Put simply, the best Dunkleweizen available in the USA. Now, if I'm honest one can apply that to the full range of Andechs beers that we get here in the US in their respective styles, so am I saying anything out of the ordinary? No, not really, but it bears saying. Darkish amber body with a beautiful tan head. Head is not very well retained and offers scant lace, but still looks good initially. Color is perfect. The nose is extraordinarily rich, and to me resembles even the bigger, bolder...
Notes on beers in the style
Dunkelweizen
Lips Of Faith Dunkel Weiss
22 oz bottle, the usual Lips of Faith series presentation from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pour gives a lovely black color (in poor light), but a more traditional brown based beer in better light. The head is tight, and mocha in color with a nice amount of retention and lace considering the ABV. The worry with the ABV of 9% is that the solvent alcohol may begin to take over the beer and rob it of its normal style characteristics. Fortunately it doesn't, and the beer delivers all of the...
Michelob DunkelWeisse
12 oz single, $1.19 from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Glad to finally catch up with this beer. Oddly I have quite high expectations for it! Pour is a murky, unattractive iced-tea like affair with a very poor head and as a resut little retention or lace. Body is an ugly, rust color that does not invite one in. Carbonation is a little on the high side which gives the beer an off, fizzy sensation - again, not good. Initially the tastes seem OK with some yeasty malts up front and some...
Shiner Holiday Cheer
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Interesting to say the least. I didn't bother to read the label in detail before I bought this so I just assumed it would be another, spiced Christmas Ale. That's OK, since I really enjoy that type of beer, so imagine my surprise when I started to drink the beer and then read the reviews on BA. Appearance is a lovely, tawny, clear brew with a decent head that has some lace and retention. The nose and tastes reveal what I thought were initially a...
Dunkel Weiss
22 oz bottle from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Delighted to see one of my favorite styles produced by a brewer that usually does a very solid job across the board. Bottle sports the usual, new GD artwork and red foil on the neck - nice. Noisy pour (good sign), and a nice head with lace is produced. A murky, mid-brown pour is the result that is not very attractive but standard for the style. It's very straightforward in terms of the nose and the taste. We get all the standard clove and...
Twain’s Tidy Soul Dunkelweiss
Kinda interesting. Like others have noted, a deep dark brown pour, but with surprising clarity for Dunkelweizen - must be filtered, because this is really clear. Head and lace are good, in keeping with the beers that Twains regularly produces. Bubblegum and banana notes meet the nose and the tastes reflect pretty much exactly what I would expect in the style. Nose and tastes match well. Drinks a little easier and cleaner than some of its German forefathers. An interesting beer that solves the...
Josephs Brau Dunkelweizen
12oz single, $1.00 from Trader Joe's, Atlanta, GA, USA. Appearance (at least in terms of the color) as expected (a dirty, turbid, clouded pour with some chill haze) which is not especially attractive. Head is better than expected and quite tall and pitted. On the other hand the head does not last long. No lace. Aroma is solid - standard banana and clove notes. Tastes - as expected. Reflects the aromas and then cuts in with a final acidity in the finish. Simple, straightforward drinking, not...
Slam Dunkelweizen
On tap at the Brewpub. 16 oz pint serving. A little difficult to tell the color of this beer in the dark, smoke filled room, but it looked a little lighter than the murky brown that I was expecting. A little clearer than the norm and more orange like. Some clove and banana nose which faded to leave a bit of an oatmeal taste. The oatmeal flavor added to the body of the beer that was perhaps its best characteristic. Sweet finish that made this easy to put down. Not a huge fan of the style, but...
Lemp Jurassic Dark
Thanks go out to Vancer for this offering as part of CEO/Old Farts BIF. 12oz, single bottle. Light brown body, thinnish looking. Head and lace are largely missing. Some aggresive carbonation in the mouth which I'm not sure is appropriate for the style. I'm looking for something a little smoother. Nice combination of sweet malts and some wheats. Fairly simple with a mild aftertaste. Pretty average beer. Non-offensive, but lacks body and presence for me.
Moosbacher Schwarze Weisse
$2.99, Smyrna Beverage Warehouse, Smyrna, GA, USA. Encouraging burst when the flip-top is "flipped", despite the fact that I know this bottle is a little past its best date. This has been hanging around in this store for quite a while. The pour is horribly murky (fair enough for the style) but this goes beyond that and looks like a nasty Debbel crossed with pond water. Not good. Big carbonation, but it is very light and gassy. Mouthfeel is weak, and this beer is too thin for me all around....
Kapuziner Schwarz-Weizen
$2.69, Cheers, Carrollton, GA, USA. 500 mL bottle. In the store, at first glance this looks like it is probably a Schwarzbier but closer inspection of the label reveals it is indeed a Dunkel. Excellent appearance with the requisite dark, cloudy body and a huge head. Poured into the Tucher Weizen 0.5L glass this looks very good. Aroma is very rich in bananas. Tastes reveal mild bananas and some mild carbonation. Mouthfeel is a little thin for my liking, and this is the weakest point of the...
Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel
$2.49, Green's on Ponce de Leon, Atlanta, GA, USA. Poured into the Southampton Weizen glass, this has a head that looks superb. Initially huge, it dies slowly to give a rocky and pitted perfect froth. Surprisingly little lacing. Typical cloudy orange body underneath. Aroma has some bananas, but there seems to be a spiced overtone to it as well - maybe some apples? As it warms the bananas become increasingly apparent. The tastes are mainly muted bananas. What I like about this beer is it is...
Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Dunkel
Classic Dunkel pour and look, although I might say that the body is more orange than many others in the same style. Head and retention are not quite as spectacular as predicted, but still better than average. Nose is as expected, banana (mild), bread (stronger) and a little spice (maybe all spice) in there too. Light clove in nose and initial tastes. Sweeter in the mouth than the nose would suggest. Refreshing and easy drinking, with lots of sweet wheat flavors. Fairly representative, but at...
Ayinger Urweisse (Ur-Weisse)
Additional notes 08/17/2022 500 mL bottle (pictured). Out of the gate this is a lighter colored dunkelweizen than many, even with the yeast sediment thrown in. A light amber pour with a lovely head. Head has decent retention. Plenty of banana in the tastes. Great, sweet malt base with tons of (surprising) caramel and even more banana. It feels like a 'light' dunkelweizen in some ways, but it's packed full of flavor. Alcohol is present and rounds things out beautifully. classically breaded...
Black Wheat
Not my favorite style, but a pretty nice example. The bottle that I had a much more brownish color than some of the other reviwers suggested. The black color was not as prevelant as other people has observed. Nice off-white head with a little patchy lacing. Definite banana, nut, caramel and clove highlights in both the nose and the tastes, and this is reminiscent of a banana-nut muffin. A bit of a strange minty taste in the after taste too, but quite pleasing. Nice creamy mouthfeel and very...
Hacker-Pschorr Dunkle Weisse
Disclaimer: I must admit that this style is not one of my favorites. The most disappointing thing about Dunkel Weizens in general to me, is their appearance. I find the brown cloudiness very unappealing, and I think that this puts me off many, otherwise good beers. This was no exception with the appearance reminding me of old washing-up water - not at all attractive. Very poor head as well, which I think was due to the hopeless pour and general non-attention given to presenting the beer at the...
Tucher Dunkles Hefe Weizen
Large frothy head sits atop a hazy amber body. The color is verging on the dirty brown as it sits in my Southampton Publick House glass. Good lacing. Mild cloves and alcoholic bananas in the nose as one would expect, plus a rather unepected rubber smell!! Mouthfeel is rather thin. I think this is a trait in the style that continues to surprise me. When I look a these Dunkels they always promise a much deeper body than I get - even though that appears to be par for the course, I am still...
Julius Echter Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel
$2.99, Harry's Farmers Market, Marietta, GA, USA. Didn't really enjoy this at all. It looked very good, lovely amber color with a nice looking ample head, but that's where the experience ended for me. A clawing dryness came with each mouthful and a very distinct diluted experience came with the brew as a whole. Distincly unflavorful, watery lack of body characterized it for me.