Battle of the Starkbiers

Some time ago a few friends and I did a head-to-head comparison of a number of lovely Munich Starkbiers in honor of the end of Lent, and the winner was – Korbinian!

I’ll write a little more about Starkbier later, but you should know that the traditional Munich Starkbiers are all named with names which end in -ator. Korbinian is an exception to this rule, and it isn’t even the beer its brewer, Weihenstephan, mentions with respect to the season known as the “fifth season.” For those of us who tasted it, the winner was clear.
My ranking of the beers we had, for what it’s worth, is as follows:

1. Korbinian (Weihenstefan, a nice balance of heft and taste, with a pleasantly subtle sweetness)
2. Celebrator (Aying, tasty but somehow lacking in comparison to the number 1. A little thinner in taste)
3. Optimator (Spaten, too much heft for my taste, we all agreed one was enough for a single sitting)
4. Salvator (Paulaner, lighter in body and taste than the others, with a lot more sweetness)
5. St Victorious (Victory, I love many of their beers but this wasn’t one of their best efforts. Like the Celebrator mixed with water, too little body for this style)