Kuchlbauer Alte Liebe Dunkle Weisse Beer Review

Alte Liebe Dunkle Weisse

Review Date 1/5/2024 By John Staradumsky

For Christmas of 2015, my wife bought me a really cool present: BeerAdvent Calendar 2015 froman Kalea. In truth, my wife got me a lot of nice presents (she’s the best wife ever), but the nice thing about the Beer Advent Calendar is you get it early. You have to, since it’s comprised of 24 different imported Germbeers in a box with little doors that you open, one per day from December 1^st through December 24^th. All of the beers are listed on the side of the carton, however, so be careful not to look and spoil the daily surprises!

I love German beer more than beer from any other country on Earth, so this was definitely right up my alley. My one criticism of the calendar is there are not enough bocks and doppelbocks (not fair!), but otherwise it’s just an amazing way to sample 24 German beers I’ve never seen before. I get mine at Costco here in Georgia and pay on average $59.95 for the box. That might sound steep, but when you distribute that price over 24 different half liter cans, it only works out to $2.50 per can. Not a bad deal at all looked at that way.

First week of September 2023 arrived, and that means I am out there at Costco weekly looking for my beloved Kalea Advent calendars. I didn't see them (and of course buy one) until September 24th, but I gleefully placed one in my shopping cart when I did. The price this year was stable from last year at $69.99 and I think that is a bargain honestly. $2.92 per can is still a bargain for beers from small German brewers I might never otherwise get to enjoy, that includes new beers and one I have had before and get to enjoy again.

On December 18th, I opened my Day Eighteen door and found another prize I had been really looking forward to: Kuchlbauer Alte Liebe Dunkle Weisse! I am no stranger to Kuchlbauer's fine beers, having enjoyed their Turm Weisse the year before from the 2022 calendar. Long before that, going back to at least 1997, I enjoyed their wonderful Aloysius Weizenbock. So I was excited to try Alte Liebe, which is German for "old love". As it turned out, I loved more than the beer. For 2023 I decided to do something I had never done before, and searched Ebay for beer glasses that matched a few of the beers in my calendar. Inititally, I scored a Kuchlbauer weissbier glass, but then I got an exact hit: a beautiful Alte Liebe glass. Like the beer, it quickly became an old love of mine.

Time to update on the distribution of styles received in the calendars over the years, including this Dunkleweisse/Dunkelweizen:

Dortmunder 8 4%
Munich Helles 51 24%
Oktoberfest 35 17%
Munich Dunkles 11 5%
Hefeweizen 12 6%
Dunkelweizen 14 7%
Zwickl/Kellerbier 12 6%
Kristalweizen 3 1%
Pilsner 21 10%
Bock 2 1%
IPA 5 2%
Doppelbock 5 2%
Maibock 3 1%
Pale Ale 7 3%
Weizenbock 5 2%
Vienna Lager 3 1%
Imperial Pilsner 4 2%
Steinbier 1 1%
Stout 4 2%
Rauchbier 4 2%

My can of Alte Liebe Dunkle Weisse boasts nine generations of operation of the brewery by the same family. That is indeed something to brag about.

Kuchlbauer Alte Liebe Dunkle Weisse has an alcohol content of 5.2% by volume according to my can. Ingredients on the can are listed as water, barley malt, yeast, and hops. My can is stamped EXP 2025/03.

Kuchlbauer Alte Liebe Dunkle Weisse pours to a murky, very dark brown color with a thick towering creamy tan head of foam and a nose of dark cookie malts and bananas. Taking a step, the beer is medium in body, appropriate to the style. It's chocolate chip cookie nutty, with a hint of banana and clove and smoke. It finishes tart dry and wheaty and very refreshing indeed.

I’m greatly enjoying my 9th annual Beer Advent Calendar with the day 18 beer. Here’s looking forward to the remaining 6, and another assortment of 24 in 2024. We’ll be on the lookout next year at Costco, and following the beers on their Facebook page.

The beers of the 2023 Beer Advent Calendar:

Day 1 Falter Export Hell

Day 2 Kauzle Helles Lager

Day 3 Kurpfalz Brau Kellerbier

Day 4 Graminger Kirta Dunkles Weissbier

Day 5 Erl Brau Erlkönig Hell

Day 6 Hösl Märzenbier

Day 7 Bambule Pilsner

Day 8 Landgang Helle Aufregnung

Day 9 Propeller Bier Turbo Prop Pilsner

Day 10 Gmoastier Weisser Bock

Day 11 Flötzinger Hell