Serve in a weizen glass at 6-9 °C
What it tastes like
Dunkel means dark, and that is the only real change from a hefeweizen. The same Bavarian weizen yeast is at work, so you still get banana, clove and sometimes a hint of bubblegum. What is new is the malt: Munich malt, dark wheat malt and a touch of caramel or roasted malt bring bread crust, toffee, nuts and faint chocolate.
Those two sides meet in a way that reminds people of banana bread, which is the most common description and a fair one. The roast should stay gentle. A dunkelweizen is never as roasty as a porter, and bitterness is low.
Most Bavarian wheat beer breweries make a dark one alongside their pale hefeweizen. It is a good choice for anyone who likes wheat beer but wants something with more depth on a cooler evening.
Style profile
- Look
- Light copper to dark mahogany brown, cloudy from yeast, with a tall, dense, tan head.
- Aroma and flavour
- Banana and clove from the yeast, over bread crust, toffee, nuts and a light cocoa note. Very low hop character.
- Mouthfeel
- Medium body, creamy and soft from wheat, high carbonation, a smooth finish without much bitterness.
- Ingredients
- At least half wheat malt, including dark wheat, with Munich malt and a little caramel or dehusked roast malt. Noble German hops in small amounts. A Bavarian weizen yeast.
In India
Dunkelweizen is the wheat beer we reach for when the monsoon cools things down. It has the easy drinkability of a hefeweizen with enough malt to stand up to fried food and rich gravies. A few German-leaning brewpubs pour one, and at least one packaged Indian version has won in Europe. Like all weizens it wants to be fresh, so drink local and drink it soon.
At the Indian table
Food pairings contributed by Anuradha Rao
- Pork pepper fry, Coorg styleThe kachampuli and black pepper meet roasted malt, and the banana note softens the heat.
- Onion pakoda on a rainy dayFried gram flour batter and toasted bread malt are an easy, comforting match.
- Dal makhaniSlow cooked black lentils with butter and smoke echo the nutty, toasty malt.
- Banana walnut cakeIt plays straight into the yeast's banana and the malt's nutty side.
Brewed in India
- Uncle Dunkel, Geist Brewing Co. source