Ayinger Celebrator

[PseudoChef]

No new thread, and I'm ready to sample:

Aroma: Smells strongly of sweet, dark malt. Caramel, toffee, and fig aromas all blend wonderfully. Hints of chocolate. No hop bitterness or evidence of defects. God, this smells fantastic.

Appearance: Uncapped with phenomenal release of CO2, poured into a snifter with a dominant creamy head that soon faded to lacing on the circumference of the glass. Very dark brown, I'd say around 18-20 SRM. Crimson hues when held to the light.

Taste: I could tell from the smell that this was going to be sweet. Dark fruits (plum?) meld well with the aforementioned fig. Malty sweetness, but a shade under cloying. Hops mildly evident in taste, enough to lend balance to the incredible sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Remarkably dry. If this beer were any less attenuated, it would be both too sweet and have a coating, chewy mouthfeel. However, that's not the case. Quite quaffable, actually.

Overall Impression: Leave it to the experts. This beer is done well, I need to try more dopplebocks! There's no date on the bottle or box, but I'm impressed with how this has made the shipping journey. I'd love to try some fresh. I will drink this again, and I will...because they only sold it in 4-packs!

Excellent, excellent beer.

 

[Brewsmith]

You beat me to it.

My bottle is in the fridge right now. Tasting to follow soon.

This will be the official Ayinger Celebrator tasting thread. Just in case you need to see the bottle...

And just as a random fact, Jamil Zainasheff keeps the little plastic goat from the bottle on his brewing rig.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I have a couple souvenir goats hanging around my place also...

 

[Brewsmith]

Aroma - Sweet, malty, a little earthiness - oxidation?

Appearance - Dark brown, with dark ruby highligts, light tan, dense head, coats glass.

Taste - Intense malt flavor, burnt caramel flavors, dark fruits - prune. Sweet, but not cloying. No hop flavor or perceived bitterness

Mouthfeel - Full bodied, finishes dry. Thick and rich

Overall - A big rich beer full of complex malt flavors. Easy drinking for it's strength. My bottle may have a little oxidation going on, more apparent in the aroma than anything. Still a very nice beer.

 

[FlyGuy]

Oh man I love that beer. But sometimes hard to find here in Calgary, and ridiculously expensive (about $17 for four bottles, IIRC).

 

[Jesse17]

Couldn't get it here.

Infact after looking at the list, I don't think I'll be able to get many if any of the beers planned.

Oh well. Homebrew here I come.

 

[the_bird]

This is such an awesome beer, I've got a few kicking around, I'll do a write-up tomorrow night. But really, one of my all-time faves.

 

[Brew-boy]

I bought it just for the little goats, I was hoping some of JZ vodoo would rub off on me.

 

[Poindexter]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=579093&postcount=6

 

[Professor Frink]

It really is a phenomenal beer, I had a goat or two hanging from my taps.

 

[TexLaw]

I couldn't believe it, but I actually had to go to a couple stores to find Celebrator. However, it seemed like a worthy quest, and of course it was. This is usually my favorite commercial doppelbock, and here are some of the reasons why:

Aroma: Rich dark and Munich malt with mild toasty and caramel notes and even milder dark chocolate. Melanoidins present and slightly metallic – kettle product, like a well seasoned griddle, but not burnt. No hops. No obvious esters, but prune overtones suggest some esters are present, although mild fruitiness could me due to ethanol and dark malts. No

Appearance: Deep bronze, with ruby highlights. Clear. Poured creamy, tan head

Flavor: Rich, complex malt flavors with obvious toasty melanoidins providing further depth. Prune flavors moderate, with bitter chocolate evident later. Alcohol is mild but smooth and quite strong in finish at first. While the alcohol in the finish is smooth, it actually is so strong to become a bit solventy and almost off-putting and a bit bitter. Thank goodness, that mellows as I get through tbe beer. Bitterness is present, but only balancing the malt through most of the flavor. However, the bitterness does dominate the finish, which is fairly dry and clean.

Mouthfeel: Full body fluffled a bit by moderate carbonation. Mild alcohol warmth in mouth and throat. No astringency, diacetyl, or other off sensations. Smooth amd somewhat velvety.

Overall Impression: Good doppelbock, but the strong alcohol character actually turns me off a bit. The label says 6.7% ABV, but the flavor suggests otherwise. The maltiness is wonderful, but I almost dreaded that solventy wallop at the end. I do not recall that other times I’ve had Celebrator, so maybe we just got a bad batch or 4-pack, as it was also in SWMBO’s beer. In any case, it mellowed with a little time.

Packaging: I don’t normally remark much about packaging, but I do love Celebrator’s. The fairly intricate label always is fun to look at. I often wonder whether those two billy goats are propping the beer up for me or clawing to get at it for themselves. Also, the odd little billy goat bauble that adorns each bottleneck is just fun without seeming pretentious or gimmicky. I often end up wearing them. When I came home from a Foam Rangers meeting with a half-dozen of the things strung around my head, SWMBO knew I had a good time.


TL