Spaten Dunkel - Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu

mcoh1030

Florida

2.17/5  rDev -41%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Another reviewer noted the term "boring". I'd echo his sentiments. I'm not familiar with Dunkels so I'm not in a position to compare this brewer with others.

However, if you like dark beer don't expect this one to give you the German dark beer experience. It just falls short. Sure it's got flavor and a nose but all in all I can't think of a moment in time where I would choose this style over others.

If your going for an imported dark, stick with Spaten's Optimator.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2009 13:25:24 | More by mcoh1030

DesMoinesMike

Iowa

2.45/5  rDev -33.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

With the dark color I was expecting a heaver body and deeper taste but was disappointed and feel that this is just a pilsner with food coloring and cinnamon. It has that sourness of the original Spaten but toned down with a bit more focus on malts, but not much more. It burns a bit going down and I wasn't too motivated to finish the bottle.

Serving type: on-tap

09-04-2010 02:02:34 | More by DesMoinesMike

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

2.45/5  rDev -33.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Pours a clean deep amber color with a light tan head. In the aroma, well, standard European lager like smells. In the taste, a small roast inside of a standard European lager. A smooth and medium to lighter bodied mouthfeel, with a dry lager like grain in the aftertaste. Basically, a standard European lager with a note of like caramel like roast.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2012 19:15:53 | More by OWSLEY069

TheWhiskerReview

Tennessee

2.48/5  rDev -32.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a brilliant reddish-mahogany and smells bready and faintly malty with delicate touches of cereal and apricot. The nose is a little weak considering the color and that weakness continues on the palate which feels a little watered down. A slight oily maltiness and a balancing, but equally nonstriking, hoppiness lead to a crisp and very short finish.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2011 04:55:43 | More by TheWhiskerReview

jnezda

Texas

2.55/5  rDev -30.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Tried this Dunkel with no real preconceived notion of what I would end up with.

Appearance: Pours with very little head that dissipated quickly, as is the case with other Spaten beers I have tried. No lacing at all. A dark amber colored beer.

Smell: Dark fruit, perhaps raisin, or berry apricot, some yeast smell carrying a heavy expectation of a full taste.

Taste: Surprisingly light, slight yeast taste but still with a little dark fruit. Average flavor for a dark German beer. Expected something a bit more robust.

Mouthfeel: Flat with little carbonation for a bottle beer. Enjoying this glass seems like a draft from an under carbonated draught.

Drinkability: Good flavor for a session beer

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2009 02:50:24 | More by jnezda

StonedTrippin

Colorado

2.75/5  rDev -25.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

not my favorite here. pours dark brown and flat like the left over morning coffee down the drain with the dinner dishes. smells malty and astringent. taste is really funny, german malts yes, but in weird proportion. the dark roast thing doesnt seem to work here, and the mouthfeel is rough with so little carbonation and a full body. not sure if i got a bad bottle, i know a lot of these green glass imports can be mishandled, but i really didnt care for this brew and i am a lover of dunkels

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2011 04:28:28 | More by StonedTrippin

Bobby12many

Wisconsin

2.8/5  rDev -23.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

A - Cola brown with very little head, even with an aggressive pour.

S - Wheat, mixed with a very distinct light-struck funk. Some Caramel malts in the background, but are hard to discern through the off funkiness.

T - A bit better than the smell, but still pretty disappointing. Lots of malt, mostly of the sweet variety. Pretty one dimensional but not bad.

M - A bit watery, even for the style, without much carbonation. Feels quite limp and thin.

D - The thin feel of this mixed with its slightly off nose makes it a tough one to enjoy. It is an easy drinking Lager, but far from interesting. Overall just an average beer that I doubt I will buy again. (if anything, I may pick up another bottle in the future just to make sure it wasnt a bad bottle due to improper storage. the lightstruck hint in the nose has me a bit concerned that this bottle was not truly representative of this brew)

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2010 01:54:08 | More by Bobby12many

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

2.8/5  rDev -23.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A pour that looked like a generic cola, dark brown flimsy beige carbonation head that falters on the side of the glass. Harsh aroma, not pleasant, alcohol and industrial cleaner type of aroma. Can't recall seeing a beer of this color (dark) in a green bottle.

Taste was a little better, the aroma harshness was a little much, not as bitter or alcoholic as I was expecting it to be. Flavor is lighter and easy going, don't let the color fool you. Some licorice like notes got in there though, I don't know if that's the yeast or what. Not really getting the dark roast flavors, just the bitterness, which, while less than I expected after getting hit in the nose with the smell, is still above average for style.

Overall, this is an average dunkel lager, with a far below average aroma. Sheesh. Bring on the nail polish!

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2012 17:29:54 | More by Beerandraiderfan

smithza9

Michigan

2.83/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Of all places, I had this at an Irish pub in Canada. It was in a tall, thin. pint glass. This has a somewhat dirty, golden color. It has a very bitter taste, yet has a very smooth finish. Very bitter for a lager. A very light feeling in the mouth complements the bitterness nicely.

Cheers!

Serving type: on-tap

08-17-2010 00:25:01 | More by smithza9

atpben

Texas

2.95/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Had this on tap at the Gingerman in Houston. Poured in a pint glass. Appears dark brown color with a tan head that dissiptes quite rapidly. Very earthy in the aroma with some grain. Some light chocolate and caramel in the taste but no depth. Quick, dry finish. I expected more from this beer. Was a little let down. The first Spaten beer that I didn't care for too much.

Serving type: on-tap

06-16-2009 01:27:22 | More by atpben

bagpiper2005

Idaho

3/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pour: Ice tea color with a small ring of head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass.

Smell: Extremely weak. Some wheat and bread, but that's about it.

Taste: Sweet caramel and wheat malts. Not much else going on. Lightly bready, but lacking the rich flavors of banana or clove that you've come to expect out of a good German wheat beer. One-dimensional.

Mouthfeel: Light and crisp. Carbonation somewhat overdone.

Drinkability: It's pretty drinkable, more like drinking sparkled water.

Final Notes: Not impressed. You could do much better than this one. And for God's sake stop with the green bottles!

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 00:01:52 | More by bagpiper2005

Samp01

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a reddish brown with a medium beige head. Aroma and Taste of toasted caramel malt, barley, some yeast and grassy notes with some hops bitterness. Palate is a light to medium body with moderate carbonation. Finish is sweet toasted caramel malt, barley, yeast with some bitter hops ending for balance. Nothing really outstanding, but overall a pretty good easy drinking dunkel, an average brew

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2012 18:32:12 | More by Samp01

Tone

Missouri

3.03/5  rDev -17.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a clear, amber color. 1/4 inch head of an off-white color. Poor retention and poor lacing. Smells of sweet malt, yeast, pale malt, and sulfur. Fits the style of a Munich Dunkel Lager. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp with an average carbonation level. Tastes of sweet malt, pale malt, yeast, sulfur, and a hint of pale hops. Overall, the sulfur is dominate, but other flavors account for a decent Munich.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2010 21:15:00 | More by Tone

grover37

District of Columbia

3.03/5  rDev -17.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Picked up a sixer at Rodman's for $8. Poured into a pilsner glass at 47 degrees. Warmed up a bit before drinking.

Appearance (4): Clear, dark brown or mahogany with orange highlights. Two fingers of light cream, thick head reduces to a quarter inch layer.

Aroma (3.5): Very grainy with notes of cereal and caramel. More sweet smelling than anything.

Taste (2.5): Watery up front with a touch of toasty biscuit and grain. Caramel comes through immediately after that and intensifies throughout. A touch sweet through the middle and especially the finish. A bit of spicy pine in the finish too.

Mouthfeel (4): Thin and effervescent. Very watery throughout, even in the slightly sticky finish of caramel semi-sweetness. Light bodied and high carbonation.

Overall (3): Pretty average, even for a generally unremarkable style. Light and drinkable but not much stands out except for the cereal graininess and a light caramel. Very clean if watery and thin.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2011 01:52:06 | More by grover37

dmamiano

West Virginia

3.05/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

medium to dark brown...virtually no head with slight lacing.
yeasty in the nose, ever so slight metallic with notes of bread.
taste seems to me fairly rounded in the mouth.
slightly viscous with a malty dominance. Hints of wheat. Bready with a ever slight hop ending.
Not a bad beer. Pretty solid.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2009 00:49:52 | More by dmamiano

beerfairy

Illinois

3.05/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Pours a nice head with a reddish brown body. However the head disappears quickly and leaves no lacing in the glass.

S - Prunish, malty and bready smells but not overpowering.

T - Taste of raisin bread and malt

M - Smooth and very little carbonation, close to being flat but still decent. Gives a bit of a slickness to the mouth. Might work well with smoked foods.

D - It's drinkable, not my favorite Spaten product but certainly not horrible.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2010 20:46:08 | More by beerfairy

NicholasCasber

Iowa

3.08/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: This beer poured a nice dark, almost brown, but seemed a bit more amber in the light.

S: The smell was very dark, and earthy, with roasted barley smells.

T: The taste was very good overall, it was fairly sweet for the aroma that I was picking up, and it finished with a pumpkin aftertaste.

M: The mouthfeel was good, it was smooth and finished smooth, not too much carbonation on this one.

D: I'd rate this higher if it was priced more effectively, and I know, some are going to say, you get what you pay for when you purchase beer, while I agree with that sentiment, I still feel beer of all styles and all greatness should be reasonably priced.

Overall, good beer, I'd recommend it for a fall, or early winter beer. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2009 20:36:13 | More by NicholasCasber

T100Mark

California

3.09/5  rDev -16%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A 12 ounce bottle (no Euro Weenie bottle) in a shaker pint glass.

Appearance - Dark amber color. The head disappeared almost immediately. Zero lacing.

Smell - Nice enough.

Taste - Malt. Carmel. Herbs. Faint smokey flavor. Slightly sweet. Very smooth. Mild.

Mouth - Very little body. Almost no carbonation. Unimpressive.

Overall - Not bad but not good either. I expect more from the Germans. Is this beer always this flat?

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 03:01:29 | More by T100Mark

Anthony1

Colorado

3.13/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Smells of malt and dark bread with fainter chocolate and raisin scents. Mild herbal hop mostly it just adds a grassy note. There is a fruity aroma here but it can only be described as raisin.

Starts out sweet and malty with a solid bitterness, more bitter than I would have expected judged by beer type. Strong dark bread flavor like serious Russian black bread flavor deep and rich, nothing at all like the light stuff.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2009 13:37:38 | More by Anthony1

jkbusman

North Carolina

3.15/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A - nice ruddy brown color with a scant head that quickly dissipates

S - fresh wheaty nose with notes of citrus and spice

T - roasted wheat flavor with notes of yeast and spice; minimal hoppy bitterness

M - a small amount of carbonation and very little body; the beer seems to fall somewhat flat in the mouth

D - very drinkable, although not one of the best dunkels I've ever had; if you want a good dunkelweisse, try weihenstephaner

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2009 06:37:37 | More by jkbusman

Mistofminn

Minnesota

3.15/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Tried this at my girlfriends parents house. It was the only beer they had that I hadn't tried before.

Pours a dark brown reddish color with a tan off-white head with great retention. It leaves a little bit of lacing but nothing spectacular. Good looking beer.

The nose really evolves as the beer warms, starting off kind of bland and boring and gaining fruity and caramel like aromas as it rises in temperature. I get sweet malt, dark fruits, caramel and toffee.

Just like the nose, this gains complexity as it warms. Sweet malts, sweet fruits, caramel and toffee with a light toasty character. Pretty good, but nothing too great.

Mouthfeel is light in body with a low to moderate carbonation. Smooth and creamy, but sort of watery. Drinkability is ok.

I'm not very familiar with the style, so I can't really say if this is true to style or not, so I'm just going to assume it is. I guess I'm just not the biggest fan of the style.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2009 20:23:31 | More by Mistofminn

charlzm

California

3.15/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Consumed direct from bottle, 2009/01/20.

Cannot comment on appearance as beer was not visible inside bottle.

Aroma has a bit of sour cherry and some caramel malt, though these aromas were bashful.

Flavor is similar to other Spaten beers - melanoidin. Traces of the tart cherry (infected?) and toasted malt peek through. Flavor comes on sharply and leaves fast. Unremarkable, at best.

Well-carbonated and lively in the mouth, though not amazingly so.

One's my limit on this middle-of-the-road brew. I want something more flavorful.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2010 01:28:32 | More by charlzm

redzone3120

Delaware

3.15/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A - Very deep and dark with a hint of red, similar to a Coke. The head is a creamy brown color about half a finger thick, dissipates quickly.

S - Strongest smell is yeasty and somewhat sour. Has hints of toasted malts (I think).

T - First thing, the flavor of this brew is nowhere as strong as its appearance. Has a very mild flavor but not bad. Definitely can taste some toasted malt but not really sure what else.

M - Starts and finishes crisp and clean, almost no aftertaste. Carbonation is good but slightly sharp on the tongue.

D - A drinkable beer that is crisp and refreshing. A little too mild for my taste but would go well with almost any type of food.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2010 03:37:05 | More by redzone3120

daledeee

Iowa

3.23/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured this into my oversized wine glass and found a head hard to keep. Clear very dark brown and little lace was left after a moment.

The nose is like corn bin and some faint malt.

Taste is kind of sweet with some malt and hop aftertaste, but not much.

Drinkability is lessened by the lack of finish and carbonation. Weak mouth feel. This beer is not hard to drink just very boring.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2009 23:52:55 | More by daledeee

damndirtyape

Ohio

3.23/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Single bottle (no date anywhere on bottle) poured into a shaker pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a clear dark orange (shades of red and brown when held up to the light - mostly browns on the table) with lots of carbonation coming up through the glass. Thin off-white head that is persistent the whole time. Lacing not very persistent - tends to slide back down into the beer.

Smell: Some caramel malts, a hint of dark fruits, and a metallic lager-like smell (faint) at the end.

Taste: Sweet malt with caramel flavors and a very mild bitter finish. It's a little too sweet, not cloying, but unbalanced. The bitterness becomes more metallic the longer I drink it.

Mouthfeel: Slick with mild carbonation on the tongue (despite the appearance of lots of bubbles). Thicker than water but otherwise nothing special.

Drinkability: Maybe when paired with the right meal I would enjoy this more, but by itself I'm getting tired of it about halfway through the glass. It didn't go well with baked pasta (tomato base and mozzarella) so maybe that's what's throwing me off, but the fact that there is no date on the bottle could mean the beer is old.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2010 22:16:41 | More by damndirtyape