By Iron Chef Leftovers
Every once in a while you will see a beer style pop up in Seattle that does not get a ton of airplay in the Northwest. Dunkelweizen is one of those that makes a rare appearance. What is a dunklelweizen? Well according to the German Beer Institute, it is this:
Dunkelweizen is the dark version of the regular golden-yellow Weissbier or Weizenbier (more commonly called Hefeweizen in North America), the spritzy, creamy Bavarian wheat beer with pronounced clove, vanilla, banana, apple, bubblegum, and sometimes nutmeg flavors.
Basically a dark wheat beer. Maritime had one on tap a few months back, calling it a dunkelweiss, and I felt the need to try it.
The beer pours cloudy brown in color and kind of looks like a root beer float. There are strong notes of roast and grain with faint hints of smoke and chocolate. The beer hits the plate as creamy with hints of grain before quickly moving into chocolate and roasted notes, reminding me of chocolate milk in both texture and flavor. The finish is odd with a fading chocolate notes, which are pleasant but dominate the beer to the point that nothing else shows. The beer really lacked a distinct fruit and grain profile that you would expect from a wheat based beer and was heavy on the roasted flavors. It was out of balance, but there are definitely times I could see myself drinking this beer because of its flavor profile.
Maritime Dunkelweiss scores a goal with 2 bianconeros out of 5.
FlatbreadGarden 