Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel - Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan

Getinthevan

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I had a stein full of this brew on a recent trip back to Tallahassee, Florida and needless to say, this stuff was class all the way.

Appearance is a dark brown/creamy black with gobs of head retention and thick as a brick. This stuff doesn't mess around and knows how to make its presence known. Definitely a great looking dunkel.

Smell was strong in roasted malts and wheat. This stuff does not mess around and is not for the lighthearted. This dunkelweizen carried strong wheat aromas and did not disappoint at all.

Taste was great. This is a bitter beer no doubt, but it's an enjoyable bitterness with a sweet finish. This is also a very thick beer and certainly not one to hand to a friend to chug with. No no, this is a patience beer and drinking this beast with its great taste is something to behold.

Mouthfeel was thick, flavorful and overwhelming in retention. One of the strongest beers I've ever tasted and certainly look to trying again in the future.

Drinkability is killer. I had a stein of this and needless to say this was beyond magnificent. Great flavor, great volume, and overall provides a great buzz. Definitely grab a pint or two of this, as you will thoroughly enjoy it.

Serving type: on-tap

05-10-2009 19:47:51 | More by Getinthevan

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

4.13/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Cloudy, muddled brown body with a thinnish, white head.

Smell: Dull, earthy spices over malty scents of caramel covered wheat and cocoa with notes of fresh bananas.

Taste: Light, dry caramel mixed with a bit of cocoa and a taste of wheat grain. Rich blend of spice flavors: clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Banana esters perk up shortly. Light spicy hops and bitterness. Final hints of malt and spice on the soft, drying finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-high carbonation.

Drinkability: A delightful dunkelweizen and a fine example of the style. Go out and get some!

Serving type: on-tap

03-29-2009 22:32:51 | More by ChainGangGuy

tconboy

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours a nice cloudy dark brown, with a cloudy big white head. Excellent lacing and light carbonation. Smells wheaty, a faint lemon, light spices. Has a nice balance of spice, wheat, and an amazing malt that comes together beautifully. Mouthfeel very light and extremely drinkable. This is a fantastic product - as you would expect from such a distinguished brewery.

Serving type: on-tap

01-20-2009 07:08:09 | More by tconboy

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.08/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a dark, opaque, golden brown with a thick, foamy, pale tan head. Nice, fairly strong aroma is wheaty, malty and "rubbery" with hints of orange and spice. Flavor is rich, wheaty and malty, and has a spicy and orangy undertone. Texture is very smooth, and finish is pleasing and satisfying.

Serving type: on-tap

10-14-2008 22:10:54 | More by Cyberkedi

BretSikkink

Mexico

4.15/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Burnished brown color with a huge, tightly-packed head that looks just magnificent in the glass. Some lacing but not a ton.

Pleasing aroma of clove that jumps right out of the glass and permeates the surrounding area. It hardly smells different from the regular hefe, which is a great compliment.

Mostly phenolics in the flavor as well; whereas the regular hefe leads with the banana and backs up with clove and spicing, this one is the opposite. While there is plenty of both, the clove is really huge.

Other than regular hefeweizen flavors, there's a touch of cocoa and baked banana bread. Some more malt flavor; significantly carbonated which is both pleasing to the palate with the scrubbing bubbles but also a little much in that it seems to lighten the body a bit.

Really terrific dunkelweizen, I need to drink some more, but compared with the standard hefeweizen versus an Aventinus I find it somewhat lacking in complexity and heft.

Serving type: on-tap

08-24-2008 03:39:13 | More by BretSikkink

Chinon01

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance - Opaque tea-like color with soapy sudzy head.

Smell - Caramelized, roasted notes with standard phenolics consistent with the style.

Taste - Same as smell with spice character along with orange citrus.

Mouthfeel & Drinkability - Wonderfully spicy and tangy finish.

Serving type: on-tap

08-18-2008 05:06:35 | More by Chinon01

plaid75

New York

4.28/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured a murky soft brown hue with a two finger foamy white head. There was good retentionan and lacing.

The smell featured a toasted grain, sweet caramel and a wheat spice, with some banana yeast esters.

The taste consisted of a sweet caramel, toasted graininess, and an estery yeast.

The mouthfeel was full and chewy.

Overall a superior dunkel.

Serving type: on-tap

02-18-2008 05:42:28 | More by plaid75

JArami

Florida

4.68/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Got it on tap at Mr. Dunderbak's

A: Came to me with minimal head and the color of the head was hard to discern in the dim light. Lacing was evident only toward the bottom, might have been the glass. Not too cloudy, and nicely dark for a weiss as the name promises.

S: Definite banana esters. Mixed with the roasted malts, it comes across almost like banana bread.

T: Where are the hops? The darker malts are delightful and the banana-ness dominates but not in excess. Great tasting wheat beer. Almost no hop in the aftertaste, but a cool fresh palate.

M: Clean and crisp, great for quaffing after a tasty sandwich.

D: Very drinkable.

Wheat beer is glorious, and this one is even better as its a dunkel. Very malty and fruity while not bogging you down with a huge amount of carbonation. If you like munich dunkels, and hefeweizens, you should give this a try. It's not the best of both worlds, but its pretty close.

Serving type: on-tap

11-05-2007 03:17:16 | More by JArami

bonbright7

New York

4.05/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

In comparison to my previous great experience with the bottles of this, I thought the tap version was a half step down from what I experienced with bottled version.
I was having a big Southern style party with a blues band and we served this and the Brooklyn Pils. The chocolate and banana nuances that came through so valiantly before were toned down in the taste, but you could smell them like flowers. That was odd. I would like to try this again on tap to see if it was just me.

Serving type: on-tap

10-07-2007 14:53:12 | More by bonbright7

ski271

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Zeno’s in State College. A- Dark, murky brown with a small, foamy, off-white, quickly-diminishing head. Light lacing. S- Mild. Fruit, whole-wheat bread and berry. T- More pronounced than nose for sure. Clove, berry, honey, citrus, bread and straw. M- medium body, slightly oily texture and moderate carbonation. D- Oh I like this one. Meaty with a very nice light fruity character. Worth a try for sure.

Serving type: on-tap

05-20-2007 18:23:18 | More by ski271

travelfrog

New York

4.22/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

While I had tried the more common Helles Hefeweizen, I had never tried this version until now. I had it on tap in the USA, served in a traditional weissbier glass.

Appearance was medium-brown and cloudy, with a nice, long-lasting head.

Smell was not overpowering, but with pleasant parallels to fresh bread.

Taste was quite good: it tasted somewhere between a Scheider Weissbier and a Franziskaner Dunkelweizen. Yeast and fresh bread were the orders of the day, with maybe a hint of apple. Excellent, dry finish.

Mouthfeel was just fine, maybe a bit of acidity clinging to the roof of the mouth.

Drinkability was also above average. Perhaps the slight acidity makes you want to drink it less quickly (not necessarily a bad thing).

Serving type: on-tap

03-21-2007 00:33:45 | More by travelfrog

Redrover

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served on tap at Glunz Bavaria Haus on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. .5 Liter correctly marked glass!

The beer is a slightly hazy coco brown with an impressive beige head.

The beer had a fresh aroma of banana, spices and a bit of toasted biscuit.

The taste was great. I found the expected clove/banana and a really nice toasty under pinning. This dunkel is slightly earthy with some dark fruit notes with a bit of a dry finish.

Great smooth mouth; this is an extremely easy drinker. Hats off the brewery & hats off to Glunz for taking such good care of this beer!

Serving type: on-tap

05-01-2006 19:30:07 | More by Redrover

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

4.3/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I had this on tap at the brewery restaurant on March 20, 2006.

A: Murky chestnut, fluffy white head, great retention and lace.

S: Bready malt, a little banana.

T: Bready malt, a little banana. Slight sweetness, but very nicely balanced.

M: Moderate body and carbonation. Creamy and smooth.

D: Exceptional (So much flavour, yet they go down so easy!)

Serving type: on-tap

04-04-2006 23:43:29 | More by Derek

DrunkMcDermott

Illinois

3/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Draft, at the Maple Tree Inn, Blue Island, IL. Not quite up to what I hoped to find. Still pretty nice, though. Color is beer-bottle brown under a fizzy head. Taste is sugary and kind of light. Banana flavor builds up with not much else to balance it.

Serving type: on-tap

03-30-2006 16:22:09 | More by DrunkMcDermott

shbobdb

Indiana

4.6/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Wow. This is an interesting Dunkel Weizen. It reminds me of the Ayinger Ur-Weiss, because the dark munich malts really make their presence known. Their rich, smooth malt character blends with the complex, grainy malt character of the wheat with spicy clove and other yeast notes balance the malts to produce one of the finest beers I've had in a while. Wow.

Serving type: on-tap

03-04-2006 19:01:36 | More by shbobdb

Denali

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had this on tap at the Flying Saucer in Nashville, TN.

Brown opaque sort of like Mott's apple juice with small tan head that dissipated. Bready and malty aroma. Sweet burnt malt flavor dominates. Fruit flavors also come through (plums?). Very lightly carbonated. I did not detect any banana nor cloves flavors, which I would have also liked, but was good tasting nevertheless.

Serving type: on-tap

09-13-2004 04:43:09 | More by Denali

TripelJ

Florida

4.83/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Now Quaffing: Weihenstephaner Dunkel (draught)

When I first saw the tap handle, I thought it must be a dream. Poured a deep, tawny brown with a nice familiar opaqueness. There was a nice, dense off-white head, which receded leaving minimal traces of lacing. Aroma is dominated by sweetness and accompanied by a pleasant yeast smell. Taste is also sweet, with the malts being the dominant one in this complex relationship. There is a light citrus in the flavor and a perfectly placed crispness from the carbonation. The mouthfeel is medium and incredibly smooth. I don't usually drink wheat beers in session, but this one would be the one I would choose. One of the strongest features is that this beer is very smooth and easy to drink which makes it perfect for people testing the waters of better beer. It also has enough character to please the veteran beer advocates.

Serving type: on-tap

05-30-2004 15:27:15 | More by TripelJ

Boilermaker88

California

4.85/5  rDev +13.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Found this at a small German-themed restaurant/bar in Glendale, AZ. My brother-in-law and I ducked in there while our wives were doing the post-Thanksgiving shipping ritual. This dark wheat beer was presented in a 23oz Weihenstephaner weissbier glass. The beer was a beauty for the eye: cloudy, almost muddy, brown with a ton of little streams of carbonation rushing to the underside of a massive, pillowy, 2" thick off-white head that left gobs of webby lace down the sides of the glass.
The smell was a rich and inviting blend of bready malt, clove, and banana. I was constantly sticking my nose into the glass to enjoy the aromas. The taste was classic German weissbier: banana and cloves abounding atop a solid yeasty malt backbone. The addition of some mild caramel notes enhanced the flavors. The banana taste was strong but not overpowering or causing the overall taste to seem imbalanced. The feel was light-bodied, clean and crisp. Very refreshing.
Drinkability was off the chart. I quickly polished off the first glass and ordered up a second which I savored at a less greedy rate. I just couldn’t help it with the first glass - it was just so damn good. This dunkel wiess is a stellar offering from Brauerei Weihenstephan, to go with their superb hefeweizen.

Serving type: on-tap

12-01-2003 17:45:21 | More by Boilermaker88

aracauna

Georgia

4.28/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is swank beer. Not up to Aventinus standards, but damn near close (yes I realize they are different styles). Just a tad darker than Schneider Weiss -- cloudy tarnished copper. Big meringue head, the kind where bubble pop and a leave a permanent pit. The aroma, in addition to some of the typical aromas had this aroma I associate with stilton cheese. It's not a cheesiness, but that aroma that I can't really describe but think of as a smokey earthiness. Great hefe flavors, a bit milder than I prefer (I'm a Schneider Weiss aficionado) but this is made up by the darker malt flavors. A bit like caramel and bananas. Great, elegant beer.

Serving type: on-tap

07-28-2003 16:15:45 | More by aracauna

Labeorphile

Texas

4.74/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. Nice hazy copper color with a fluffy white head. Not much lacing, but not much expected from style.

Aroma is amazing. Good blend of maltiness with a hint of spice. I've heard green apple and pie spice and those are perfect descriptions.

Flavor is great as well. Good malts with the spice punching through nicely among a good level of carbonation.

A truly delicious wheat beer and another solid offering from Weihenstephaner.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 01:46:09 | More by Labeorphile

DrunkenMonk

California

3.15/5  rDev -26.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.25

This poured a murky yellow brown, cloudy from the yeast, creating a frothy head.

The scent is malty but not aggressive.

The taste is malty and bready with a light mouthfeel, verging on watery.

This would be enjoyable on a bright day at a beer garden.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 06:52:50 | More by DrunkenMonk

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

4.38/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Appearance. Pours a hazy amber-gold with 1.5 fingers of frothy white head.

Smell Caramel and banana, spicy belgian yeast and some bubblegum and cloves.

Taste. Caramel, banana, belgian yeast and cloves, and a little bit of light malt. Pretty light and refreshing.

Mouthfeel. Medium-light body, medium-strong but soft and smooth carbonation.

Overall. I was surprised by how much I like this one.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2013 17:27:22 | More by Rutager

bmwats

Louisiana

4.05/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 500 ml bottle into a weizen.

A: Medium dark brown. Pours about a 2 finger, frothy, white head. Settles slowly and unevenly leaving little peaks and valleys as it does. Thick lacing.

S: Pecans, caramel, and roasted malt.

T: Woody, nutty, roasted malt, with hints of caramel.

M: Smooth. Syrupy and malty with a light buttery aftertaste.

D: Sip and savor.

Atmosphere is pretty great. Nice head, and lacing. Nose is full and flavorful. Flavor is nutty, and malty with some hints of caramel. Very well balanced. Overall, this is a great quaff.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 07:31:04 | More by bmwats

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A - This may be the lightest Dunkel I have ever had. A shade darker than the Hefeweizen, hazy with a solid inch of sticky white head.
S - Like the Hefe its filled with banana like yeasts, coriander, and a touch of plums/dark fruit.
T - Taste is a bit sweeter than the Hefeweizen and the yeast is not as cloying which is nice. The fruity aspect blends well with the bready flavors of the malt perfectly. Wheat and orange peel is balanced.
M - Light to medium in body, very refreshing stuff.

Overall this is a great Dunkel my only gripe is not much dark fruit or dark color but I can let that slide since this beer is pure delicious.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2013 04:16:48 | More by DrDemento456

MaximalC

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Pours a murky, burnt honey color with a cap of thick, craggy, beige foam. Aroma is fairly mild, smelling of caramel, banana, cloves, and yeast. The flavor perfectly matches the aroma, so I won't reiterate it here. I will say that the mouthfeel is divine, as the effervescent carbonation complements the flavor and body perfectly. This is very similar to their hefeweizen, just with more of a caramel flavor, which I actually find to be a little too sweet for my tastes. With that said, it's right for the style, and there's no denying the execution. This is one flavorful and refreshing beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2013 00:47:30 | More by MaximalC