Summit Dunkel Weizen - Summit Brewing Company

hardy008

Minnesota

4.1/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Cloudy burnt orange color with a 3 finger off white head with very good retention and lacing. The aroma has bananas, bread malt, and cloves. Smells like it should be a sweet beer.

The taste is sweet, but not overly sweet, with bananas, bread malt, cloves, yeast, and a small amount of lemon. Taste every bit like a Dunkelweizen should taste.

Light bodied with soft carbonation. Has a lightly sweet aftertaste. Very refreshing, and easy to drink. Nicely made.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2012 01:05:57 | More by hardy008

bmike86

Iowa

3.88/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I picked up a 6 pack from Byerly’s in Minnetonka.

Appearance --- a hazy golden-brownish (pretty much honey) in color with about 1 finger worth of a light off-white head with a tint of yellow, with a minimal amount of suds left lacing the glass while drinking.

Smell --- not much with the scent, a bit of banana and wheat

Taste --- banana, bread, malts

Mouth feel --- fairly light, minimal bitterness

Overall --- I am not a big fan of wheat beers, but am a fan of Summit’s take on the dunkel weizen. I think I would be a bit more excited about it, if it did not have as similar characteristics as the hefeweizen they recently axed from their lineup. I would love for this one to become a spring or fall seasonal, especially since I like this one and have little use for their Maibock. But with all of the recent changes to their lineup, I doubt additional change will happen. It is a shame, because I really enjoyed this one. If there are any around, I highly suggest sneaking in a taste of this before the new Unchained comes out and replaces this one.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2012 22:35:22 | More by bmike86

jsprain1

Minnesota

3.95/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Red with orange highlights. Head is thin but lasts well. Fairly hazy.
S- The smell is very heavy on the banana. There are some dark malts and a hint of clove, but those are pretty reserved compared to the banana. Still, very good aromas.
T- The taste is more balanced. A fair bit of spice up front. Some fruity, bananaesque sweetness round it out. There is just the slightest hint of smokyness in the finish.
M- Body is about standard for the style. I actually found it a bit overcarbed, a bit abrasive at times.
O- The dunkelweizen is a style that I think is way underrated by American breweries. I enjoy a good dunkel. This is a sound example that has all the requisites that needs just a touch more balancing and bit less aggressive carbonation to being a great example.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2012 01:23:58 | More by jsprain1

falloutsnow

Illinois

3.4/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from Beertopia in Omaha, NE
No bottled on date, but "1353 73W042" stamped on bottom
Poured into a Weihenstephaner weizen glass

Summit's unchained dunkelweiss is a version of the style that plays up the roasted characters of the style a bit, bringing out some char and chocolate in the normal dunkelweiss mix. Unfortunately, the beer is a bit weak in its olfactory and gustatory presentation, hinting at flavors more than asserting with them. The one flavor that is overly expressed, I felt, was the roasted malt, which ventured into slightly burnt malt territory (and believe me, I've burnt malt before), and comes across as less than desirable. Overall, a fairly average to slightly above average version of the style.

Pours a very tall, tan head, as expected, made up of small and medium-sized bubbles. Retention is only about average, this declines fairly quickly and only leaves minimal lacing on the sides of the glass. Head eventually settles to a thin (0.2cm) cap atop the body. Body of beer is a deep, fairly dark, orange-brown color, with light bringing out the orange around the edges of a brown center. Beer is opaque from swirled-in sediment, but I can see some carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass.

Aroma is fairly faint overall, yielding a bit of old banana, yeast, and a bit of toasted malt; you really have to dig to find some of these, though. Not as bold or bountiful as its German counterparts, pretty average.

Tasting opens with some mild roasted flavors and mild sweetness a bit like apple cider. Mid-palate brings in more roasted malt, overripe bananas, some bread dough, and a bit of light apple juice sweetness. The roasted malt sticks out a bit more than expected, more than usual in a dunkelweizen, actually coming across as slightly burnt. This is just at the border of unacceptable, but as it does not cross that line, I actually find it somewhat different and enjoyable. Back of palate picks up continued cider-like sweetness, bread-like flavors, and a hint of chocolate. Lingering aftertaste of slightly burnt malt, ripe banana, and some yeast. Generally good, but the burnt flavors aren't particularly to my liking and become off-putting after a while. Also, feel that the flavors could be bolder, like the scent.

Beer's body is medium-light in weight, with carbonation that's a bit below medium for this beer. The result is a fairly light beer that sits around a bit too long on the palate. Finish is dry with a slight residual stickiness on the lips.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2012 20:19:36 | More by falloutsnow

jimmah120

Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle with a best by date of 07/28/12

Look is a dark brown/amber with a small sticky head. Smell is very hefe-like at first with clove, banana, and yeast. As you dig, there's grain and malt manifesting as cinnamon rolls and freshly baked bread. Taste starts out crisp, grainy, and woody. Clove and banana notes fade into deep roasted flavors: light cocoa, toasted grain, cinnamon rolls again, and toasted bread. Very pleasant, but ultimately too sweet for my tastes.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 04:03:16 | More by jimmah120

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

4.05/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle poured into a weizen glass.
Enjoy by 08/16/12 printed on the neck.

A - Poured with most of the sediment, this beer is an incredibly cloudy deep caramel cube brown color with a thick, tall latte head. The loose bubbles were poorly retained for a weizenbier though, and left very little lace on the glass.

S - Explosive banana esters die out quickly to a lull, softly engaging the wheat nose and dark, sweet malt. Notes of molasses and brown sugar baked beans (minus the off-bean part) enter with clove and white pepper spiciness. Musty and earthy, this Unchained Dunkel Weizen has a complex aroma with lingering dark fruits and dense wheat bread.

T - Complimenting the typical weizen characteristics well, Unchained Dunkel Weizen offers a blend of caramelized malt sweetness with light nutty notes. The 'typical' aspects consist of a heavy yeast profile; banana and clove esters with some earthy white pepper spice. Mmm.

M - Medium-full bodied, the wheat adds a soft feel to the body that mellows out the spritzier carbonation. Balanced well, the beer is sweet but not cloying.

O - Summit's Unchained Dunkel Weizen doesn't scream excellence to me, but I'll be damned if it isn't a tasty brew. Heavy yeast profile found throughout this beer really shines with plentiful depth while wheat softens and rounds out the full body provided by some more, darker malts. The earthy characteristics push this beer towards something I'd really enjoy in late summer-early fall months.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2012 02:03:51 | More by BeerFMAndy

budgood1

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

pours out a turbid burnt sienna colour with a large frothy light tan head. ample lacing as per the style. looks great! banana esters upon first whif followed by a healthy dose of clove, caramel and cocoa. not overly spicy, but about just right. the taste provides more fruitiness than i was expecting...bananas and a lemon twist upon first impression. a slight alcohol spice intertwines with some clove and wheat notes. a nice hop layer also contibutes to the fun and contributes a slight bitterness. the addition of the healthy amount of dregs adds a definite yeasty aspect that seems to smooth out the overall profile quite a bit. unchained #9 has a relatively sturdy body with a creamy, smoothed out mouthfeel. pretty nice. drinkability is very good.

overall a winner IMHO. it sort of blurs the line between dunkel and weizenbock, but clearly lies in the former category. this offering is a respectable and unique rendition of a lesser known style. definitely recommended for consumption as a change up in the weizen drinking season.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2012 01:18:40 | More by budgood1

BedetheVenerable

Missouri

3.43/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Presentation: 12oz brown pop top with cool minimalist 'Unchained' label; best-by 8-16-12. Picked this up in KC...was looking all around mid-Mo for a dunkelweizen other than the 500 ml bottles of Weihenstephaner which are often out of code, and love Summit. KC gets Summit even though the rest of the state doesn't. Booyah!

Appearance: Murky sienna beer, capped with a dark eggshell colored crown with decent retention.

Smell: Mostly estery banana, with some doughy notes in the background, a ghostly whisper of alchol, and a hint of sweet graininess. As this warms, hints of clove and sweet toffee emerge, so I'm bumping this up from what I gave it originally. Pleasant overall, if not tons of depth.

Taste: Banana jumps out front from the get-go, which I don't really mind for the style. The only problem is (and it pains me to say this, as I was really wanting to love this beer) that there's not much behind it. There's very minimal bready malts, and a sort of odd light astringency here as well. Perhaps some dark fruit flavors as well, but they're mild (although nice). Overall, not a ton going on.

Mouthfeel: Fairly light, esp. for teh 6%, but it has that nice hefeweizen drinkability.

Overall: Like I said, I wanted to love this beer, but I just can't. It'd be great for gulping down with German food outside at a hot July picnic, but I probably wouldn't buy it again to drink on its own. Summit makes some really tasty beers, and their Unchained series has produced some awesome stuff, but this one's fairly average.

At around $8-9 a sixer, I'd have to give this a B-.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 03:24:10 | More by BedetheVenerable

TheQuietMan22

Iowa

3.93/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. It does not look like there is a freshness date.

Appearance: Poured into a 300 ml weizen glass. The color is cloudy, dark caramel. Two fingers of light tan head dissipated to leave a thin lacing and ring around the edge.

Smell: In a word: classic. Banana (very reminiscent of banana bread), cloves, apple, a little bubblegum, and an undertone of caramel and toffee. As the beer warms, hints of darker fruit emerge — mostly raisin and plum, but I could smell a little strawberry and raspberry, too.

Taste: Much like the smell, but the caramel and toffee are much more pronounced than the fruit. In the background are the usual suspects: banana, cloves, a little pepper, and apple.

Drinkability: All in all, it is pretty standard. However, off the top of my head I do not think I have had a better American dunkelweizen. The brewer mentioned it was inspired by a German version and I think he matched it to a tee.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2012 04:06:52 | More by TheQuietMan22

kwill

Texas

4.73/5  rDev +24.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Hazy golden brown, just like you would expect from the style.

Smell/Taste: Excellent. The banana and clove is heavy and adds a great aroma and flavor.

Overall: Excellent dunkelweiss. I am a big fan of this style and Summit's version is among the best I have had.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2012 01:54:53 | More by kwill

ZAP

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A-Hazed burnt orange color

S-Overripe banana drizzled with cocoa and caramel....smells the part...

T-Similar to the aroma but not as strong....tasty but slightly dialed down in flavor compared to the aroma...the banana is still there along with now a hint of vanilla but the cocoa/caramel is more muted on the taste..

M-Easy drinking...carbonation is about perfect....I hate when Weizens get too charged up and this does NOT do that.

O-Very enjoyable. Not quite in NG Black Wheat territory but a fantastic rendition of a not too commonly brewed style. I definitely will be looking to secure another 6er or two of this for the summer.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2012 04:47:45 | More by ZAP

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Unchained #9

Pours a layer of beige tan head. Sticks around for a while. Color is a hazed dark golden bronze. Rustic looking.

Aroma: Bananas, chocolate, cloves, and other spices. A touch of caramel sweetness.

Taste: More sweetness to start things out. Caramel and bananas. Cloves, chocolate, and just a hint of roasted malts.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and creamy. Light to medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation. Ends a little dry.

Overall, this was a decent beer. Not my favorite rendition of they style, but definitely drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2012 00:43:21 | More by mothman

HopHead84

California

3.6/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

5/13/2012

A: Murky orange tinged brown with half an inch of jaundice cream that bubbles into nothing after minute.

S: Baked bread melds with clove and banana esters. Lesser notes of bubblegum accompany wheat and touch of citrus. There's just a hint of vanilla.

T: Rich bready malt notes with strong clove and an even blend of banana and bubblegum. I get a little pear and a dash of orange.

M: Medium body with upper medium carbonation.

Overall: A pretty nice Dunkelweizen, though a little heavy on the clove for me.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2012 02:49:46 | More by HopHead84

sweethome

Illinois

3.28/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle pour in to Chimay small goblet. Rather dark amber color, minimal head.

Nose of over-ripe banana and bubblegum. A hint of yeast. Smooth entry - slight, citric bite. Yeah,slight. A rather easy drinker. Not much banana/clove here - more dunkel than weizen. Nothing wrong here, just not full or deep, without complexity.

Rather smooth and light for style.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2012 05:48:30 | More by sweethome

momoagogo14

Iowa

4.4/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Serving glass: poured from bottle into weizen glass

Appearance: Medium thick, off-white head, good retention, cloudy burnt orange color, pretty good lacing

Smell: biscuity, some caramel, hints of clove, bubblegum, banana

Taste: fruity up front (the banana comes through more here than in the nose) followed by bready, caramel malt. Slightly hoppier than most dunkelweizens---a little bit of a bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light mouthfeel, expected more carbonation. Dry finish is unexpected, but in a good way.

Overall: As a bit of a dunkelweizen snob (my first introduction to one was the world-class Weihenstephaner version) I think I went in with low expectations. And I was so wrong! This is yet another Unchained Series brew done right. Great representation of style. Great transition beer between late winter and early spring, though I’m finding myself enjoying it just as much in May. My only regret is that this is a limited edition beer. I’d much prefer Summit add this to their seasonal rotation for the spring, replacing the Maibock.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 20:32:22 | More by momoagogo14

tewaris

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured into a snifter. Very slightly hazy and dark amber with a rich head. Good retention and lacing. Fruity as well as phenolic notes, and plenty of sweetness in the aroma. Bready notes as well. Taste is a little unexpected after the aroma... doesn't really taste as 'German wheat beer' as it smelled. Clean, too clean. Some sweetness as well as some bitterness with only hints of esters. Mouthfeel is smooth, and the beer drinks easy.

4, 3.5, 3, 4, 3

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2012 06:42:36 | More by tewaris

barnzy78

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle, pours a cloudy light brownish-orange. Huge frothy tan head leaves good lacing on the glass and fades to a thin layer of foam atop the ale. Aromas are of wheat, clove, maybe some orange, but seem muted. Tastes are wheat, caramel, clove, banana, faint orange. Mouth-feel is full-bodied, creamy, and smooth. Finishes with a tingle on the tongue. Overall, good take on a dunkelweizen, but I think I got my hopes up too high for this one - nobody does a Weisse bier like Germany.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2012 16:18:35 | More by barnzy78

zeledonia

Minnesota

3.8/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle says best by 08/16/12 - no problem there. I've been enjoying Summit's one-off series, looking forward to trying this latest one. Poured into my new curvy Surly pint glass (I'm short on weizen glasses).

Pours a hazy medium amber brown. One finger of cream-colored head, decent retention. Slippery lacing needs suspenders.

Smells like a malty hefeweizen. Loads of banana yeast, some rich sweet malts. Spice is there but light, at least in the nose. A bit of chewy bread. I like it, but I want more complexity.

Taste has less banana and more other stuff. More spice (hello, cloves), and more hops than I'd expected, bringing a medium bitterness. Once again, I like it, but I want more depth. And for this style, I want it to be a little less persistently bitter.

Mouthfeel is very nice. Medium-bodied, tingly, and moderately dry. Most of it dries off the tongue, but a bit of the flavor lingers on.

A tasty beer. Nothing about it bowled me over, but I could drink a whole lot of these. And it's a perfect Minnesota spring beer, with those hefeweizen characteristics teasing me about summer, but the darkness and malts I want from my winter brews.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 02:10:24 | More by zeledonia

herman77

Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Dark and hazy amber/ice tea-brown with a small off white head. Okay lacing.

S: Slight clove and yeast, with bananas, bready malt and a bit of toffee. A lot like a yeasty banana bread.

T: More spice in the taste then the nose. Slight clove spiciness that lasts all the way through. A little banana, wheat and malt. A bit chalky, but in a good way.

M: Medium body, slightly below average carbonation. Soft and pretty smooth feeling

O: Pretty solid. Not my favorite of the unchained, but interesting and glad they made it. Pretty good drinkability too.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 01:52:53 | More by herman77

jjanega08

Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Batch Number 09... No other freshness dating.

A= Pours a nice hazy brownish dunkel like color the head is a bit small for a dunkel rising only a half finger and falling to a thin skin on top of the glass with some spotty lacing.

S= The smell is a lot of sweet bready malt. The bananas I usually associate with the dunkel is missing but there is a definite yeastyness to it that covers all of the sweet grainy buiscuity malt.

T= The taste is much more of what I think of when I think dunkel. A nice sweet bready malt character is prevelent in it but the yeast is able to take the main role. There is a great wheat character to the beer and the yeast brings together a bit of that banana character I am familiar with. A nice spicy yeast character maybe cloves or some other spice comes through that is unique to a dunkel.

M= Nicely carbonated and a great body to it.

O= At first I was skeptical but the flavor is there with this one. A solid offer that I hope to be able to enjoy for a while. They did the style justice on this one. While not the most outlandish dunkel it is a good one that is worth trying again and again.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2012 03:41:06 | More by jjanega08

NuclearDolphin

Minnesota

4.18/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a Pint Glass

Appearance - Dark cloudy/hazy brown color. Pours a nice foamy 3 finger head that is slightly brown. Good lacing retention as well!

Smell - Caramel, toffee, bananas, and cloves. There's also a slight earthy scent to this beer, but it's not terribly noticeable.

Taste - Bubblegum, caramel, banana, cloves and malts. The taste is much sweeter and vibrant that the smell with each flavor rich and sweet!

Mouthfeel - Very light in body with some moderate carbonation. It's got a very crisp and I found myself drinking this quite fast. This is a very refreshing beer to drink!

Overall - I'm not terribly familiar with the Dunkelweizen style of beer, but what I got was a crisp and tasty Hefeweizen with a very sweet doppelbock-like caramel kick to it. I enjoyed this beer quite a bit, and I would happily drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 04:56:37 | More by NuclearDolphin

Mdog

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Brown, good head.

Smell: Wheaty, yeasty, mild banana.

Taste: Nice sweetness, banana, yeasty. Weizenbock-lite.

Overall: I really like this beer! I like weizenbocks, especially the ones that are banana-centric, and this one combines those flavors into a less-alcohol-potent beverage. I'm going to have to pick up more of this one before it disappears, probably my favorite so far of the Summit unchained series.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2012 19:28:28 | More by Mdog

maximum12

Minnesota

3.28/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Well, this is only my second dunkelweizen ever, so I my expectations are stripped down to their g-strings. Excepting, of course, that the Unchained series has been very good for the most part. But enough of that. 12 oz. bottle.

Pour gives vigorous head, so much that I have to pause in the middle to give it a rest. Occluded amber with brown thrown in. Smell is strong cloves, bananas, old Topps bubblegum (before they stopped putting it in baseball card packs because, y'know, it might ruin the value of a card). Wheat is faint. Nice.

Unchained #9 Dunkelweizen isn't quite what I saw advertised on the board. Wheat is much more prominent in the mouth, & interacts oddly with the sugar-drenched bananas. Lots of clove-spice in the middle, devolving into yeasty esters on the finish. Snapping bubblegum permeates the entire org structure of the brew.

Very strange beer; given my youthful inexperience with the style, not sure if this is indicative or an outlier, but the tastes & whatnot just don't meld all that well for me. Still a pretty good beer, but leaves me puzzled.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2012 02:00:13 | More by maximum12

BeardedBoffin

Minnesota

3.8/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The latest in Summit's Unchained Series is a Dunkel Weizen. It pours a cloudy copper-amber color with a cap of really thick sticky foam. Banana and pear mix with in the aroma with a dash of spice. The wheat adds character and texture to the body. The flavors are a bit sweet with some hints of caramel. This is solid drinkable brew.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2012 00:09:48 | More by BeardedBoffin

MattyG85

Minnesota

4.43/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 12 oz. bottle into a Sam Adams perfect pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a dark and very hazy brown with a tint of orange and peach. Lots of rising bubbles and a huge five fingers of off white head with good retention. Lots of lacing clinging to the glass.

Smell: Big wheat aroma with some lightly roasted malts. Big smell of banana esters and clove spice. Also lots of yeast and bready biscuit. Light hints of chocolate from the dark malts but the yeast and banana stands out the most. Fruits are very vibrant. A very solid smell.

Taste: Big taste of banana esters throughout with wheat and bready biscuity malts. Good notes of caramel, toffee, and clove spices. Subtle hints of chocolate underneath the fruit. Light hints of earthy hops towards the finish provide a little bitterness. Pretty good taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate level of carbonation. Very creamy and smooth. Somewhat sweet but has a drying finish.

Overall: A very solid take on the style. The Unchained series does it again. Very nice ester and biscuit flavors. A good easy drinking warm weather beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2012 05:08:24 | More by MattyG85