It’s no secret
that I have a fondness for German beer. Of course, it’s no secret that I
have a fondness for beer, period. But that’s beside the point. Among all
those great German beers out there (at least those shipped over here to
America), I’d have to say that one of my favorites would be those from the
Ayinger brewery. And why not? Ayinger brews some really great beers, and
many thanks go to Merchant Du Vin importing for getting them here.
The Ayinger brewery is located just outside of Munich, in Bavaria, and as a
result you can expect lots of Bavarian favorites from them. They produce one
of the best examples of a
dunkel that you’ll
ever taste, and of course exceptional wheat beers too, a
dark and a paler
hefeweizen. You can’t go wrong with any of these beers, and at about $3 a
bottle they’re a good deal, too.
Ayinger beer has a long history, too long to recount here. If you’re
interested, you can get the full scoop at http://www.ayinger-bier.de/history_sub.html.
We’ll wait for you while you read.
Ah, welcome back. We trust you’ve learned a bit about this excellent German
brewery and the wonderful beers they produce. But the proof is in the
pudding, as they say, and so it is with beer, too. So the best research you
can do is to actually go out and try some Ayinger beer for yourself. And one
of the best places to start is with a bottle of Ayinger Jahrhundert.
Quite literally, Jahrhundert means “year hundred”, and is meant to celebrate
the brewery's hundredth birthday. Here in the United States, that may seem
like a long time (Anheuser Busch is just a little older). But in Germany, a
brewery of 100 years age is just a spring chicken, as my beloved grandmother
used to say.
Ayinger says they wanted Jahrhundert to be a beer that accents malt, and
they succeeded, I think. They call the beer “Helles Exportbier”, or light
export beer. When Germans talk about light beer, of course, they mean in
color, not calories. Here’s what I think of the beer.
Ayinger Jahrhundert pours to a vibrant yellow blonde color with a
towering, prodigious head of rocky, cauliflower foam and an intensely fresh
malt nose. The palate is immediately malty, hitting you with wonderfully
bready, slightly nutty but amazingly soft fresh malt flavors. It’s like
chewing a handful of pale pilsner malt if you’ve ever done that. If you
haven’t, I suggest you get down to the local homebrew shop or brewpub and
try it.
I let my bottle warm to about 60 degrees or so to fully appreciate all the
delicate flavors going on here, and that allowed the delightfully minty-grassy
hop finish to more completely emerge.
Ayinger Jahrhundert has the wonderfully soft maltiness of a Munich Helles.
But it also has a bit more hop oomph in the finish. It’s absolutely
delightful, and won’t scare you away if you’re a craft beer newbie. Still,
the delicate malt and hop balance is enough to satisfy an old warhorse like
me, too.
It doesn’t get much better than this, people.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For
reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.