Edelweiss Dunkel Weissbier - Hofbräu Kaltenhausen (Brau Union)

Garin

Alberta (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is a murky brown beer with a foamy, sticky head on top.

Clovey and peppery notes all through. A yeasty, bready wheat character builds over time. Clean and refreshing, with a nice maltiness to it too. Vanilla and banana fill out a bit of the sweetness. A nice round mouth feel with a refreshing tingle finishes this all off. I like it a lot.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2004 07:14:44 | More by Garin

PaF

Israel

2.75/5  rDev -30.4%

03-30-2013 21:45:26 | More by PaF

bsopko

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +1.3%

03-01-2013 21:20:45 | More by bsopko

severi12

5/5  rDev +26.6%

01-07-2013 18:34:50 | More by severi12

nlriehl87

Illinois

4/5  rDev +1.3%

11-21-2012 16:15:28 | More by nlriehl87

Azoroth

4/5  rDev +1.3%

10-29-2012 17:00:26 | More by Azoroth

Paczek

Michigan

5/5  rDev +26.6%

01-29-2012 15:18:32 | More by Paczek

CSFerrier

Michigan

4/5  rDev +1.3%

12-16-2011 00:55:23 | More by CSFerrier

calcio360jrd

Florida

4.05/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I ordered this beer along with others from austrianshop.com. I remember the first time when i went to europe in 2001, we were in innsbruck, austria and went to the pub adjacent to the inn we were staying at. The man behind the counter after talking about what beers i like in the states, asked me if i wanted "man" beer or "lady" beer! I of course said "man" beer and he broke out a couple of these for us.

At the time it was one of the best beers i had ever had, still a very good beer, i just think over the years my tastes have changed.

It pours out with a thick white head and that particular dunkelweizen smell of toasty bread and malt. Color was toffee and taste was still wonderful. The mouthfeel for me was what i remembered most, think and creamy almost and lingered on the pallette.

Still a great beer, just not as great as i remember it, that was 10 years ago though...

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2011 13:12:00 | More by calcio360jrd

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very impressive looking to say the least. Now as soon as this finally relented it was replaced by copious amount of side glass lace which really helped to thicken up the overall appearance. Lots of carbonation could be seen streaming up from the bottom of the glass throughout.

Lots of fresh wheat and grain smells came flying off of it. Also inside was a good solid amount of yeast. This did a very fine job of lightening up the overall aroma and really giving it some solid depth and a good amount of character. There was actually a decent amount of kick to it in the flavor. The first sips were pretty intense with a bit of a caramel or bitterness to the finish. Lots of yeast presence again and this served up some nice fruity flavors. A good mix of peach and maybe some apples were present way in the back and the major bread like backing just served to push forward the more subtle flavors that were present in the back. Overall here this was really a very full bodied flavor. E even noticed a bit of a roasted nuttiness to it. So light and refreshing but yet at the same time, complex in flavor and body. Nothing at all bad can be said here, just a wonderful session type ale.

Great choice here and another very solid offering.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2011 02:06:36 | More by mikesgroove

Brabander

Netherlands

3.58/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I took this beer home with me after a ski holiday. A good starter for the weekend. The name of this beer beer is funny actually because it says that it's a dark whitebeer.

I have the big glass to gour this one in but i decided to use my most favourite glass of the Struise.

The beer looks quit good with a broken white to very lightbrown head and lightbrown fluid.

For the rest not really much to say about this beer. It's good drinkable like the most of this type of beers.

You can smell the yeast adn there is not much mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2011 20:47:42 | More by Brabander

sfprint

Germany

3.68/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Orangy/brown, but somehow bright. Smallish head, but ok rising carbonation.
S: Heavy-ish yeast, very sweet banana, nitrous oxide. Very much like banana bread.
T: Not so flavorful, but what's there is nice. Tangy fresh lemon juice, yeast, neutral medium body.
M: Light stinging, otherwise neutral.
O: Decent dunkelweizen, but not strong in flavor. Easy going down.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2011 00:47:26 | More by sfprint

jaredmachine

Germany

4.88/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

One of my favorites, and for good reason.

This beer is a little more red in color than other dark weizens. It's unfiltered, the carbonation isn't very obvious, and it has a big, cream-colored head that stays for a majority of the beer's life span. When you pour it and see the obviously full body, you know you're about to deal with texture along the lines of a Stout.

The smell is subtle: rich but not strong, with a hint of vanilla, banana, and spices.

The taste is unlike any other weizen I've tried. The standard wheat flavor you're normally greeted with is replaced by an initial taste of freshly baked (and buttered, oddly enough) banana bread and the tangy citrus bite common in lighter weizens has been replaced with a subtle clove/vanilla/banana combination that really carries through on the aftertaste, which lingers for quite a while thanks to the full body of the beer. It's rich and buttery at first, then slightly sweet and buttery - if you like Stouts and Porters and want to try something that works well as a dessert beer, look no further.

The mouthfeel seems like an attempt to bring the Dunkelweizen into new territory, and that's why I give it a 5. It's much thicker than, say, Weihenstephaner (currently the highest-scoring DunkelW on BA), and it coats your mouth in the way a hearty beer should. That coating effect allows the aftertaste to stay in your mouth considerably longer than other Dunkelweizens, which is, in the case of Edelweiss, a blessing rather than a curse.

It's MY kind of drinkable, which means it's a thick, indulgent half-liter that should probably count as a meal. It also goes well with everything I've paired it with so far.

While some weizen connoisseurs might find the unusual taste and mouthfeel offputting, I think it would be well-received by fans of rich beers.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2011 01:24:27 | More by jaredmachine

atis

Finland

4.08/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

500 ml bottle from Budapest

Pours hazy brown with large slightly off-white head that remains at least 1/2 finger thick throughout the glass. Nice and thick lacing.

Aroma is quite spicy (cloves) banana and sweet bready maltiness in the background. Taste is slightly sweet wheatish banana with cloves and very limited hops and some dried fruit in the finish. Mouthfeel is about medium with perfect carbonation, feels soft and quite smooth.

Overall it was excellent - refreshing and very, very tasty, I will surely try this one again.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2008 12:43:50 | More by atis

dmk139

New York

4.22/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

The color if this beer was a nice orange/brownish kinda color. Smooth white head with a nice lacing down the side, which i havent seen in many Eastern European beers

The aroma was that of any exceptional weissbier

The taste was quite good, I am normally not a huge fan of weissbiers but this one was different. This beer had the kind of body that i have been searching for in a beer. Living in Hungary for the past few weeks, I have only seen a limited number of full bodied beers.

All in all this delicious beer was a more than pleasant surprise, and I have to call it one of the best weissbiers i have ever had.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2008 13:37:17 | More by dmk139

allboutbierge

Austria

4.1/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The overachieving member of the Edelweiss family.

Color is orangish brown with a long lasting, lace giving, off white head. Nothing to turn one away from putting it back.

Smell is bit more clove heavy than the helles, as to be expected...a little more yeasty too.

Flavor carries notes of cherry as well as yeast, slight smoked malts, and slightly sour banana.

Carbonation is lively.

A non-boring, without being extreme in any regard, offering in a species that can something become a bit regular.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2007 13:44:53 | More by allboutbierge

canucklehead

British Columbia (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Their regular hefe is a little on the weak side so it is a nice surprise that this is a full bodied dunkel with a strong malty finish. The nose is bready rather than bubblegum or bananas. The beer needs to warm up to show its nuances but the beer is quite balanced with the typical hefe showings arising late in the finish. One of the better dunkels available.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2007 19:43:22 | More by canucklehead

vanrassel

Alberta (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 500 mL bottle into my weizen glass a deep mahogany with a towering head inviting me to drink up — though not before I took a whiff of banana with a grainy wheat undertone. A little subdued, though.

At first this tasted not too different from a straight-ahead hefeweizen, without much of the roasted barley characteristics I was expecting in a dark beer. The classic banana-clove combination was nicely-balanced and not overly fruity — just a nice tart, astringent pucker.

The dunkel-ness of this beer hit me in the finish — clean, dry and smooth. A pleasurable easy-drinker I'll definitely revisit.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2007 02:19:26 | More by vanrassel

trevorwideman

Manitoba (Canada)

4.22/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Any day I get to drink from a Weiss glass is a good day. I haven't had a Dunkel for a while either, so that's fun.

Very tasty looking pour, a massive head erupts from this dark, cloudy brew. The head sticks around and leaves a delicious lacing. Smell is fairly typical weiss, very spicy with hints of clove, coriander and banana mixed with lots of bready/yeasty goodness.

Taste carries all the spice over from the nose, with lots of punchy malt flavour. Low bitterness but some classic lemony sourness and a bit of acidity in the finish. Tied all neatly together with the banana, apple, and pear flavours. Mouthfeel is a bit heavy with a medium, near perfect carbonation. A very tasty summer evening session brew and hands down beats the Edelweiss Hefeweizen.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2006 02:47:22 | More by trevorwideman

Noxious26

Saskatchewan (Canada)

4.08/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

500ml bottle poured in a weizen glass. Bottle has the dates 01.2005 and 01.2006. I assume this means the bottled date and best before date. I got this at the end of December, so this is maybe a month later than it should be, but here's hoping it's still good.

Hazy, brown-amber colour, kind of like watered down cola. Lots of carbonation streams and a huge 2 inch light beige head on the pour. Excellent head retention as it recedes to a solid 1/4 inch of foam. Big gobs of sticky lace down the side.

The weizen yeast is ever present in the nose bringing about it's trademark banana spiced with clove scent. This brings a sweet quality that overshadows a wheat and malt background.

Wheat at the start but quickly joined by a spiciness. While I don't taste the banana that is in the nose, there is a definite yeast quality through and after the carbonation rush. Finish is slightly sweet with malts and perhaps a little dried dark fruits. Aftertaste is lightly malted with a phenolic tone.

Medium bodied with a long lingering carbonation rush that is soft with little light pin pricks of bubbles floating across the tongue and along the roof of the mouth. Has a soft, velvety, soothing quality about it.

This doesn't draw you in and urge you on to drink more. Instead it has a quiet confidence and subtlety, as if to say, "Go ahead, take your time, I'll be hear when you're ready for another sip." The nice gentle mouthfeel is relaxing and reminiscent of wraping yourself in a nice fuzzy warm blanket. Definitely well worth having again, unfortunately I brought this one back from Calgary and neither this nor any of it's style are available in my neck of the woods.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2006 03:02:30 | More by Noxious26

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

3.78/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer poured into the Tucher glass hazy amber brown with a tan and low yet persistent head which worked well to lace the glass.

The aroma was spicy with a nice clove phenolic and light wheat. The malt was fruity with banana and a slight raisin character coupled with caramel.

The flavor was a bit on the light side with caramel and some raisin character coupled with a fruity banana flavor and a light clove spice.

The finish was dry with a lasting wheat and clove spice flavor into the aftertaste. The body was medium and the carbonation was well done. The beer was just missing in the flavor department. A nice drinkability, but no real outstanding character.

0.5L bottle. 08.2005 on front label.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2005 22:11:25 | More by GCBrewingCo

BeerBeing

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: 0.5 liter brown glass Euro-generic bottle, tan and red on white label

Appearance: cloudy and murky brown with big long lasting tan-colored head, excelent lacing

Smell: wheat, yeast, banana, grapefrut, cloves, nicely balanced

Taste: medium body, light to medium mothfeel, wheat, yeast, fruiteness, a bit of hops, generally on sweet side

Notes: very tasty, very refreshing brew

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2005 03:12:57 | More by BeerBeing

pootz

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

murkey chestnut color with a puffy off white cap....geat hefe dunkle nose: lots of cloves, cinnamon, sweet malts. good lacing , very spritzy carbonation (bottle conditioned?) Peppery tongue from the natural effervessence, big whack of spices over the sweet malat...a very decent dunkle weiss.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2005 22:20:32 | More by pootz

fisherman34

Manitoba (Canada)

3.33/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Toffee coloured, hazy, and well carbonated. It’s got some pleasing yeasty and banana aromas. The flavors are your typical hefe: banana, clove, yeast, with a bit of caramel thrown in. Strangely drying finish. This beer is mellow and easy to drink, but the flavors are a little too muted.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2005 21:06:37 | More by fisherman34

Cwrw

Alberta (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Edelweiss's dunkel red-cap bottle poured with typical German-wheat beauty, bubbling over the rim enormously but somehow never spilling due to the genius of the designed glass. The head was mammoth sized, and had the consistency of whipped cream--exceptional! No glass is more fitting for its style in my experience than a German wheat beer or hefe glass. This dunkel is not as dark as say, Erdinger's, but more a dirty brown, darker near the top than the bottom. Caramel and butterscotch colouration, and dense with yeast; hazy. A cream coloured head, with some darker spots where the remaining yeast dripped in from the bottle. Large bubbles of lace on the sides, leaving some web patterns. It smells similar to many pale hefes, and the dark malts really do not make much of a difference; instead the lovely fruity aromas of banana, strawberry, spices, some lactose, and in the background some lightly roasted malt. The dunkel has more spice than their hefetrub. The malt is a little more felt in the mouth, leaving a nice grainy taste. The intensely fruity aroma is also more subdued in the taste; indeed the taste really balances all the notes from the smell. Estery cloves and banana can be tasted at first, in the middle I can taste the hardness of the water, and the finish is the best part, not very lingering but leaving my mouth with a desire for another sip. The alcohol is detectable in the middle, and the hops, barely. I found the mouthfeel a little light, even for a wheat beer. The water is a little too detectable, and the "dunkel" style had me expecting some more body from the malt, but that is not the case. What it lacks in body though it makes up for in drinkability. A very nice summer wheat beer from Austria's renowned weissbier brewery. Paired nicely with Jarlsberg cheese.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2005 04:46:14 | More by Cwrw