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The first one came out of nowhere. Well, it came out of Hallstadt, Germany, but that's not the point. I didn't have any expectation, but the lager was really, really good. The problem for the dunkel is that it now has a bar set for it, and it's going to struggle to get up to the heights of the sibling beer. But, let's all wish it well and join it for the journey to 5/5.
If this beer were any more brown, it would be a brown ale. The off-white head is quite voluminous, but it boils down to an uneven yet complete layer across the top of the beer with a strong ring around the sides and some lacing left in its wake. The aroma is sweet caramel malt and yeast. It smells very much like dunkels that I've had very recently, and this is quickly becoming one of my favorite styles.
First sip is nutty, and it seems sweet at first, but it moves into a bitter pall fairly quickly. The result is a relatively dry sensation left after that caramel has had all of the sugar boiled away from it. There are only light spices with some dandelions to give any complexity, but that's probably just because I'm only sipping. When I drink this with gusto, I expect this to be better.
Tip-in starts off nutty and surprisingly dry, which is in stark contrast to what I tasted in the sip. The middle arrives to move carbonation to the back of the mouth while brown sugar and caramel dance with each other and a sweetness that is so slight that it might be overlooked. The finish arrives with bitterness and nuts with that dandelion and spice combo holding on for the trail off.
Bottom Line: Not the best dunkel I've had all week, but I've had some good ones.
2.75/5
