the style. Upland Brewing’s Oktoberfest Bavarian-Style Lager (84 points) from Indiana is a great example of the influence the classics have had on an American brewer: a big, roasty malt bomb with some warming qualities as well. Wash down some roasted chicken or pork with some spätzle on the side with any of these fest beers.

Dark lagers, or dunkels are personal favorite. Hirter Morchl from Austria (96 points), with its perfect balance, is a must-try for any fan of the style. Hofbrähaus München Dunkel (93 points) is also welcome to the session. If you are in the mood to seek out a domestic example, definitely keep your eyes open for Bastone Brewery’s Munich Dunkel Lager from Michigan (90 points): you will be rewarded with excellence. Try a dunkel with a liverwurst sandwich if you’re feeling adventurous.

Lastly, explore the doppelbocks, the dark and mischievous side of the lager coin. Salvator Doppelbock from Paulaner (93 points) was my introduction to the style many years ago and still a personal favorite. For a fun combo, pairing try it first with some braised pork-belly and then, for dessert, some crème brûlée: you’ll experience just how dynamic and complex this beer style really is.

A handful of classics and a few interpretations of the various styles rounded out this last World Beer Championships. Many thanks to the brewers and judges who participated in such an extraordinary event. Cheers!

Plenty of new styles of ale have been showing up on the scene recently. Barrel aged ales, wildly fermented ales and a myriad of hop-bombs to entice the beer hunters out there. Experimental styles seem to generating a lot of intrigue, but for flavor and balance, be sure to stop by and give your old friends, the lagers, a visit once in a while.

Here are a few to revisit or try the next time you’re in the mood for a crisp, clean quaff. As far as pale lagers go, treat yourself to the Imperial Lager (91 points) from Lion Brewery Ceylon in Sri Lanka. An incredible lager to spend some time enjoying, considering its ABV weighs in at 8.8 percent. To amp it up a bit, invite some of your favorite curry dishes to the party. If the occasion is game day, and you need a great session brew to pair nicely with some homemade chili, try the lager from River Horse Brewery Lager in New Jersey (87 points).

Many brands these days are calling themselves pilsners. It is, after all, the most widely replicated style. Buyer beware: many in reality are watered down versions of the classic. Here are a few that will give a taste of true pilsner perfection. Zatec Bright Lager (90 points) from the Czech Republic, the home of pilsner, is highly drinkable and well balanced. Germany’s Paulaner Brauerei (88 points) brews another fine example of the style. Even Scotland has shown us an interesting take from the Atlas Brewery: Latitude Highland Pilsner (90 points) is soft on the palate and highly thirst quenching. Try any of these brews with some encased meats and hard cheeses at your next session with friends.

When fall rolls around, many breweries offer fine examples of malty Oktoberfest beers to grace the autumnal celebrations. From Germany, try Hofbrähaus München Oktoberfest (92 points) or Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest (90 points) as benchmarks for the style. Upland Brewing’s Oktoberfest Bavarian-Style Lager (84 points) from Indiana is a great example of the influence the classics have had on an American brewer: a big, roasty malt bomb with some warming qualities as well. Wash down some roasted chicken or pork with some spätzle on the side with any of these fest beers.

Dark lagers, or dunkels are personal favorite. Hirter Morchl from Austria (96 points), with its perfect balance, is a must-try for any fan of the style. Hofbrähaus München Dunkel (93 points) is also welcome to the session. If you are in the mood to seek out a domestic example, definitely keep your eyes open for Bastone Brewery’s Munich Dunkel Lager from Michigan (90 points): you will be rewarded with excellence. Try a dunkel with a liverwurst sandwich if you’re feeling adventurous.

Lastly, explore the doppelbocks, the dark and mischievous side of the lager coin. Salvator Doppelbock from Paulaner (93 points) was my introduction to the style many years ago and still a personal favorite. For a fun combo, pairing try it first with some braised pork-belly and then, for dessert, some crème brûlée: you’ll experience just how dynamic and complex this beer style really is.

A handful of classics and a few interpretations of the various styles rounded out this last World Beer Championships. Many thanks to the brewers and judges who participated in such an extraordinary event. Cheers!

Dark Horizons

Evidence of brewing in German goes back about 2,800 years, coincidentally to the area known as Franconia, in the north of Bavaria. Kulmbach, Franconia has the most traceable history, and the most traditional dark lagers, with documentation of monastic brewing there since 1349. This is not to say that the rest of Germany was a contemporary brewing wasteland: rather that the beers of Kulmbach were simply beter and more well-known. Other regions of Bavaria were prodigious in their own right, with mention of lagerbier in Munich brewing documents from the 1400s. But dunkel, as a distinct beer style, can be tracked to the 16th century, and is directly tied to the legendary Reinheitsgebot, the Bavarian Beer Purity Law of 1516.

The law was decreed by the Wittelsbachs, who ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918, and besides being royalty, were also brewers and held an omnipotent hand in much of the commercial decisions in the region during their lengthy reign. As much as the validity of the Reinheitsgetbot may be debated today, it was at the time an important protective verdict that ensured the purity and safety of not only the product, but also protected the livelihood of the farmers and brewers in Bavaria at the time. In essence, it inadvertently mandated the refinement of the local product by stating that beer could be made only with barley, hops and water (and later yeast, which was thought to be the wand of Providence).

As the local beer was dark, and lagering practices were already in place in chilly grottos of the hillsides, dunkel brewing flourished and improved. Add to this the notion of terroir as it related to hops and barley, a landlocked and somewhat isolated location relative to great exporters like the British, and local malting techniques, and one can see how a style took its intuitive identity. Germany was well ahead of the proverbial curve as far as hop cultivation and utilization was concerned, further adding to the distillation of design.

Dark Circles

Dunkel would not move towards its present form until three centuries post-Reinheitsgebot, when several innovations and one peripatetic visionary, Gabriel Sedlmayr II, brought the style into the modern world. An indirect-heat malt kiln, similar to a coffee roaster, was invented that early in the 19th century. It afforded entire control over the color and properties of the primary brewing component, malt. Having traveled to Britain and seeing the possibilities of this contraption and its ability to create pale, uniform malt, Sedlmayr extrapolated that he could still produce his dark, base malt but with even greater precision. That malt today is known as Munich malt and that which gives dunkel its profile; all of the color and character without the spurious smoky flavors of yore.

Sedlmayr, a member of the venerable brewing family that had recently taken over operations at Spaten, was a student of all things beer. He took a particular interest in the emerging science of yeast microbiology and cultivation, yet another arrow in his legendary quiver that helped delineate his brews even more. This technological convergence culminated with the invention of refrigeration, making lagerbier brewing a year-round, entirely controllable endeavor.

Munich dunkel enjoyed great popularity until the end of the 19th century, when some of the market gave way to paler beers. Many of these pale beers, specifically Munich helles, were brewed alongside the ever-popular dunkel, and as a result, may have ushered in, or at least popularized, the notion of multi-style brewing at a given brewery. Festbiers, pilsner and bock followed at many of them. Even in light of the movement towards pale beers over a hundred years ago, dunkel was unassuming and appealing enough to keep the interest of beer drinkers. That alone should be proof enough of its charm.

Dark Art

The soul of a dunkel, maybe more than any other beer, comes from its heavy reliance on a single malt. As stated earlier, it is a product of precise kilning, and one that was used in Munich to preserve the anachronistic quality of the brew. Even before the drum kiln was invented, beers were often made from a single batch of malt (directly heated, with wood or coal as the fuel). While this is not uncommon today, the difference lies in the control, and desired consistency and subtleties imparted therein. An ancient batch of malt would be smoky, probably harsh and a bit inconsistent. The modern kiln allowed degrees of malt to be made that would produce distinct beers that bear the name of the malt itself (pilsner, Vienna, pale ale and of course, Munich), but each successive dark malt would be much different than the other and could be used alone to produce each beer. The length and intensity of the kilning determines the final color, but also introduces a continuum of reactions that further resolves the unique profile.

As Munich is the darkest of the lot, it would differ the most from the original pale malt. This is especially true because of reactions that form melanoidins, a combination of protein and carbohydrate, and is responsible for the intense malty flavors and aromas. The result is a base grain that is less fermentable and therefore more full-bodied or dextrinous, but also an opulent one, full of malty, toffeeish, bready and caramelized notes in both the palate and nose, a deep brown color tinted with garnet and ruby and soft, supple contours.

A dunkel could be made exclusively of a dark version of Munich malt, as the beers of Sedlmayr were, to showcase the vast complexity that a single component can lend to a brew. Many are augmented with some caramel malt, or softened with Pilsner malt, but nonetheless a great dunkel gets by primarily with its bill of Munich malt. Such is the art of producing a beer and, in this case, creating a single descriptive, formulative entity as a means to the end. Brilliance in simplicity. All of these traits may be even more accentuated if the brewer employs decoction mashing.

Dunkels are hopped with reserve, though a hint of noble German hops should be evident, to display the malty platform on which this brew performs. Dunkels are rounded out with a cool fermentation and long cold-conditioning period typical of all lagers, lending a smooth, soft character without the brusque edge typical of many dark beers. Modest in strength, at around 5 percent ABV, dunkels can be considered a session beer and one that offers more than many others.

For a dark brew, Munich dunkel is satisfying across a broad spectrum of whims. Expectedly, they are rich, yet not heavy. Surprisingly, they finish with a quenching crispness. Moreover, the paradox of complexity from simplicity is apparent from aroma to finish, a manifestation of malting artistry and understated panache. It is a beer appropriate enough for the languid days of summer or the cuddle of winter.

Dunkel History

Before modern brewing, as we know it, beer was made primarily to preserve and sanitize water, as a legitimate foodstuff for sustenance, and as a way to store grain. We’ll assume that the inebriating side effects were very much desired also. Most brews were dark and turbid in appearance, and rather sketchy in consistency, given the poor understanding and control of the brewing process.

Some settlements, however, were quite adept at making consistent, appetizing beers, and monasteries were among those establishments that gained some brewing notoriety. The skilled craftsmen of the monasteries located throughout Europe developed localized, stylistic beers. Those in Bavaria especially became known for their reddish-brown, malty lagers, which were often referred to rotbier (red beer).

Most of the significant changes in brewing technology occurred in the early part of the 19th century. Indirect heating of green malt became the norm and resulted in very pale malt with none of the smoky residues of previous maltings. Hydrometers and thermometers were invented which allowed control over mashing and wort production. Many centuries of misunderstood yeast behavior came into focus through breakthroughs in microbiology and a shift in scientific dogma. The result: light golden, crystal clear beer that was the same from batch to batch. This nouveau sparkling beer was impressive, especially when drunk from the newly available glass drinking ware. The pale beer craze swept through Europe and many cities in this period developed their signature pale beers. including London, Vienna, Dortmund, Plzen, and Munich.

The controlled malting contributed another significant breakthrough to beer production. The pale malt could be further heated beyond normal temperatures to produce a vast range of malts from dark gold to black in color. The dunkel brewers of Bavaria could still make their darker malts without compromising the fermentability, and without the smokiness previously produced by drying the malt over open fires. The additional toasting of the malt gave the grains a great depth of character. Today, this malt is known simply as Munich malt. It comes in various color degrees and is used as the primary malt in today’s dunkels. Its character is very much in evidence in each sip of these luscious nectars.