Samuel Adams Dunkelweizen
Dunkelweizen translates into "dark wheat" and the beer is a darker version of the Bavarian wheat beers of the 15th century. Dark amber brown in color, this unfiltered ale is brewed with traditional Bavarian yeast, which imparts a wide spectrum of flavors and aromas from spicy clove and nutmeg to tropical fruit and banana. The result is a beer that is complex and flavorful, medium-bodied with a crisp finish.
3.3
403 reviews
Boston, United States
Community reviews
"the clove spiciness and the banana fruitiness are done pretty well, though there’s not quite as much difference from a tradition hefe (besides the color) to get very excited. ok brew, though, and a style I like."
Transfer from BA review on 9-30-12-
Poured from bottle into Sam Adam’s perfect pint glass
Appearance – Pours a copper-amber color with a huge off white billowy head. The head has a decent retention, but eventually fades to leave a nice level of lacing.
Smell – The aroma is malty and a good deal of roasty and biscuit aromas mixed within. There is a light sweetness of light fruit with notes of apple, banana and pear as well as hints of some darker fruits mixed within.
Taste – The taste begins on the lighter side in terms of sweetness with a good base of a bready and biscuit nature. A nice roasted flavor soon comes to the tongue. With it, a lighter fruit flavor of banana and pear come to the taste. The sweeter and bready flavors mingle about a bit and then meld quite well at the end as some more roasted and an even heavier banana and apple fruit flavors come to the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the average to above average side in terms of smoothness and thickness with a carbonation level that is very average as well. It is quite drinkable, but yet soothing on the tongue. It is quite nice for the style.
Overall – An easy drinking, tasty brew with a good balance between roast, malt, and sweet.
October 2nd, 2012 - Sam Adams very un-American sounding Dunkelweizen is another blend of dark, savory tastes that would be just at home in a restaurant as a kitchen. It begins with a dry, dusty aroma, featuring some mesquite wood, warmed honey, and a bit of steak beefiness. And the flavor is much the same: dusty, filled with mesquite, a normal weighted body, a slight cedar bitterness, a low-and-slow honey sugar, a bit of malt and even some cashew. And unlike many of the newer sampler boxes, this doesn’t across as cloyingly sweet either, instead balancing between savory and delicious and sweet enough to summon an appetite for dessert.
Bottle:
Pours clear copper with a creamy tan head.
Banana bread aroma.
Taste is toffee malt, banana, sweet yeast,
Good solid banana tones throughout.
It’s light, but it certainly is pleasant.
Sampled in the bottle. Pours deep brown with a frothy appearance. Quality malts but in the end just an average brew.
Probably everything i dont like in a beer, not to say its poorly made, but its too sweet and weird Belgian ester notes are not my favorite.
(bottle - 12 oz) Copper pour with a thin white head. Spice and yeast in the aroma with a nice hint of banana underneath. Not as fruity and spicy at the front of the flavor as I would’ve expected. Light sweetness and banana notes at the start that moves into a dry and slightly bitter wheat middle. Some light banana and bubblegum notes with some yeast hints at the finish.
Just OK. The aroma develops fairly well but for an unfiltered wheat the beer was lightly translucent, far from cloudy. That thin appearance continues into the taste and body. Although the elements are there, it’s just not quite enough.
Appearance: Pours with a nice looking creamy-ish head. The beer is a hazy, dark amber color with particles floating around. The head goes away pretty quickly, and there isn’t much -- if any -- lacing to speak of.
Smell: Yeast and pineapple, but primarily? Banana. That’s what I get primarily. I don’t mind that at all though. What a nice smelling beer.
Taste/feel: I really only get banana with traces of malt and bubblegum at the end. I don’t mind that at all though, I actually really enjoy it. The feel is seemingly about the same as any other Sam Adams... that relatively thin, watery, and moderately carbonated one. It suits this beer well.
This is my first ever dunkelweizen, and I have to say, it tastes super fruity with all the banana -- maybe that’s not what this style’s supposed to be about, but I really do enjoy it. This is the kind of beer your girlfriend or wife would enjoy... it really is that fruity tasting to me. While it is a lot of banana, it’s not overpowering, and that’s why I like it as much as I do. As usual, another solid beer made by Sam Adams. Actually, one of my favorites from them.
Bottle. Pours dark with a healthy head. Aromas just like a wheat beer but it seems a bit ’burnt’. Finishes surprisingly easy.
It pours a deep dark brown and leaves the same color body with some amber notes along the edges of the glass. A large one inch foamy white head appears and lasts for a good two minutes. The smell has some wheat and banana up front with a bit of honey in the background.
The taste is basically the same with some added spice. The palate is about a medium body with a slight harshness of carbonation. Overall, this is a good beer I’d come back to.
Aroma of bananas. Tastes of wheat and malt. Pleasant, but nothing spectacular.
Bottle. Pours reddish-brown with a small white head. Grainy aroma with banana, bubblegum and light chocolate and wheat. Grainy and sweet malt flavor with banana and light spice. Medium bodied with a finish of more grain, banana and light spice.
Part of their "Harvest Collection" 12-pack, brought back from the States by my GF. Pours a slightly hazy, dark amber colour, with a creamy off-white head, decent retention and great lacing. Sweet caramel nose at first, but becomes bread-like, with malt aromas, hints of bananas and nuts. Eventually, coffee comes out with the roasted malt. Medium-bodied, with a little stick. The taste is milder, like most Sam Adams, with wheat, notes of citrus and cloves. An average malty brew with some darker wheat.
Aroma is pretty stinky with feet and banana. Mouth is medium bodied. Taste is little off. Banana and sugar dominate, but I’m not crazy about it. A little wheat in there too. Not overly clean.
355ml bottle. Hazy, light root beer colour, moderate off white head. Light, fruity aroma, mostly banana and pineapple. Taste is banana, clove, a little pineapple tartness. Very crisp mouthfeel, very easy to drink. Overall, goes down super smooth and fast.
Dull amber in color larger cream head that looks like pasta water about to boil over. Aroma is malts wheat,yeast and a small amount of sour. Wheat forward and very grain or cereal flavored. A very good fall beer.
12 ounce single bottle from the Autumn Sampler 12 pack. Pours a hazy amber with a thin off white head. Aroma is wheat, brown sugar, banana, clove, and orange. Taste is banana, wheat, lemon peel, clove, and nutmeg. The finish is banana and clove. Mouthfeel is thin and drinkable.
Brown pour with a light tan head. Has a nice banana and clove aroma. Great flavor, banana bread with a nice spiced malt finish, better than I thought it would be. This is a great fall beer.
bottle. Poured clear dark amber with no head. Yeasty wheat aroma. Mouthfeel is light and refreshing, crisp prickly carbonation and finishes just slightly dry. Flavours of banana and clove with a little yeastiness.
12 oz bottle from a mixed 12 pack. A good amount of banana and clove yeast esters are present in the aroma. Very light sweetness, and very faint chocolate character. Pours a transparent amber color with a medium-small light tan head. Starts rather sweet, and quite sugary. Becomes a little thin, watery, and metallic in the middle. Moderate yeast esters and banana flavor comes through in the middle as well. Finishes with a little peppery flavor, and slight astringency. Kind of thin and weak for the style.
Thin reminds me of the crystal clear lighter German types nothing offensive here slight clove and banana taste Miss that old Michelob Dunkel Weiss they had a few years ago that was a nice dark beer. Decent attempt at this style it works and sure beats a Bud.
Pours copper with an off-white head. Banana and clove aromas. Banana, clove, vanilla, and bubblegum flavors. Medium body and carbonation. The mouthfeel has a grainy wheat texture.
Une bière brune et son anneau chétif. Un nez de blé grillé à travers un murmure d’épices. Bof. Un goût qui n’est pas très relevé. Il y a de l’eau et quelques saveurs de blé épicé. En bouche, un corps plutôt faible avec des bulles très actives et une texture aqueuse. Une finale légère et sans conséquence directe sur mon bonheur. Rebof.
Medium amber brown. Thick bubbly head. Banana, yeasty. Spices. Tastes like an amber hefeweizen. Pretty good.
Smells like a more interesting/complex hef. Cloudy at the top, but clear at the bottom. A bit bland compared to regular hef. Surprisingly light palate. Nothing really special
Bottle from sampler. Fresh banana and clove nose with good first balanced mouthfeel. Aftertaste of nutmeg and fruit somehow blended without being weird. A good dark wheat offering.
---Rated via my mouth
This beer is certainly correct to the style. It looks and really smells like a dunkelweizen. Didn’t really like the way it tasted though. The wheat really comes out and clashes with some of the darker flavors. The complexity is there. The flavors are there, but for some reason it just doesn’t come together for me. Not a hater; just not my favorite. On the bright side, my wife and I used 1/2 a cup of this beer for a pan sauce to go along with the pork chops we had for dinner. Absolutely spectacular with a little truffle mustard!
11/6/12. 12oz bottle from Publix. Barely hazy deep amber pour with a small khaki head that cuts in half and sticks in a small ring and laces in spotty sheets. Big banana and fruitiness in the aroma with touches of cream, caramel, and spice. The flavor shows a ton of banana, bubblegum, and fruit again with hints of spice, caramel, and metal. Not bad, actually.
Clove and bread crust, mild banana overtones. Clear copper, medium head. Banana, lemon, and walnut flavor, graham crackers. Nicely done, true to style. Flavorful, but a little too thin in the mouthfeel. Maybe just a bit too tart and citrusy as well.