Warsteiner Dunkel

I just had a look, and the worst dunkel that I have reviewed managed to get a 3.0. That means I have never not recommended a dunkel that I've tried and reviewed. It is, therefore, surprising to me that I have had so few. I don't actively avoid them, but it doesn't appear that many get to the store shelves around here. This is a particular shame, as I just figured out this travesty of justice. Well, let's see what this visitor from Germany has to offer.

The dark brown beer produces a reasonable head that fizzles down to an incomplete swirl of bubbles across the top of the beer with tiny bubbles clinging desperately to the sides of the glass. I say clinging to the sides of the glass, but there will not be very much lacing, if any. The aroma is rich, roasted barley with coffee and toffee notes. This being a product of Germany, I know it will not have coffee in it, so I don't need to worry about that. I wish I could be so cavalier with our domestic craft beers.

First sip has not nearly as much coffee as the smell indicated, but it is definitely a supporting cast member underneath nuts and the roasted barley. The beer seems relatively sweet and goes down very well. I don't know if dunkels are supposed to be particularly drinkable beers, but this has a nice heft to it while still being placid enough that I'm not worried that this might offend a new drinker's palate.

Tip-in is very, very light carbonation tingle with toasted barley and light coffee (more of an echo of coffee, really - like the glass had been used for coffee before and not thoroughly rinsed out). The middle hits carbonation at the back of the throat while barley and toffee very gently ease a surprising amount of beverage down the throat - this isn't being watery, but it's also nowhere near heavy. The finish is where the toasted malt surges with a bit of coffee around it before trailing off into more roasted barley.

Bottom Line: I'm not a fan of the coffee notes, but they don't intrude enough to ruin the beverage.

3.0/5