Becher-Bräu Mann’s Bräu Dunkel
Brewery: Becher-Bräu
Town: Bayreuth
Style: Dunkles
Color: deep chestnut
Head: off white, rocky
Nose: some chocolate, faint hops
Body: medium
Palate: hoppy for style, ample malt for balance, touch of chocolate
Finish: long, semi-dry, bittersweet
Served: on tap at the brewery
Impression: I had this beer for the first time many years ago on a brief visit to Bayreuth. The brewpub is a bit out of the center but we’d walked out, mostly to have this dark beer. We started with their unfiltered Pils and when I asked about the Dunkles, it was only available in bottles. I got one and it was great. When we ordered another for my wife, she said mine was the last bottle. It took many years to get back and this time it was on tap. It’s a chestnut beauty with an ample head and a hint of chocolate in the nose. It’s quite hoppy for the style out front but the chocolate malt kicks in to balance things out. The hops return in the dryish bittersweet finish. It’s quite nice. I got a six-pack to go and it’s now labeled as Mann’s Bräu Dunkel but on reading up on it, this was a brewery back in the 70s and Becher-Bräu has opened a pub in town and calls it Mann’s Bräu. I’m not sure if it’s the location of the old brewpub or not. At any rate, they brew the beer at Becher-Bräu for the pub. I found the bottled version to be less hoppy and hence a touch less dry but it was still a very nice Dunkles. It’s nice to have a location in the center which has not only the Dunkles on tap but also the other Becher-Bräu products.
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