This week’s German Beer & Wine dinner will be an Oktoberfest for true aficionados. Featuring six courses of upscale German-style foods, that alone is enough to lure you aware from canned sauerkraut. But the five flights of beverage pairings will blow your mind.
Each flight will have a German-varietal wine and a beer from Aynger, a highly regarded brewery in Bavaria outside Munich, famous in “beer circles” for consistently taking highest awards in competition for each of their beers.
We are excited to be featuring these outstanding brews. The Ayinger Brewery (pronounced “ein ger”) has been owned and operated by the same family since 1878 and represents one of the most pleasant and interesting small breweries which are typical of Europe. In a land of wonderful breweries and a very competitive market, Ayinger is considered a benchmark of excellence. In recent years, Ayinger regularly places first in every category entered in the World Beer Championships; the brewery has gold medals from the Helsinki Beer Fest, the Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival, the Calagary Brewfest, and the Deutsche Landwirtschaftsgesellschaft (German Agricultural Society).
What follows are tasting notes and select accolades for the Ayinger beers that we’ll be pouring.
1st Course: Pretzels, Mustard, Sausage — Ayinger Bräu-Weisse (hefeweizen)
Pale color, tart in palate, “brut” beer with a delicious, inviting wheat body and elegant aroma. Finishes with a subtle spicy note.
93 points – First Place (tie): Wine Enthusiast Magazine “Wheat Beers,” June 2013, Platinum Medal and Top-Rated Hefeweizen– World Beer Championships 2001, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’10, 11
2nd Course: Wild Mushroom Soup, Bacon, Potatoes — Ayinger Jahrhundert-Bier (export style lager)
Golden, big herbaceous bouquet with a soft, medium body and a long lingering finish with dry hop tones. This light lager is a better complement to food than the higher hopped and more bitter pilsner style.
Gold Medal -World Beer Championships 2001, 03, 05, 07, 08, 11
3rd Course: Smoked Trout Roulade, Dumplings —Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen (Vienna/Märzen lager)
Rich, golden color. Slightly sweet, malty nose. Medium to big body and alcohol. Soft dryness from long maturation.
Top-Rated Märzen/Oktoberfest & 96 Points Ratebeer.com, Sept. ’13
Gold Medal “Top-Rated Märzen/Oktoberfest” – World Beer Championships 2012
Five out of Five Mugs – “Best of the fests.” Modern Brewery Age, Oct. ’11
4th Course: Duck, Braised Cabbage, Spaetzle — Ayinger Weizen-Bock (wheat bock)
Classic Bavarian weissebeer aroma suggesting spice and cloves; smooth body from wheat and from decoction mashing; extravagant, pinpoint conditioning. The flavor offers the essence of the wheat harvest, fresh-baked bread, maybe even – somehow – the sunshine of a fall afternoon. The finish is tropical fruit, cloves and banana
Ratebeer.com: 98 points (Sept. 2013)
Gold Medal – World Beer Championships 2010
5th Course: Chocolate Dessert — Ayinger Celebrator (double bock)
A rich, dark elixir with cascading layers of malt complexity balanced by elegant hops. Notes of toffee, caramel, elegant dark-malt roastiness, and pure malt. Pinpoint conditioning and semi-dry finish.
Ratebeer.com: 100 points (Sept. 2013)
Wine Enthusiast Magazine “Top 25 Beers of 2012”
“1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die,” selection, A. Tierney-Jones, 2010
You can find more details on the distributor’s webiste, MerchantduVin, as well.