Hofbräu München brewery (Munich, Germany)
( https://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/en/welcome.html )
"In honor of Beer Day in Germany...."
For most of us in the U.S. , what we think of when we think of beer started here, with German and German-inspired lagers. The Reinheitsgebot established in 1516 in Bavaria codified beer as water, malt, hops, and yeast, and the most popular beer style in the world are lagers, developed by storing (lagering) beer in cool caves, and the unique strains of yeast that work best in that environment.
The Hofbrauhaus in Munich has been serving their version of these beers since 1589, and in its current location somewhat later. They may be responsible for preventing the sack of Munich when, in 1632, when King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden invaded Bavaria during the Thirty Years' War, he threatened to sack and burn the entire city of Munich. He agreed to leave the city in peace if the citizens surrendered some hostages, and 600,000 barrels of Hofbräuhaus beer......
After WWII, when GIs came home with mugs bearing the HB logo, demand increased internationally, and today we find scions of the Hofbrauhaus in cities across the globe, and their beers widely imported and available in the U.S.
When last I visited my local Binny's Beverage Depot, I wanted some good "table beers" and grabbed a sixer of Hofbrau Dunkel, and made one of these the subject of this evening's BOTD in honor of German Beer day, a sentiment I suspect even Gustavus Adolphus would have understood, particularly since Dunkel is reported by HB itself as their first beer style brewed.
5.5% ABV
Poured from a bottle into a pilsner glass, this beer pours clear, dark brown, with a firm and prominent light tan head. The aroma is of malt as you expect from a Dunkel (meaning, simply, "dark" in German) It is light-bodies, the flavor is full of more caramel-ly malt than a Hofbrau Original (lager) which paired better with the stronger flavors of my grilled Pizza Burger. It is slightly sweet with a modestly bitter finish. This is a baseline beer for the style, other beers claiming to be a Munich Dunkel are judged in comparison to this. Great with a meal or to enjoy on a fine spring day, and low enough gravity to have more than one.
My Rating: 3.75 / 5
Untappd: 3.33 / 5
Oans, Zwei, Drei, G'suffa!
Prost!
Disclaimer: I am anything but impartial. I have visited the original Hofbrauhaus in Munch, and their satellite locations in 3 cities in the US. I enjoy their products wherever I find them!
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