Marnie Dunkelweizen
Great Waters Brewing

I have to admit that the first time I tasted this beer, shortly after it's release, I hated it. A week later I tried it again and it wasn't much better. Two weeks after it's release, it seemed almost a different beer altogether. Gone were the harsh flavors I found so off-putting. This is the magic of brewpub beer. As it ages it matures and the flavor profile can change dramatically. This seemed a bit green on release, but things have changed for the better.

This beer pours a coppery amber color, with a white head about 1/2 inch tall and a good amount of lacing on the glass. The smell hints at lemon and orange peel. The taste has both of these, as well a soft banana flavor with a solid toasted malt backing. The flavors balance each other nicely. This is a nice solid brew that will stick with you.

On tap at the brewpub...

Murky cinnamon color, not as dark as some, with gold highlights. Speckly shiny head with good lasting strength. Thick blankets of lace. Light esters to the aroma, candyish nose but not nearly as pronounced as this past summer's Great Waters Hefe. Mouthfeel is good, medium with slick soft carbonation. Nice flavors come through on this one, bubblegum, yeasty brightness, strawberries -- but also a nice bitter chocolate tone that really balances the brew well. The color is a bit less than robust, but this one has a nice freshness and flavor impact that you can often miss in bottled and shipped imported products. Also nice to see this style at a brewpub.

On-tap at the brewpub: Orange glow with a golden haze over it. Top is light and frothy with a puffy textuxe of white clouds and has a light hue of sand to its whiteness. Lacing is light and spotty.

Aroma is mostly lemony and wheaty, pretty straight forward and solidly present. Solid. More hefe-like then dunkel, but shows potential as it warms torwards some caramel malt.

Flavors are OK, mild and pitched mostly in a hefe style of lemon, and boldly set with wheat tang and zip. Caramel malt undertones keep it from getting to raw. Nice yeasty dryness as it finishes as well as some light husky herbal spices. Lemon stays the at the main hold of flavor as does its wheaty tangyness.

Feel is light to medium with a big wheaty backing, textured in a soft smooth, somewhat creamy elegance. Goes down pretty easy and is an adequate enough taster above and beyond other brews in the past from GW. Perhaps a bit understated though.