Ayinger Brewery - Celebrator Doppelbock 6.7%

Sometimes a beer just seems to fit the mood. Today this beer is spot on.
Due to a worn-out power cable failure my laptop has been out of action for a week. Now it would be trite (linked in both senses of the word strangely) to suggest that being able to use my computer again would be cause fro celebration but there are a few other things, which I won't bore you with here, that have been worth celebrating this week.
This is a dark "double" bock, ending in 'ator' as doppelbocks do, and is a "starkbier" or strong beer from the Ayinger brewery situated an hour south-east of Munich in Bavaria. The brewery states that the origins of this particular beer lie in a monk's recipe but they don't give any more information than that, so I'd better drink it to see if there's any celebrating to be had.
It pours a very dark brown, almost black with a ruby red edge and a tight creamy beige head that quickly dissipates. Plums, prunes and raisins on the nose bring to mind a rich malty fruitcake. Leaving a pleasant tingling sensation over the tongue, there's more fruitiness in the taste, especially tea-soaked raisins with a hint of cranberry, some light coffee (sweet -with two sugars) roastiness and some milk chocolate in there too. A sweet malty fruity finish leaves a slight tannic alcohol dryness on the tongue that is rather pleasing.
Almost bridging the gap between a schwarzbier and a porter this is a tasty and satisfying beer that is just what I'm looking for late on a Sunday evening which is when I'm writing this. It's quite rich with the 6.7% alcohol being noticable and rather welcome. A lager to savour indeed.