Winter Dunkel
Whistler Brewing Company

 

Feb 13 2026

At my lady Pamela's house; bottled and slightly chilled, 650mL in a pint glass. From The Roundhouse Centre LCBO on Howard Ave. in nearby Windsor. No date stamp or lot number. My 2nd beer from the Whistler, British Columbia brewery, and 1st for 2026. With Sundae the cat's adamant approval...

650 ml bottle served cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase.

Appearance - Dark amber/brown color. Quite clear. A small half finger of tan foam is poured on top that doesn't stay long.

Smell - Chocolate and orange aromas, some wheat in behind. Quite sweet aromatically and intense.

Taste - Thin wheat beer, but nice kick of chocolate orange comes in. Tastes fades kind of quick and a bit of a bitter aftertaste. Gimmicky, but pretty well executed.

Mouthfeel - Thin and a bit watery doesn't have that fuller and robust feel that many a dunkelweizen have. Carbonation is pretty fizzy.

Overall - Decent dunkelweizen and the chocolate orange is a nice note, but a bit one dimensional and doesn't really mesh with the balance of the beer, which is evident in the aftertaste. Still worth a try from this Ontario BA, it's nice to see stuff from BC in our shelves.

Smelled amazing, almost exactly like a Terry's Chocolate Orange, and surprisingly the taste was subtle, but in a great way. It still tasted like a proper beer with the great scent of an iconic Christmas sweet. Great beer!

 

Clear dark red-brown color. Poured a tall head that dropped back to a thin skiff after a couple of minutes. Too dark to see the carbonation level. Left small dots and short strings of lace.

Very strong smell of artificial flavoring that might be generously called orange. Secondary smell of melted vanilla ice cream that dropped on a hot pavement. Very light coffee/chocolate smell. Swirling the glass boosted the coffee/chocolate smell for a few seconds after which it reverted back to the original smells.

Strong vanilla biscuit malt flavor. The artificial orange flavor comes in second place. There is a more distinct chocolate flavor, rather than coffee, that fills in towards the end. Mild bitters. The aftertaste is a strong burst of the artificial orange followed by the malt.

Light tongue tingling. Turns into a coarse foam. Medium body.

The orange takes over like a creamsicle melted into the mix. Alternatively this is like a smore made with twice as much graham wafer, artificial orange flavor marshmallows (I'm sure they must exist), and just a sliver of chocolate. The label says that the flavoring is natural, so this came from an orange I do not want to ever meet.

 

A- Dark amber in color with rustic orange hues against a white light. The head is creamy and dense, with about a two finger thickness, eventually settling into a rich looking film over the liquid. Carbonation is in many small columns rising slowly in the clear liquid. The lacing is modest, with only small patches of foam clinging to the inside of the glass. Decent in appearance.

S- Totally smells of Terry's Chocolate Orange! Huge milk and dark chocolates, freshly squeezed orange zest, amaretto/international creamer hazelnut aroma, muted chocolate malt....that's about it....deep dessert like chocolate orange! Yum!

T- Lighter in flavor than the aromas let on, but there is definitive dark and milk chocolate, mild hazelnut, underlying citrus (orange) rind and juiciness, gingerbread spice, black coffee, other assorted baking spice such as cinnamon, and muted malts. Delicious!

M/O- This is actually quite light in body, and the carbonation is crisp on the palate. The alcohol is easily hidden in the creamy dessert like nature and overall this is highly drinkable.....would make a superb session ale! Paired with an Terrys Chocolate Orange, you couldn't go wrong with this one!

 

Appearance : Poured into tulip glass. Deep amber brown colour. Decent head.
Smell : Great aromas of chocolate orange. I don't smell anything else.
Taste : This beer tastes light and mellow. Some tasty malt character with a little chocolate. Overall underwhelming taste considering the blast of flavourful aromas.
Overall : Festive and seasonal beer that smells amazing. This beer is easy to drink and quite enjoyable on a cold day.

 

 

 

Wowzers - the previous reviews were spot on regarding the Terry's Chocolate Orange. It's all I can do to avoid smashing the bottle on the wall... The overall characteristics that make beer are masked by the strong orange and chocolate smells and flavours. I don't mind flavoured beer that remembers it is a beer. This is OK, but the roasty warm flavours I love in a Dunkel are masked here.

Terry Chocolate Orange, err, I mean Whistler Winter Dunkel is clear and has a chestnut body, amber trim and dark-ish, roasty overtones. Carbonation is minimal but there's just enough foamy lather to wrap the beer in a little soapy bow (not the glass though).

If you were blindfolded and a friend held Winter Dunkel and a Terry's Chocolate Orange under your nose, you couldn't tell which is which. (I haven't tried this experiment but I'm curious to.) The super-candied, crunchy orange rind coated in sweet, vanilla-drenched milk chocolate flavour is identical.

This is no more a Bavarian Dunkelweizen than Armour's hot dogs are Weisswurst. Present this beer to a German - even at Christmas - and they'll likely spit it out. Or at least they wouldn't recognize it for what it says it is. There's few bubbles and no yeasty esters or spice. Why even call it a Dunkelweizen?

...especially when coriander was used, making it by definition a Belgian Witbier. The use of locally-procured organic chocolate - a very delicious and seemingly high quality source, it should be noted - gives this the air of a porter or stout. Mind you, it does suit the lighter body afforded by the wheat.

Whistler has succeeded at perfectly emulating an all-time Christmas treat: the Terry's Chocolate Orange. Kudos to them for that dubious honor. Don't get me wrong, I've been tempted myself to brew a chocolate-orange stout for the holidays. I love the flavour. I just wish this one wasn't so superficial.

650ml bomber poured into tulip 22/15/15

A maroon glow when held to the light with just a thin film that leaves no lace

S Terry's Chocolate Orange alright, candied orange, milk chocolate, maybe a little hazelnut, smells artificial but good

T more fruit, not all orange but hard to pace, chocolates a little darker then the nose

M silky and a little light bodied, could use a few extra bubbles but far from flat

O fairly one dimensional but if you like Terry's Chocolate Orange this ones for you

Not bad for a glass but I couldn't see myself drinking this all night, worth a try though