dunkel

When brewing a dark beer, you can dig deep into your bag of tricks: many industrial breweries use dark beer syrup to give their brew a deliciously dark color. This trick saves them time, money and effort.

The traditional Rittmayer brewery from Hallerndorf clearly distances itself from such practices. Good things take time — that also applies to beer. The brewers spare no expense or effort to brew the best possible beer for their customers. Taste and quality have top priority. In the case of their dark beer, that means they go the long way instead of dark ale syrup and similar shortcuts. The use of hand-picked dark and roasted malts gives the beer its beautiful color and also provides a wonderfully full-bodied, spicy taste.

The Schönramer Dunkel flows into the glass in the natural color of strongly roasted grain and shines magnificently copper when the light hits it. An ivory-colored head of foam sits enthroned on the clear body and smells sensually of rye bread toasted in the oven, fine dark chocolate and freshly brewed filter coffee. In the drink, the beer resembles the olfactory first impression: Crispy bread makes the beginning, before notes of chocolate, liquorice and vanilla are gradually added. The hops act as a balancing force and give the aromas a restrained bitterness.