ALMOST A FULL-ON SLAM DUNKEL FROM WEYERBACHER

I received this big boy, the WEYERBACHER SLAM DUNKEL, in a trade with my New York City beer correspondent. Current trading manners seem to require that each party, after agreeing on, say, 6 bottles of beer, then throw in a “bonus” or two. I like that custom, shipping costs notwithstanding. This one happened to be the bonus the Mr. NYC put in my box. Originally a small-batch release, this “double dunkelweizen” was popular enough with Joe Q Public to merit a regular release every year. WEYERBACHER themselves have this to say about it:

“This 7% Double Dunkelweizen is unfiltered and made with over 50% wheat malt along with pale, munich, and a touch of chocolate to give it the traditional color and flavor. Bitterness is subdued to allow the Weihenstephen yeast to shine through with those traditional notes of banana and clove.”

I bet you’re more interested in what I had to say about it though, right? Well, I liked it. It was all about the aroma on this one for me – a big whiffs brings up sweet caramel and deep, roasted malts – maybe even that banana they’re talking about. SLAM DUNKEL is brown in color and tastes very much like a souped-up, tinkered-with, malty brown ale in every way. Caramel is the dominant flavor with a little Belgian yeastiness poking through. I enjoyed it quite thoroughly and I’d think it’d be even better on tap. 7/10.

PS - This is about in line with the other two WEYERBACHER beers I've tried; I rated the HOPS INFUSION a 6.5/10, and the DOUBLE SIMCOE IPA a 7.5/10.