A dunkel from MUNICH!

I saw this little Leckerli (that's tasty treat in Deutsche) at Quarters as I stressed over a beer purchase. The problem with doing this blog is that I am trying to choose things I haven't had before, but that's increasingly difficult because there is so much to pick from. But, when I saw the Spaten Dunkel...from MUNICH!!!, I knew I had found my beer for the day (ah, and past that day...yeah...)

This dunkel beer was a opaque dark auburn color with minimal head. The beer was a bit sweeter than I expected, with some sweet malt, banana, hints of fruit scents and flavors. There was a nice woody/earthy taste at the end, which finished off the beer pretty well. The medium body was nice, smooth and not overly heavy or robust. It's a very fitting representation of a dunkel style beer and I would definitely pick it up again. This is very easy to drink, good ABV (5.50%) and flavorful. So, if you're in the market for a good German beer, give this one a try.

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 -dark auburn color, opaque but not cloudy, minimal head
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - sweet malt, banana, some fruit, very fitting for dunkel beer
Taste - 3.5/5.0 - malty, some banana flavor, medium body, solid malty aftertaste, woody taste at end
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - smooth, not overly robust, some aftertaste but flavorful
Drinkability - 4.5/5.0 - ach ja, baby. Definitely

Spaten Oktoberfest, baby!

One of these days I'm going to go to Germany during Oktoberfest. Unfortunately, my life is dictated by an October 15th deadline, so maybe I just need to go on the 16th. Anyway, I've had a few Spaten beers and figured if there was one that they would get right, it would be the Oktoberfest one.

I had this beer twice - Zinc down in Nob Hill and at Fat Squirrel in Rio Rancho. Be warned - the Zinc one wasn't all that good. Go for Fat Squirrel.

This beer really hit the spot with some Jagersnitzel. The light orange color was appropriate for the season. There is some definite malt flavor and smell in here. The brew has a little bit of an apple cider crispness to it, which was nice. A pretty smooth beer, can't say that I noticed any aftertaste at all. If you were having a Oktoberfest (or any fiesta for that matter), this beer would likely go over very well with a mixed crowd.

Appearance - 3.0/5.0 - light pumpkin color (orange, with hint of red) transparent
Smell - 3.5/5.0 - malty with sweet afterscent, almost apple cider-esqe, little head
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - malt with bit of sweetness, really smooth with little aftertaste, bready
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - extremely smooth, little to no aftertaste
Drinkability - 3.5/5.0 - would be good for mixed crowd, balanced and enjoyable

Spaten Optimator

I had noticed that my samplings of late have been leaning to the light to red spectrum of beer and I have been neglecting good old fashioned dark beer. And in the interest of equal opportunity drinking, here is the first of many dark beer reviews. Today's beer - the Spaten Optimator comes at the recommendation of Brian in Colorado - so if you end up trying this at my recommendation, then I blame him.

Through the wonders of Facebook, I was able to get a few dark beer suggestions. Unfortunately, when I went to the Wyoming & Montgomery Quarters, the Spaten was the only one I could find (no worries though, I've got a few other places to check out for the other beers). I found this very unassuming six-pack in the German "fridge zone". This little gem comes from MUNICH, Germany (I do enjoy loudly saying MUNICH in a German accent...don't ask me why), so I knew this was REAL beer.

This brew was extremely good - there is almost velvetly chocolate taste to it with a nice hit of hops and malt. You get a hint of bitter aftertaste, but nothing that sticks with you for a long time. Not a wimpy beer by any means, as there is a really nice robust body to the beer itself. Even being a burly beer, it didn't knock you on your butt as you drink it. I had my lovely wife Tina try the Optimator to see what she thought. Tina isn't really a dark beer fan, and she enjoyed it, which is saying something. German brewing (engineering, efficiency, etc...) is some of the best in the world, so I can see how it was easy to sway the uninitiated.

What I didn't realize until after I had consumed two of these bad boys is that the Optimator has a 7.2% ABV. Looking back, it makes more sense that the still hot oil from my car didn't really bother my hand as I was changing the oil on the Tahoe.

The only negative against the Optimator is the price - $9 for the six pack, but given the quality of the beer, I think the extra $1/$1.50 was worth it. I would definitely get this beer again.

Check out the Spaten website, for some more details on the various beers they produce, including some wonderful health tips regarding beer.

Today's tip: Beer is rich in important vitamins - most are delivered to you by the beer's yeast. Vitamins B1, B2, and B6 and H contained in beer are food for the nerves: They improve your ability to concentrate, support the production of red blood cells, have a positive effect on your blood circulation and stimulate your metabolism.

So drink up! Get those vitamins in a much more fun way than popping a pill!