Dunkelweizen (Venture Series) - Madhouse Brewing Company

daledeee

Iowa

4.1/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A 22 oz. bottle that says "part of the Venture series".

It pours a dark, dark brown with a medium head and some lacing.

The nose is right down the alley. Yeast, caramel and spice. Very nice.

Taste is sweet, caramel, spice, hops, earth. Very nice carbonation and easy to drink. This may be their best offering.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2012 00:14:18 | More by daledeee

falloutsnow

Illinois

3.68/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From: Hyvee, Omaha, NE
Date: None on bottle
Glass: Weihenstephan weizen glass

I enjoyed this dunkelweiss, but in a different way from those of many German breweries: the emphasis here is on chocolate and roasted malts, with a backdrop of typical wheat beer banana, fruity esters, and spices. This was pleasant for a cold winter's day wheat beer, one I'd come back to again if it were locally available.

Pours an expectedly tall head, composed of small, medium, and large-sized bubbles, and tan in color. Head retention is about average, lasting a few minutes as it sinks to a 0.5cm cap atop the body of the beer. Slightly more than modest lacing is present as the head recedes. Beer's body is a very dark brown, opaque with substantial sediment, with light bringing out garnet (intense, deep red with flecks of orange) hues. Carbonation is not visible through the body.

Aroma is of light cocoa powder, mild roasted malt, sweet malt sugars, slight prune, some faint weizen yeast bubblegum esters, and mild yeast.

Tasting opens with mild cocoa and light malt sweetness on the front of the tongue. Mid-palate of cocoa, roasted malt, mild European hop bitterness, typical weizen bubblegum flavors, and very marginal banana. Back of palate picks up some slightly spicy old cloves with equally slight pepperiness, continued roasted malt sweetness and acridity, with modest banana bread. Aftertaste of lingering cocoa powder, slightly acrid, but balanced my malt sugars.

Beer is medium to medium-light in body with a bit of wateriness around the edges. Carbonation is medium-low in intensity, the resulting mouthfeel being slightly foamy and marginally fizzy, but generally smooth, well-moving, and easy drinking. Closes dryly, with very slight stickiness on palate, in general, finishes very cleanly.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 21:34:26 | More by falloutsnow

emerge077

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Aaron by way of Ted for sharing this beer!
Letting it sit for awhile seemed to improve it somehow...

Murky dark reddish brown color, thin wispy head of foam on the second pour, first pour had about a quarter inch of bubbly foam.

Grainy aroma, toasted husks and slight clove from the yeast.

Nutty flavors, mild toastiness, some dried apple and dry graphite. Slight bitter astringency in the middle, some initial sharpness, but a bit smoother after sitting in the glass for awhile. Medium bodied with a medium level of carbonation. Light sweetness that tapers off in the finish. Overall a bit subdued, could be a bit more flavorful. Be sure to let it sit in the glass as long as possible to open up a bit.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2012 00:38:37 | More by emerge077

Herky21

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%

05-16-2012 01:09:44 | More by Herky21

yankees27

Iowa

4/5  rDev +5.8%

05-13-2012 14:48:31 | More by yankees27

TheQuietMan22

Iowa

3.9/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Serving type: 22-ounce bomber. No freshness date.

Appearance: Poured into a half-liter weizen glass. The color is dark brown. Two fingers of thickish, tan head dissipated slowly to leave a thin lacing and ring around the edge.

Smell: Like dunkelweizen, though it is pretty fruity and sweet. Banana, apple, bubble gum, clove, a little pepper spice, caramel, and chocolate. The sweetness gives way to the malts as the beer warms, though.

Taste: The flavor offers a nice toastedness, which is a surprise given how sweet and fruity the smell is. The fruit is still there — banana and apple — but toasted caramel really stands out. There may also be a few roasted malts; I can sense a little roasted bitterness from the uvula. There are also touches of chocolate and plum. The malts being to shine as the beer warms.

Drinkability: Very impressive. This is a solid dunkelweizen with a unique touch.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2012 03:32:50 | More by TheQuietMan22