Old Dunkel

Tasting session 36

Beer 1 Choices: British Brown Ale, International Dark Lager, Belgian Dubbel, Munich Dunkel

Beer 2 Choices: American Stout, Foreign Extra Stout, American Porter, Baltic Porter

Beer 3 Choices: British Brown Ale, Wee Heavy, Belgian Dubbel, Doppelbock

Score: 3/3

Beer 1 things to look for:

British Brown Ale: esters, UK malt/hops

International Dark Lager: thin body, clean yeast, neutral profile

Belgian Dubbel: phenols, esters, high carbonation/attenuation

Munich Dunkel: Maillard brownage, dry

Notes:

This was more challenging than I expected; 4 dark beers and none that should exhibit roastiness (except for Intl Dark Lagers, which may have very low amounts). There weren’t any detectable yeast phenols, so I felt confident eliminating Dubbel. I wasn’t picking up fruity esters either, and that combined with a lack of nutty/toffee malt notes made me confident in eliminating British Brown. My thought after my first sniff was that this smelled like an old Dunkel. A taste test confirmed this- I was getting some of that Maillard brownage and no chocolate, roast, or caramel. However, it was slightly oxidized/stale, and some richness had fallen off.

This shook me up, as the guidelines for the exam state that the differentiation between Dunkel and International Dark Lagers is that Intl Dark Lagers have “less flavor and richness than Munich Dunkel”. Not very helpful, but I think the idea is similar to Helles vs American Lager- a similar balance and theme, with the American Lager being the mass-market/burn-and-turn version like International Dark Lagers. I went with Dunkel because even though it lacked depth and punchiness, the dark malt character was shouting Maillard brownage and not brown sugar, caramel, chocolate, or roast. 

Beer 2 things to look for:

American Stout: burnt, US hops/bitterness, high bitterness

Irish Extra Stout: burnt, diacetyl? esters?

American Porter: roastiness, US hops/bitterness

Baltic Porter: roasted, esters, booze

Notes:

I think I’m extra sensitive to diacetyl because the overwhelming smell of fake butter hit me before my nose was in the glass. Right away I was pretty sure it was Foreign Extra Stout for this reason. To be sure, I tasted for the level of roast, which was in espresso/burnt territory. This made me confident in eliminating both Porters, which should be roasty but not burnt. American beers usually pride themselves on “clean” or “neutral” yeast profiles, so diacetyl was very out of place. In addition, I wasn’t picking up any US hop aroma/flavor (pine/cannabis/grapefruit) which would certainly be present in American Stouts, so I went with Foreign Extra. 

Beer 3 things to look for:

British Brown Ale: esters, UK malt/hops

Wee Heavy: sweet, esters, thick body, not bitter

Belgian Dubbel: phenols, high carbonation/attenuation

Doppelbock: dry, some bitterness, clean yeast

 Notes:

A swirl and sniff gave this one away- tons of foam formed and notes of star anise, allspice, sage, fenugreek, and dried plums hit me. I was pretty sure it was a Dubbel as it was the only style listed with spicy yeast phenols and lots of carbonation. Doppelbocks are lagers and don’t have esters or phenols, and the beer was dry with very little residual sweetness (Wee Heavy is very sweet). There was ester character shared with that in a British Brown, but the spices were out of place for that style. So with that, I chose the yummy Dubbel. [Note: not all British Browns have prominent esters, like Newcastle for example.]