Export Dunkel (500ml, 5.4%)

Bit of a mystery beer, this one.

Their website is only in German, so no help there. Perhaps we can decipher the brewery’s name. ‘Gut’ is clearly ‘Good’, but ‘Forsting’.? The word is impervious to Google Translate and to my Collins Gem German Dictionary.

Another problem is that the bottle labels appear to have been applied by someone who has already drunk a crate of the stuff. Half of them don’t have labels at all.

This much I know: A dunkel is a German dark beer, as opposed to a hell or helles, which is pale.

There’s no sediment in this one, so the pour is simple, leaving a little head and a liquid that is very deep red rather than black.

A crisp smel008l of lager comes from the glass with an underpinning of roasted malt not unlike a stout.

The taste confirms that this is definitely in the German dark lager category. No great gobs of flavour, but pleasant and highly drinkable, with a hint of dark fruit and a finish that is bready while also being very juicy and thirst-quenching. The dark malt gives it a bit of roasty depth, but with the subtlety of an English mild rather than the full-on richness of a stout or porter.

The lack of labels makes this a difficult one to find on the shelves, but if you want an easy-drinking lager for the British summer (yes, I know I’m making a big assumption here) you could do worse than pop into the Southwick Brewhouse and ask Matt the shopkeeper to give you a Gut Forsting.

 

 

Written by Richard Salsbury

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