Shiner Dunkelweizen - Spoetzl Brewery

BuckeyeSlim

Ohio

2.38/5  rDev -28.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

12 oz. bottle poured into a pint glass.

When I went to post this review, I discovered that this beer is no longer brewed and the most current reviews are a good two years old. I picked this bottle off the front of a shelf of singles at my local craft beer store a couple weeks ago that seems to turn the inventory at a good pace. I'd imagine its implied age contributes to my negative experience. I'll be sure to bring it up the next time I'm in.

A - Very thin tan head and disappeared immediately, leaving a touch of lace on the surface. Root beer brown and opaque. Held to a light, the color is burnt orange/red and cloudy.

S - Lots of caramel and lightly toasted malt. Some banana ice cream, too.

T - Quite malty. Lots of caramel that's almost burnt. Bitterness in the finish clashes with nose and initial taste, accented by the burnt caramel that lingers.

M - Fizzy. Moderate carbonation. Structure is a bit thin, almost watery. Finish fads rather quickly.

D - The burnt caramel is off-putting and really detracts from the experience. It's like tasting burnt candy and needing something to wash the taste of the tongue. It's also too thin for the style. Not an enjoyable brew that I'm going to have more than this one of.

Update 2011-01-27: Stopped into the LBS and mentioned that this beer has been long discontinued, yet I just bought one here. Was told that the distributor is selling them and had a six plopped down in front of me. Picked up a bottle and it's clearly stamped "03-20-2008". No real concern from the LBS about it; rather an attitude of "we stock whatever the distributor gives us and we don't pay that much attention".

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2011 04:11:21 | More by BuckeyeSlim

TheMistler

District of Columbia

3.48/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Had on Christmas Day! Not that that makes it tastier than normal.

Poured a burnt caramel color, dark amber - clear and colorful. Rather effervescent, with an off-white head. Head settles to a nice cap of a varying but heart thickness with a solid ring. Displays very nice, tree-ring lacing strands.

Bock malt on the nose, predominantly. Roasted notes, caramel. Citrus, hints of clean wheat, bread.

Toasted but still clean wheat malt to the taste. Toast. Caramel. Some banana as it warms. A slightly puckering aftertaste of roasted grains, dusting of banana intermingling.

Pretty thin. Creamy feel.

More dunkel in the straight lager sense than a weizen, I feel. Good, and pretty drinkable, but... eh.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2008 07:11:20 | More by TheMistler

mhewes

Colorado

2.05/5  rDev -38.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

A : Poured a coppery gold color with a big off-white head.

S : Mainly sweet caramel malt with some wheat notes

T : Not that good. Has a malty sweetness and a hop bitterness on the finish but that's about it. There's also a metallic flavor to it.

M : Smooth with good carbonation

D : About what I expect from Shiner (except for their anniversary beers), it's nothing special and I'd turn to something else instead.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2008 13:27:54 | More by mhewes

neenerzig

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev +24.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A 12 oz bottle poured into a pint glass. It is a clear deep amber brown color with a deep red hue. The color overall reminded me of Coke or Dr. Pepper. Has a tan head well over an inch thick when poured that eventually settles to a nice surface coating. Very good lace here. Aromas of sweet malt, caramel, wheat a hint of brown sugar and a little raisin or plum maybe. The taste pretty much followed suit, sweet malt and caramel along with a little bit of brown sugar and some raisin and plum. Very little to no taste of hops here. Not very much wheat here, I wish that flavor had been stronger as it was barely there at all. Has a smooth, slightly crisp, light to medium bodied mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Easy to drink in the way good beer should be!

Eric

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2008 01:10:36 | More by neenerzig

far333

Connecticut

3.98/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark copper/chestnut colored with an oatmeal colored head that rises up minimally and settles out quickly.

Aroma of brown sugar, sweet malt, and bits of raisin.

Flavor of mild yeastiness, some plum and molasses, caramel and toffee and raisin. Slight metallic aftertaste.

Full and rich mouthfeel, finishes bubbly and tingly. Decent beer, pretty drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2008 13:15:23 | More by far333

zeff80

Missouri

3.93/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Poured out a reddish, brown color with a small, creamy, eggshell white head. It left no lace.

S - It smelled of wheat, malt and dried fruit. Also, some clove aromas.

T - It tasted of malt and quite fruity (some raisin maybe). The wheat flavor was understated.

M - It was soft and relatively smooth. A light to medium-bodied beer.

D - This is a pretty good dunkel and one of the better brews from Spoetzl Brewery.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2008 02:03:06 | More by zeff80

jayrod20

Texas

4.1/5  rDev +22.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer poured a deep amber, forming a thick 2 inch head, leaving nice lacing on the glass. The aroma is of slight fruit notes. The mouthfeel is light, but average for the style. The taste is like Shiner bock, but with the addition of a light fruity backdrop.

This is a good beer that I could enjoy anytime.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2008 03:36:06 | More by jayrod20

bilyboy65

Colorado

3.45/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a pilsner glass. No BBD on the bottle.

A: Clear brown with very little carbonation. Almost no head, with no retention, latency or film on the glass.

S: Smell is of a strong chocolate roasted malt. Similar to that of a Smore actually. There is a yeasty/bready undertone that adds a lot of character to the scent.

T: Taste seems to be of a buttery yeast with highlights of hops and malts. Not really true to a dunkelweizen style but still very good. Has a bitter hops flavor that stays around until the after taste.

M: Smooth, medium bodied and leaves a light oily coating. Not a lot of carbonation to be had.

D: A misleading dunkelweizen. Tastes very similar to the style, yet doesn't look and feel like one. Easy to have more then a few of these.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2008 04:34:55 | More by bilyboy65

jsprain1

Minnesota

3.35/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A- The appearance is kind of a chocolate brown. Actually almost the exact same color as the bottle from which it was poured. A one and a half inch head that dissapates fairly quickly leaving little lacing.
S- The smell seems to be a combination of wheat and white wine for me. It has a bit of a sour scent, not bad, but a little different.
T-The taste begins with a quick wheat taste and fades into that same sour-ish taste. Kind of peculiar. It finishes nicely though with some more wheat taste.
M- A bit thin for the style. Little carbonation.
O- The drinkability is pretty high I would say, based on its overall lightness/thinness. Not overall an excellent beer, but not bad. It's not like previous dunkels I've had before. Seems like a good intro into quality beer, though maybe not the best example of a dunkel out there.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2008 21:42:16 | More by jsprain1

hiikeeba

Texas

3.03/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours up Dark brown withe ruby highlights, and a medium thick head that dissipates quickly.

S - Smells of slightly sweet malt, almost like syrup.

T - Starts with a malty sweetness and finishes with a background hoppy bitterness. No banana esthers, no clove flavors. Kind of bland.

M - Moderate mouthfeel.

D - A drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2008 21:54:49 | More by hiikeeba

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.03/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Acquired via trade from briety, so a big "Thank You" goes out to him. Poured from a 12oz bottle into a weizen glass.

A: The beer is a coppery brown color, with a large off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a spotty lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of wheat, caramelized malt, some dark fruit and a little bit of hops.

T: The taste starts with a metallic bite to it. Then some flavors of wheat, caramel and spice follow. There's a decently hearty malt character and a mild hops presence. The after-taste is bready and slightly sweet.

M: A little crisp and a little smooth, light-to-medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Not very tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, mild kick, decent representation of style, this isn't really one that I would want to drink again.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2008 21:46:55 | More by TheManiacalOne

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Mightily impressed with the beer. It's not quite a dunkelweizen, but would make a nice German Dunkel. Solid malt backbone with mild graininess, hints of toffee, bread, and clean malt flavors. Lacks any wheat character at all -- not fruitiness, esters, phenolics, or wheat flavor. Clear appearance with a solid brown tint and moderate head retention. A little light in the body, allows graininess to come through. Finishes with a clean, sweet malt taste.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2008 17:31:40 | More by BEERchitect

Jwale73

Rhode Island

2.6/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Thanks to JDV for the opportunity to sample this beer.

Served in my Harpoon IPA glass (I really need to buy some weizen glasses). Poured a dark amber; almost brown in color. Half-inch off-white head subsided into a thin skim of foam almost immediately and then nothing. Nose is hard to place; malt I guess. Flavors are predominantly malt, but it was very difficult to detect other flavors due to the slightly metallic taste at finish; kind of like pennies. Pleasantly effervescect mouthfeel, but drinkability is seriously compromised by the aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2008 22:19:42 | More by Jwale73

GeoffW

Texas

3.48/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Nice dark color but not very much head. The smell was nice, had a little roasted aroma to it. Taste was decent but fairly bland with some more roastyness. Mouthfeel was ok also, a little bitter, can't taste the alcohol. Fairly drinkable, but not much to write home about.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2008 23:11:52 | More by GeoffW

JDV

Texas

2.42/5  rDev -27.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Amber to crimson shades in a weizen glass with a tall beige head. Actually, a nice looking beer. Smell is a touch metal, very light roast malt. Taste is a bit watery, yet somewhat creamy, very mildly flavored with a lightly bitter and tart malt flavor. Not really getting a lot of wheat, really. Not too familiar with the style, but this probably isn't the best example. Drinkable, but unremarkable.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2008 16:35:09 | More by JDV

whoneeds8

Texas

2.4/5  rDev -28.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

I used to love this beer. I don't know what went wrong this year. Every bottle I bought this winter has been terrible and borderline undrinkable. I bought three 6 packs over the winter, and each one was skunked.

My favorite part of this beer was the aftertaste, which used to be very sweet on your lips. This year's batch tastes very "skunky". I was very dissappointed.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2008 21:44:08 | More by whoneeds8

saintwarrick

South Carolina

3.43/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Had this brew before, but this is my first shot at a review. Pours a very dark garnet/amber with an off-white lacy head that rings the glass. Aroma is like cocoa cereal, some clove was present when it was poured and still very cold, but it has completely vanished now. Chocolate, caramel and vanilla extract dominate the smell and taste. Wheat-like graininess also there with little hops to balance it.

A decent brew, it reminds me some of a dopplebock than it does a wheat beer. A solid brew that's worth the try even if it is a little scattershot on the style chart.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2008 09:26:50 | More by saintwarrick

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

2.8/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Cranberry russet with tangerine edges. The creamy cap (equal parts ecru, pale gold and pale orange) quickly settles to a height of two fingers and begins to deposit shredded sheets of lace on the upper reaches of the glass. What a great color.

Unfortunately, the nose is almost nonexistent. I would never have been able to guess the style if blinded. Not even close. Dunkelweizens are often teeming with wonderful aromas of fruit and spice, but this one gives off nothing but a hint of dusty caramel.

Although the situation doesn't improve much on the palate, at least there's something to work with. Why is the flavor so muted? It's as if there's a layer of something between the beer and my taste buds, preventing the two from complete contact. A few degrees of warming helps, as it often does.

Shiner Dunkelweizen doesn't taste like a dunkelweizen at all, but like a dark wheat or even a Euro dark lager. For one thing, there's almost no banana and no clove. Flavors include bitter cocoa, (minimally sweet) dark caramel, English Breakfast tea leaves and cracked black pepper. It's all a bit of a mishmash and isn't something that I care to drink again.

The mouthfeel is too thin for the style and is too roughly carbonated as well. A better job here *might* have bumped the drinkability score another notch.

Because Shiner Hefe-Weizen (along with 98 Bavarian Style Amber) is my favorite Spoetzl brew, I thought they'd do a pretty job with their dunkelweizen. Uh... no. I'd recommend going back to the drawing board and rethinking this whole thing.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2008 14:31:29 | More by BuckeyeNation

thebeerdoctor

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a mug, this is somewhat light in body for a winter brew. Chocolate in the nose, the palate is doughy but not very complex. Well assembled, this may not be on the level of say Aventinus or Erdinger, but from a dignified brewery in Texas, this is very impressive indeed. In fact, I really have no beef with Spoetzl Brewery's products. They are a real brewery with a real personality. This dunkel is good, their Bohemian Black Lager is an American schwartz beer classic.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2008 03:00:24 | More by thebeerdoctor

BradLikesBrew

Missouri

3.28/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

No freshness info.

a: Dark amber body, white head, no lacing.

s: Light aroma of sweet malt.

t: Sweet toasted malt, caramel, slightly buttery low hop bitterness.
Disappointing lack of complexity.

m: Creamy, medium bodied.

d: Would benefit from more complex flavors, but overall its not too bad. Simple and easy drinking, it wasn't bad, but I probably won't buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2008 03:03:53 | More by BradLikesBrew

tweeder263

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured out a clear dark amber beer with a nice fluffy one finger head. Smell of sweet malt. Mouthfeel is surprisingly a bit creamy. Drinkability is ok. Seems to be a weak version of the style,,not a bad beer but there are better versions of the style.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2008 02:26:16 | More by tweeder263

Ryanbob

Texas

3.8/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance is dark amber, garnet with very little head. Aroma is pleasant, somewhat sweet and toasty. Taste is taosty, oaty, malty, with a little bitterness. The sweetness and maltiness dominates, but the aftertaste is a bit bitter and leaves a bit of smokiness. Mouthfeel is bubbly and smooth. The beer feels a bit overcarbonated to me. It is tasty and quite drinkable, but not exceptional. If you are a Shiner devotee this might be a nice way to vary your consumption a bit, but I wouldn't recommend seeking it out. I will probably buy it again, but it is not one of my favorites.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2008 02:20:40 | More by Ryanbob

kguyty

Missouri

4.1/5  rDev +22.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer was a nice find. I was not expecting it to pour so darkly (between the color of a bock and a nut brown ale). The beer poured with a thin head that dissipated quickly into lacing. The smell was good, of wheat, yeast, and sweetness. The taste was pretty darn good, almost tasted like a brown ale mixed with a wheat. I was very surpised at how refreshing this beer was. I will definitely purchase this beer again.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2007 18:00:36 | More by kguyty

KodyBrannon

Texas

4.33/5  rDev +29.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Poured a 12oz bottle into a pub glass. Poured a dark cola color with a tan 1-finger head. This beer has a slight wheat smell to it and has the flavor of a pale hefe-wiezen, with a little carbonation. There is a slight wheat and malt smell to it. Overall this is a very drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2007 14:51:00 | More by KodyBrannon

champ103

Texas

3.7/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: Dark, clear, deep amber color. A big head forms but dissipates fast and leaves some spotty lace.
S: Very bread like with a chemical and metallic characteristic.
T: Very good. A malty character that I love is present and big. Some dark fruits are present with a hint of banana and citrus.
D: Very smooth and easy to drink. I could make this a session beer.

Overall, I enjoyed this a lot. Not the best beer or Dunkelweizen, but a good version by an American brewery. Pick this up instead of Shiner Bock when it is in season.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2007 02:06:36 | More by champ103