Tap Handle #268: Ayinger - Celebrator Doppelbock

This is an incredibly rare tap that was added to my wishlist when I first expanded it. I finally got my hands on one. Since it comes from overseas and is not available in any online store, combined with high demand it is tough to come by and expensive.

In 1876, Johann Liebhard took over the family business in Aying, an agricultural and forestry estate called “Zum Pfleger” about a half hour from Munich. Attached to it were a tavern and butcher shop for extra income. The business had been in the family since the Napoleonic period, around 1810. Within a year, Johann began to change things. Rather than continuing to serve other breweries' beers to his patrons (there were some 6,000 breweries in Bavaria in those days), Johann decided to brew his own. He invested in a brew house, malt house, and a fermentation cellar.

When it came time to retire, Johann handed the business over to his eldest daughter, Maria and her husband August Zehentmaierk. In the early 1920s, the family business took a serious hit when the tavern burned to the ground. August and Maria set out to rebuild and erected what is still today the "Brauereigasthof Aying,” the Ayinger brewery's inn and restaurant. It was completed in 1923. In 1926, Ayinger invested in a bottling line. By 1929, half Ayinger's annual production of 10,000 hectoliters went to Muinich, and in 1930, Ayinger opened its first tavern in the big city. In 1936, August died unexpectedly at age 56, and his daughter Maria together with her husband Franz Inselkammer took over the business, which they navigated through the difficult years of World War II. In 1953 Franz Inselkammer purchased the Platzl Hotelin Munich. This acquisition was a breakthrough event for the Ayinger brewery due to unparalleled name recognition. Demand for Ayinger beer increased in the 1950s, and in 1963, Franz Inselkammer Jr., took over the reigns of the family enterprise. By the late 1970s, the brewery had grown to its current volume of output. In 1999 a new, modernized and automated brewery was built. Today, Ayinger makes about a dozen traditional Bavarian beer styles.

Ayinger Celebrator Dopplebock is a strong winter lager with a dominant malty taste and has won several international awards. It has a creamy head of tight bubbles contrasting beautifully with its profound dark robe. It is full-bodied and velvety from half a year’s aging. Although it is strong, it is not overpowering. There is a wonderful and complex balance between the various malts, the alcohol and the subtle hops. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 4.05 out of 5.

Ayinger Official Website