Brewery: Andechs

Brewery Location: Andechs, Germany

Alcohol: 7.1%

This is simply my favorite beer in Germany. I love thicker, darker, stronger beers, and this hits every spot.

Sometimes the Reinheitsgebot (German Beer Purity Law) can be annoying, as I feel that it limits innovation and the amount of styles of beer, but then I will drink one of these on special occasions and get reminded of the silver lining to the rule.

A sharp eye might notice that this is the same glass that I use in almost all of my beer reviews done from my house. You might also notice that it itself is indeed an Andechs glass. Instead of returning it to the booth at the Cologne beer festival a couple years ago, I pocketed a couple, and almost every beer I drink is in one of these glasses.

Sight: A dark, thick, caramel color lets in a bit of light on the sides, but the heart of the beer can’t be seen through. A decent head slowly goes down, leaving a thin film.

Smell: A nice pleasing note of herbs and malt is met with this beer. Nothing too fancy, but enticing nevertheless.

Taste: Strong yet smooth. A mild toastiness to it, but packed with a strong, malty body that just excites my taste buds. I find that it also has the slightest salty tone to it. Sometimes it’s more pronounced, and I don’t know if that’s variations in brewing, or if it’s just my taste buds detecting it more or less with different bottles (on different days).