Prost! Dunkelweizen

Prost! Dunkelweizen is a dark wheat beer from the team at Toronto’s Muddy York Brewing Co. A 5.4%, 15 IBU offering, Prost! comes in 355mL cans. The beer is handsome brown, with a thin off-white head.

The modest aroma of this Ontario wheat concoction blends rich malts with apple and banana notes, and a hint of fall spices. The flavour is considerably more robust, with clove, banana bread, and warm malts in the spotlight, and a slightly smoky brown sugar subtext.

A great fall beer from Muddy York, Prost! is a solid take on the classic German style.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Shevchenko 9 Ukrainian Dunkel

Shevchenko 9 Ukrainian Dunkel is billed as a “Euro Dark Lager”. It comes from the Four Fathers Brewing Co. out of Rockwood, Ontario. Sold in 473mL cans, this dark lager contains 5% alcohol. It’s a rusty and clear grog with a thin disc of off-white head.

Shev 9 has an understated but enjoyable roasted malt nose. Its flavour is toasty, malt-focused, and and has some rich brown sugar notes. Not a lot of bitterness, but there is a bit of astringency to round out the finish.

I’ve never tried a genuine Ukrainian dunkel (an oversight I’m eager to correct), but Shevchenko 9 left me reasonable impressed and thirsty for more. The well-roasted nature of this beer gave it a lot of depth. A bit more hops emphasis might have closed the loop on this stuff with a bit more aplomb, but that’s a pretty minor critique.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Dunkels Bock

I have great friends! They buy me lots of beer and that's rad. One of those great friends is a brilliant and charming SL, who gifted me with a pair of brews for my birthday, one of which was Dunkels Bock, from Toronto's Bandit Brewery. Like Bandit's other brews, this one featured a raccoon on the label of the 500mL bottle. 

 

 

At 6.3%, Dunkels Bock had some real heat, without being too strong. It was a swampy brown brew that poured with an eggshell head. It's aroma wasn't particularly pungent, but it had notes of grain and brown sugar, and a bit of spice. The flavour proved to be extremely malty, with lots of sweetness, some earthy tones, and some clove spice. Not a lot of bitterness, but there was a fair degree of boozy warmth that belied the 6.3% listing--I'd have guessed stronger.

A dark lager with some heft and some heart, I thought that Dunkels Bock was a strong effort from a good new brewery. A tad sweet, but really quite nice.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Muskoka Winterweiss

I swapped a can of Muskoka Winterweiss from my ol' pal M.T. after an evening of Thai food, brews, and euchre. From Bracebridge, Ontario's Muskoka Brewery, it proved to be a cloudy brown dunkelweiss, that poured with a dramatic but short-lived cream head. Sold in 473mL cans, Winterweiss contained a standard 5% alcohol. It displayed a nutty, fruity aroma, with bunches of bananas and a hint of fruitcake. The flavour, slightly spicy, projected banana tones, as well as a malty base.

Enjoyable from start to finish, Winterweiss proved to be a charming Ontarian take on the dunkel, a dark German wheat beer. Seasonally appropriate on a chilly day at the dregs of November, it put a bit of fire in my belly, but did so in a mellow and agreeable way. While I'd have liked to see a touch more booze and body, particularly in terms of roasted malts, it showed itself to be an enjoyable grog.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Warsteiner Premium Dunkel

All the way from Warstein, Germany comes Warsteiner Premium Dunkel. WPD is brewed by the Warsteiner Brauerei. It's sold in 500mL cans and contains 4.8% alcohol. According to the can, it's "A Queen Among Beers". Regal...


WPD has a darkish, chestnut brown colour and pours with a thick and creamy off-white head. Its malt-forward aroma is slightly roasted and has some brown sugar sweetness. A well roasted malt flavour is backed by respectable hop bitterness and an understated touch of sweetness.

This beer goes down easily and it's quite flavourful.  I'm no lush (debatable), but I'd definitely like to see a bit more alcohol content to bolster this stuff. Still, Warsteiner Premium Dunkel is pretty well balanced and definitely worth your time.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

A QUEEN AMONG BEERS!!!

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel

This "Bavarian style" dark wheat beer is brewed by Bayern Staatsbrauerei Weihenshephan in Freising, Germany, at what is reputed to be "The World's Oldest Brewery". It comes in a 500mL bottle and contains 5.3% alcohol.

Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel is a cloudy, ruddy brown wheat beer topped with a hurricane of cream head. It's nose is both yeasty and fruity, with a nice citrus quality. Wheat flavours come through plainly, as do notes of banana and a gentle spiciness.

This is a class act dunkel. It's quite refreshing for a darker beer--it's not too sweet and it has only a faint, slightly bitter finish. If you're a fan of flavourful wheat beers, you should be on your way to pick some up immediately.

8.5 out of 10.

Schloss Eggenberg Doppelbock Dunkel

Schloss Eggenberg Doppelbock Dunkel is a strong beer out of Vorchdorf, Austria.  It's brewed by Castle Brewery Eggenberg, sold in 33omL bottles, and chalk full of booze to the tune of 8.5%.

This doppelbock dunkel is a deep, reddish brown colour with moderate carbonation and a thin layer of eggshell head.  It has a sweet, malty aroma with, just as the label advised, a slight coffee charge. It has an understated but purposive malty body. It's fairly rich, with some brown sugar notes.  The label prepared me for a bitter finish, but in my opinion, the flavour remains malt forward through the end. There is some considerable boozy heat, but not much alcohol taste--that makes this brew surprisingly easy-drinking.

This quality brew makes for some quality sundown sipping. It's sweet without being too sweet, unlike some other doppelbocks. A bit more of the promised bitterness would have balanced things nicely, but this is definitely a nice, dark lager.


Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Brew Brunswick-Picaroons Dark and Stormy Night

Another excellent Northampton Brewing Co. production, the Picaroons Dark and Stormy Night is the New Brunswick brewery's take on the a dunkel weiss.  This dark wheat beer is sold in 500mL bottles and contains 4.8% alcohol.

It is a relatively clear brew with a deep, dark, gloomy colour--shadowy brown with amber highlights--topped by a half inch of tan head.  A Dark and Stormy drinker is confronted with a malty aroma featuring licorice notes.  The brew has a sweet, malty flavour.  It's slightly toasty, but quite mellow for a brew with such a dark hue.

According to the label, this brew is a hybrid between a German dunkel and an English ale.  This is a very cool idea, and one that is nicely executed.  I'd prefer a bit more bitterness, but this is a really minor critique of an excellent brew.  It is very drinkable and highly enjoyable.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.