Hofbräu Dunkel - Hofbräuhaus München

VoodooBear

Puerto Rico

3.28/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Presentation: 11.2 oz. green bottle, served in a steidel.

Appearance: Develops a one finger head that goes down into a thin ring. It's dark caramel colored.

Smell: The aroma es mostly of sweet malt, nothing else.

Taste: The malt sweetness is very dominant and present but not cloying.

Mouthfeel: It feels a bit watery and smooth. It has medium carbonation and it's easy to drink because of the sweetness.

Overall: Complex enough so as to not be boring, but easy enough to drink so as to not discourage drinkers not accustomed to this type of beer. It manages to be very sweet but balanced, not overwhelming. A very well made brew.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 05:46:15 | More by VoodooBear

TheSixthRing

California

3.71/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Code on here of L021M... is this a Best before 12/21/13?

Appearance - Pours a clear ruby brown with an off-white finger width head. Fair retention, resulting in a near flat the surface, and a small ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass. Virtually no lacing present.

Smell - Moderate toffee aroma. Touches on bread and spice.

Taste - Follows the nose. Toffee sweetness upfront and throughout, backed by bready malt notes and traces of diacetyl. Faint earthy and spicy hop bitterness near the finish.

Mouthfeel - Light to medium body with moderate carbonation. Smooth, easy finish.

Overall - A solid, but unspectacular dunkel. Certainly drinkable, even somewhat enjoyable, but it's nothing I couldn't live without.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 05:25:44 | More by TheSixthRing

delta490

Virginia

3.31/5  rDev -12%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25

Poured a 330ml bottle into a Sam Adams glass. Poured a clear dark amber with a bit of cream colored head that lingers and leaves lacing. Aroma was very nondescript, with some malt sweetness that may have been chocolate or I could have made it up. The taste is about the same, a little more depth but not much beyond generic malt sweetness. Mouthfeel is very nice, a little hint of carbonation and very smooth. All in all, not bad, but not overly impressive.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 13:52:34 | More by delta490

barczar

Kentucky

3.61/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear medium brown with red highlights and a thick, frothy half inch cream head that dissipates slowly, leaving sheets of lacing.

Aroma is nutty and toasty, with earthy hop character and hints of roast malt fruitiness.

Flavor reveals deeply toasted breadcrust, slightly burnt, at the base. Nutty, deeply caramelized malt mingles with whispers of dark cherry. The finish is slightly dry and earthy.

Body is slightly watery and fairly slick, with fairly low carbonation and slight alcohol warmth.

Good malt caramelization, but the mouthfeel left something to be desired.

Serving type: on-tap

03-26-2013 23:59:13 | More by barczar

ianjsullivan

Maryland

3.79/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

ST: 11.2oz poured into a flute.

A: Rusty red and very clear, the malt is obvious. A small head, white, though a darker white.

S: Delicious malty bread with the hint of hops.

T: Bready malty goodness, sweet, with a hint of herbal flowers on the finish to balance the sweetness.

M: Medium and round.

O: Enjoyable malty beer with enough character to not be one note. Great with bratwurst and liverwurst.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 17:36:05 | More by ianjsullivan

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.7/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

Half-litre in the new Berlin Hofbrau Hall: 24 Feb 2013.

Dark brown with hints of ruby red when the light caught it: on top a tanned crown of uneven foam.

Malts rule the nose and taste: bready, biscuity and semi-sweet caramel in that order. The beer however is balanced nicely by a slightly bitter undertone and a dry hop finish.

Like most dark lagers it lacked a little body, but overall it was a fine example of this style.

Serving type: on-tap

03-11-2013 14:49:15 | More by BlackHaddock

T100Mark

California

3.83/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

An 11.2 ounce Euro bottle. Served cold in a 16 ounce mixing glass.

Appearance - Amber color. Surprisingly clarity. Except for the head, it could almost pass as bourbon. Speaking of the head, course brown bubbles that vanish quickly. Minimal lacing on the glass.

Smell - Good.

Taste - Malt. Very smooth. A little dry on the backend. Very drinkable but a little lacking in character.

Mouth - The beer has a syrupy feel to it. Very pleasant.

Overall - This beer is pleasant/unassuming. Yes; I am damning the beer with faint praise. I was hoping for a little more.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2013 02:51:12 | More by T100Mark

wowbagger

Virginia

3.19/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Very nice dark amber color. Middle of the road head with middle of the road retention.

Smells a little peppery. Nothing exciting, just normal beery smell mostly, maybe a little staleness.

First taste gives a bit of that spice but not much more. Doesn't taste 'dark' really, maybe a more flavorful light beer.

Good mouthfeel, maybe a bit thin but it rolls around the tongue nicely. A good full swallow reveals some good balanced hop and a residual sweetness. It feels very light, but not overly simple or watery at all. A good mix of just a few things which works very well.

I feel like this is a good beer to have on hand for company or maybe with a meal. It's straightforward and gives the sense of a brewer who has worked hard to perfect a simple recipe. I would recommend.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 23:47:51 | More by wowbagger

superspak

Michigan

3.8/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

330 ml bottle into pilsener glass, bottled on 5/14/2012. Pours fairly clear dark copper color with a 1 finger dense light khaki head with nice retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of caramel, apple, pear, raisin, toast, dark bread, molasses, herbal, floral, and earthy hops. Nice and pleasant aromas with good strength and balance. Taste of caramel, pear, apple, toffee, toast, dark bread, light chocolate, cracker grain, herbal, floral, grass, and earthy hops. Lingering notes of caramel, light fruits, toast, toffee, dark bread, light chocolate, cracker, grass, floral, and herbal on the finish for a short bit. Very nice flavor balance and robustness of dark malty flavors; with nice light floral hop balance; and zero cloying flavors present after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a creamy, lightly sick, and fairly crisp mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with hardly any warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very good dunkel lager. Nicely robust and balanced flavors; and extremely smooth to drink. A nicely enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2013 05:17:34 | More by superspak

LeeryLeprechaun

Colorado

3.54/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Beer pours a brilliant dark red color with a small whiteish head. The head lasts but is not very strong.

The aroma of the beer is roasted with some fruitiness from the yeast. No hops can be detected. Very lager like in quality with the clean nose and somewhat subtle fruit aroma.

The beer tastes clean, very well balanced. Somewhat of a malty finish with a hint of roast and caramel. Very simple.

Mouthfeel is medium and nothing special.

Overall the beer is okay. It i very drinkable and it is free of an technical flaws. It is also not the best example of a dunkel that I have had.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2013 01:21:15 | More by LeeryLeprechaun

allenson21

New York

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I prefer this to the Hofbrau original (probably due to my propensity to prefer dark beers).

-12oz bottle to pint glass

A - Pours an attractive middle-brown with a slight amber/deep red hue. Very little head (1/8th inch) which disperses rather quickly from the center-outward.

S - Rich malts with hints of caramel and the slightest hint of booze.

T - True to its appearance and aroma: rich malt and caramel. Very little booze, but it's there. I detected nodes of brown sugar and maple syrup.

M - Carbonated well. Still drinks very easy. Provokes the palate.

O - Well above-average beer. Not exceptional. Taste, combined with carbonation, makes it a refreshing beer that both appeals to AND satisfies the taste buds.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2012 03:13:06 | More by allenson21

bushbeer75

Michigan

3.6/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

11.2 oz bottle

Hofbrau Dunkle Lager poured clear dark amber producing an ample light tan head that had average retention. The nose was of roasted malts and light hops. The flavor was stronger than the nose; was dominated by roasted, caramel malts, toasted bread, a little toffee and light balancing hops. Mouth feel is lighter medium, crisp and a little dry finish.

Overall, Hofbrau Dunkle Lager is easy drinking and a good representation of the Dunkle Lager style.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2012 18:50:40 | More by bushbeer75

damndirtyape

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

11.2oz bottle (L 135 L 09:07) poured into a 200mL Rastel Pokal Bitburger glass.

Appearance: Clear dark copper color. Off-white head which died back fairly quickly to just be a ring at the edge of the glass. Some lacing that kept sliding down the glass over time.

Smell: Tiny bit of metallic, tiny bit of skunk, otherwise mostly caramelized malt and some German noble hops.

Taste: Malty, but nicely balanced with noble hop spiciness/bitterness at the end. Simple but tasty.

Mouthfeel: High carbonation approaching fizzy. Some spiciness on the tongue.

Overall / Drinkability: Other than being a bit too carbonated, I could easily see myself having a full liter of this over a good meal. A very simple and tasty beer that is quite drinkable and impressive in its simple flavor and aroma profile. I think I like this far better than the original Hofbrau.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2012 23:51:29 | More by damndirtyape

RoamingGnome

Wisconsin

3.93/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed on tap at the Gasthaus. Arrived in the half liter stein. Served chilled...

A) A pleasing brown brew with over a finger of creamy light tan head. Nice retention, as this slowly settled to a dusting. Decent lacing as well...

S) A light, but enjoyable aroma that was of toasted bread, caramel sweetness, plus a little earthy hops.

T) Darker malt, bready, toasted grains, caramel and a hint of butter. There is a woody/earthy quality to this brew, with just enough hops flavor. Finishes clean, with an earthy/toasty aftertaste.

M) Medium body with lighter carbonation. This beer drinks really easy, as it is quite smooth. A very pleasurable mouthfeel.

O) Haven't had a dunkel in awhile. This was a good one. I'd definitely revisit this brew. Glad to recommend...

I paired this with the pork shank plate, which was also quite tasty...

Serving type: on-tap

11-01-2012 04:08:20 | More by RoamingGnome

Everydayoff

Thailand

3.63/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On-tap served in a Hofbrau weizen glass at Bottoms Up, Bangkok.

A:
It comes with a clear body and a ruby brown hue. The off-white creamy head crowns thickly with good retention before subsiding into some foamy sheet covering atop and leaving some patchy lace behind.

S:
Caramel, dark bready malt, roasted bread, hint of creamy chocolate and slight fruitiness undertone.

T:
Sturdy bitterness from roasted malt and a bit from hop is balanced by sweet bready malt and subtle fruity sourness yet with a hint of alcohol ester.

M:
Smooth mouthfeel is yielded by its medium-bodied and lively wave of moderate carbonation.

O:
Without doubt, this is overall pretty good dark German lager also without any offensiveness in drinkability.

Serving type: on-tap

10-23-2012 13:17:00 | More by Everydayoff

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle into pint glass

Appearance – Pours a deep amber-ruby color with a big off white head. The head has a light level of retention, eventually fading to give a light of lacing.

Smell – The smell is light, but consists of some light notes of a bready, caramel, and dark fruit nature.

Taste – The taste starts with flavors of a lighter breadiness mixed with some sweeter malt. As the taste advances some fruit flavors come to the tongue. The fruit flavors are largely dark fruit in nature with cherry and some plum. In the end some roasted bready flavors then come to the tongue and round out some of the sweeter flavors rather nicely (but still rather sweet in the end).

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the lighter to average side with a carbonation level that is rather average. Both are rather nice for the brew and suit both the fruit, as well as bready flavors nicely.

Overall – Easy drinking and good. A nice brew.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 01:23:00 | More by Darkmagus82

BuckeyeSlim

Ohio

3.83/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

11.2 oz. bottle poured into an English pint glass.

A – A one-finger head of loose, fluffy off-white foam quickly dissipates, leaving the surface covered in thin lace. A thin ring of foam circles the edge of the glass just above this. Held to a full-spectrum light, the beer is a brilliant deep red-orange amber color and clear.

S – Light toffee and butterscotch/caramel backed by subtle esters of ripe strawberry and pear. Lightly toasted malts suggest a biscuit, and move to the front as the glass warms, along with a hint of spice and soft floral hops. Nose is soft and requires coaxing.

T – Very true to the nose. Nicely toasted malts lead the way for rich, chewy caramels with just a hint of red cinnamon on the edges of the tongue. Very well-balanced and not at all sweet. Simply, but tasty.

M – A touch fizzy initially, the beer is smooth across the tongue. Body is somewhat thin, but the structure shows firmness and nice integration of ingredients. Almost no finish to speak of, it ends and is gone on the swallow.

O – A good example of a traditional Bavarian dunkel. Light, but flavorful malts that aren't at all sweet makes this a beer worth having several steins of across an evening, especially if matched with pork and sauerkraut. Tasty and enjoyable. While there's nothing about it that makes it distinctive, it's a solid, comfortable beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2012 00:56:54 | More by BuckeyeSlim

Strix

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured a clear very dark brown, decent initial head that gradually fades to nothing..

Caramel and bready smell.

Bready and caramel malts, fig, and a bit of hop spice.

Light carbonation, smooth mouthfeel.

This was solid, but didn't really stand out for me.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2012 04:10:33 | More by Strix

Offa

California

3.98/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is a very good, solid dunkel, characterful yet very drinkable, if simple.

Copper brown, it has a smallish tan head soon thinning to foamy ring.

Aroma is caramelised barley, wood, herb & spice hints, very nice.

Taste is nice darkly toasty barley, slightly caramelly peppery spice & wood, almost a bitter orange quality like Amer (the aperitif). Very woody, balanced, it is simple and straightforward, but has a good, solid, well-rounded character and is nicely drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 23:42:33 | More by Offa

mdfb79

New York

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From 09/21/12 notes. Had this on tap at Max's in Baltimore at their German Beerfest. Served in a pint glass.

a - Pours a very dark brown color with two inches of off white fluffy head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of roasted malts, toasted malts, caramel malts, some light dark fruits, and bready malts. Super roasty and malty, but very nice.

t - Tastes of roasted malts, caramel malts, toffee, bready malts, toasted malts, plums, figs, raisins, and dark fruits. More caramel than the nose and lots of roastiness again.

m - Medium body and low to moderate carbonation. Super smooth and pretty easy to drink.

o - Overall I thought this was a very good dunkel. Super roasty and some nice caramel in the taste, and easy to drink. Would have it again.

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2012 21:33:16 | More by mdfb79

pkalix

California

4.45/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

now this is a truly special review for me.
after just leaving the famous OLD WORLD in Huntington Beach and having one of these on tap, i come home to find a bottle of this superb nectar in my frig (i like to surprise myself). minus the great ambience of THE RATHSKELLER downstairs at Old World, i am now comparing the keg version of the pub and the bottled version in my frig.
both had a great head expected of decent (although commercial) german brews which dissipated into nothing in the bottled version but lingered a bit longer in the kegged version. both are a beautiful, coppery brown with the traditional malty smell and caramel-ly taste. smell is also of that traditional and beautiful (not sure what kind) malt and is also present in the other commercials like paulaner etc....
little carbonation in the taste but after putting the glass down there becomes a mini explosion of tiny bubbles rising to create a thin layer of foam.
overall, who couldnt love this brew except for one who has simply had too many german commercials in his life? it's not an outstanding tasting brew, but commercially, head to head with any othe country on the globe, the germans have got beer right.
i have to admit, however, that the first tatsings of the kegged version were unmarred as the latter tastes became slightly impaired by the sauerkraut and bratwurst which lent a tad numbing bitterness to the taste. but, man, i wish i were still at The Rathskeller. . . . . .
oh, and one more.... WHY/HOW CAN THERE BE NO PICTURE OF THIS BEER ON THE SITE???? so, i am uploading my picture. what a beautiful picture it is, isnt it? okay, never mind- it wont upload my jpeg. maybe THAT's why there's no pictures...

Serving type: on-tap

09-20-2012 22:31:44 | More by pkalix

MadScientist

New York

4.05/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A: This beer pours a medium-dark copper with great ruby highlights. The cream light tan head has a moderate retention period

S: There is an initial light DMS note that quickly goes away, along with it seems like a quick flash of German hops but that's the last you ever smell of hops in this beer. A moderate roast grain and slight graininess dominate the aroma with a slight biscuity and very slight caramel notes. There is no fruity esters, no diacetyl and no DMS.

T: A soft palate feel and a somewhat complex roasted malt flavor dominate. There is a little caramel like sweetness with a moderate hop bitterness and no hop flavor. The balance is event between roasted malt and hop bitterness. The finish off dry with and aftertaste of roasted grain hop bitterness. A moderately-light toffee that shows as the beers is warms up.

M: The mouth feel is very soft and creamy with a medium-heavy body and moderate carbonation. There is no warmth nor astringency.

O: This is a roasty and moderately bitter beer with clean lager fermentation. The subtleties keep this from be a two dimensional beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2012 22:45:48 | More by MadScientist

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I picked this up at Wegman's in a mix-a-six, enjoyed chilled in a mug.

The color is deep amber bordering on brown with great clarity and fast moving carbonation visible with a thick tan cream with tight bead that sticks as streaks of lace. The smell is very fragrant with layers of malt that bring to mind nuts, caramel, toast and subtle herbal hop odors which also have spice and light floral accents which add to the mild earthy slight coffee-like malt odor.
The feel is good with rich toasted grain texture and moderate spice with low bitterness and moderately high carbonation with a low alcohol influence on the palate.

This dunkel is very tasty and has a nice amount of munich malt type toasted grain with slight bready accent and nutty flavors which come off slightly in the biscuit range with mild fruit which is more like dried fruit or slightly sweet raisin with a nice spicy hop finish. Overall I was very happy I got this and would drink it again, I consider it a pretty decent, solid representation of the style and it is a nice drinkable dark lager.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 21:21:00 | More by Slatetank

SometimesIfart

Michigan

3.53/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into a lager glass. Pours a dark amber with a quickly receding, Almost non existent head. Leaving almost no lacing. The smell is of mild hops, dark figs, slight sweet candy, and some agave. Oh boy, will this be another tequila flavored beer? I sure hope not!. The taste? Holy fruitiness! Tastes like an alcoholic version of Minute Made's fruit punch!. Dark cherry, Dark cherry, and more Dark cherry. Kind of reminds me of a more flavorful version of Spaten Optimator. The mouthfeel adds more dark cherry, some medium grape, and quite an amount of bitterness. Not bad. Overall, This was a good, Easy to drink beer that I got for free. Can't beat that!

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2012 02:18:49 | More by SometimesIfart

RichardAlexander

4.75/5  rDev +26.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Amzing beer with a nice rich, full body taste. Smells like it taste. Good amount of head when poored. No bitter bite. Real nice dark malt flavor with hints of caramel and chocolate. The end is much like the taste of toasted bread. Just a hint of spicyness and a little bit of hop. This beer is a real winner.

I liked it some much a had to go out a get a 1/2 keg of it at home in the kegerator. Its just as good as ever. Really a treat.

Serving type: on-tap

07-13-2012 12:05:25 | More by RichardAlexander