king dark lager

runes · Post by **runes** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 6:58 pm

picked a 6 up today.

quite impressed. while lagers aren't usually my style (outside of typical german lagers/bocks etc) i rather enjoyed it. if i didn't have to lug it from hte other end of town (they don't have it at the lcbo near me) i might consider buying it more often. it was a toss up between this and nuestadt springs dark ale, which i had before and liked, so i opted for the new beer.

very very drinkable, a little short on flavour and kind of sweet, but super drinkable.

pootz · Post by **pootz** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 8:19 am

Phil makes this dunkel in the Bohemian mashing style with double decocring the mash...top flight malts...45 days in cold conditioning. In Ontario here you have the choice between 2 great micro dunkels. King's and Denison's.

Between them they cover the difference between the Munich style dunkel and the type brewed in the smaller Bavarian towns and Bohemian region.

The King dunkel is rich and balanced with accents on the bready-toasty decocted malts then the finish dries up with some pearle and Hallertau hopping with a dry biscuity snap in the finish...an example of the bohemian style dunkels.

By Contrast Denisons is a straight ahead Munich dunkel that tends to be slightly sweeter than King with a warmer toasty-malty finish...a perfect reproduction of the style. Unfortunately Denison's is not available in bottles so you have to find a GTA oasis with their tap handle. Both dunkels are better on tap anyway...fresher more flavorful.

Phil has been musing about releasing the odd kraeusened keg of King dunkel unfiltered...sort of a zwickel dunkler...having tasted the King dunkel unfiltered from the fermenter, I look forward to that development.

At any rate you should understand that all craft lagers in the German style are not huge micro mega beers, so it is incorrect to make comparisons.....Munich lagers like Dunkel, viennas/ambers, marzen, helles, keller etc. are malt accented and the craft of the malter is put on display by the brewer....who showcases these great Munich malts with recipes and processes that put the beer's malt blending out front in the flavour profile and frame it with noble hops . The hopping will be more herbal and woody than bitter...the concept is that Lagers have a subtle complexity and rounded mellow drinkability which is a wonderful thing to behold once you realize what to look for....and the key factor with lagers is they must be sampled fresh to capture and appreciate the subtle complexity. The malts will vary from toasty, bready to lightly sweet bundt cake to dry biscuits....always framed by those wonderful herbal-woody noble hops.

So I think it's a little misguided to say a dunkel ( or any craft lager) is "short on flavor" unless it has gone stale on the shelf....or is being compared to something it is not.

Remember that German lagers are the "working man's beer" meant to be consumed regularly, in qualtity and with all meals....the character the lagering process puts forth is good flavor to enhance foods, or to drink alone, combined with the mellow drinkability demanded by an every day beer.

Wheatsheaf · Post by **Wheatsheaf** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 12:47 pm

pootz wrote:....and the key factor with lagers is they must be sampled fresh to capture and appreciate the subtle complexity.

How does King set their best before dates? Six weeks after bottling? Three months?

runes · Post by **runes** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:53 pm

yes, perhaps short on flavour was the wrong term. i think i was just unsure of what to expect out of a dunkel, and was going in with more of a bock like expectations- a bit higher on the malt.

dennison's sounds to me like it would be a bit more up my alley.

pootz · Post by **pootz** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 6:36 pm

Wheatsheaf wrote:
pootz wrote:....and the key factor with lagers is they must be sampled fresh to capture and appreciate the subtle complexity.
How does King set their best before dates? Six weeks after bottling? Three months?

There's a code penned on the boxes but damned if I know how to decipher it....it's still hit and miss at the LCBO unless you know someone there who can tell you how old the shipment is ( it's always delivered within a day or so of bottling)

I Can't speak for the research Phil has done but personally I have found if the bottled product is kept cool ( too cold is bad as well as it starts protien hazing) it will stay fairly fresh for 60 or more days before flavor declines...if at room temp...6 weeks is pushing it. although they say things have improved.

...bear in mind these best before estimations of mine do not denote that the beer has gone off...only that some flavor drops out of it...but this is pretty common with all malt unpasturized lagers. I look for it on tap and there's no issue with freshness.

I see it is now available at TBS so there may be better results buying it there being kept cold an all.

pootz · Post by **pootz** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 6:44 pm

runes wrote:yes, perhaps short on flavour was the wrong term. i think i was just unsure of what to expect out of a dunkel, and was going in with more of a bock like expectations- a bit higher on the malt.

dennison's sounds to me like it would be a bit more up my alley.

If you laike a malty bock-like dunkel too bad you can't get Paddock Wood Black Cat here...damn fine dunkel.

If you have a friend in Sask or AB matbe you can get them to send you a couple

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:08 pm

The King is king. Really good. Buy very fresh as I did get a stale lot once.

old faithful · Post by **old faithful** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:51 pm

Excellent product, I prefer it generally on draft.

Gary