Dunkel
Heater Allen Brewing

DunkelDunkel
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From:
Heater Allen Brewing
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
Munich Dunkel
Ranked #21
ABV:
5.25%
Score:
89
Ranked #12,148
Avg:
3.98 | pDev: 9.05%
Reviews:
29
Ratings:
52
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 08, 2024
Added:
Oct 12, 2008
Wants:
  7
Gots:
  5
Very few American breweries produce dunkels, so we've taken it upon ourselves to help set things right. This is the beer that made Munich famous. The challenge is getting the color right without using too much black malt, as this beer shouldn’t display that character. We use 90% Munich Malt in the grist, along with a small amount of Amber and Caramel Malt and less than 1% Carafa (a German Black Malt). The beer is dark brown/red in color, with both malt and subtle hop aromas. The beer shows strong and complex malt character, with a hint of milk chocolate. The hops take a back seat to the malt, and only keep things in balance.

1.015 BG, 24 IBU, 17 SRM
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by anarchia:
Photo of anarchia
Reviewed by anarchia from Oregon

3.45/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Dark/muddy amber with a thinnish white head--was expecting a little more in the latter department, nice lacing though. Aroma is caramel, leather, cherries, smoke. Flavor is something of a letdown given my high expectations, not as complex (mostly bready) as the aroma with a crisp ,bitter finish. On the thin side but with nice carbonation in the mouth. Very nice beer but I think I prefer dunkels that are ales.
Nov 23, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of HarlotBronte
Reviewed by HarlotBronte from District of Columbia

4.03/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
L: Deep amber body with a dense off white head.

S: Brown bread, dark fruits, caramel malt

T: Malt forward with slight roast.

F: Medium bodied and very drinkable.

O: Loved this one.
Feb 08, 2024
 
Rated: 4 by paulish from New York

Dec 16, 2023
Photo of Luscious_Malfoy
Reviewed by Luscious_Malfoy from Illinois

4.49/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
poured from a 16oz can into tall franziskaner hefeweizen glass. medium brown in color with three fingers of khaki colored foam head. expressive lager yeast in the form of dark bread, caramel and even light chocolate. taste follows. easy drinking yet complex. subtle notes of coffee and chocolate as well as caramel and dark bready malts. full mouthfeel. nice carbonation level. one of the better representations of this style i’ve had in quite some time.
Dec 05, 2023
 
Rated: 3.94 by smithj4 from New York

Nov 19, 2023
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.88/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
16oz can from Tavour. Dark brown pour, clear, off-white foamy head recedes. Sweet malty aroma, nutty, toasty. Taste is malty, faint chocolate, toasty, sweet. Dries out at the finish. Solid, full bodied, Mellow.
Nov 18, 2023
Photo of beergoot
Reviewed by beergoot from Colorado

3.94/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Clear, dark amber body; modest carbonation; thick, frothy, light khaki colored head; tiny blotches of foam speckle the glass. Dull sweetness on the nose, caramel-like with a touch of subliminal fruity esters; light trace of caramel and toffee. Moderate malt sweetness to the taste; a blend of toasted and lightly roasted grains; light caramel; moderate underlying bitterness. Medium-heavy mouthfeel; lager smooth with some residual sugar silkiness; lightly sticky.

An easy drinking, rich, rounded, malty beer. The taste and mouthfeel open up nicely as the beer warms.

Pouring temperature: 44 °F; canning info: 10/10/22
Source: @Dimidiata
Jan 09, 2023
Photo of Iamaskier
Reviewed by Iamaskier from Idaho

3.98/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
L: Hazy medium brown with a lacy head.
S: Caramel, dark fruits, a hint of herbs.
T: Follows the nose generally. Sweet at first with caramel and raisin, quickly becoming coco powder and herbal hops (nice bitterness), and then comes the bready lager quality.
F: Medium bodied, moderate carbonation.
O: Surprisingly bitter, though not unfortunately. A nice range of flavors in this one.
Oct 18, 2022
Photo of augustgarage
Reviewed by augustgarage from California

3.59/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Likely less than 2 months old, but the date is mostly scratched off. Poured from a tall-boy can into my Ayinger Pokal.

Sinopia body with copper highlights supports a low beige cap. Average clarity (the beer is unfiltered); mediocre retention; very fine/delicate lacing.

Vague aromatics suggest country bread, and a low herbal element.

Nice, even, bread-y malt on the palate entry. Low, clean bitterness. Faint milk chocolate and nuts. Smooth medium finish. Clean, somewhat delicate.

Medium-light bodied, slightly low carbonation perhaps.

More than the sum of its parts in some ways, even if it lacks the richness of the better examples of the style.
May 15, 2022
 
Rated: 4.33 by jmbeerdude91 from Arizona

Apr 18, 2022
 
Rated: 3.96 by Sound_Explorer from Washington

Apr 30, 2021
Photo of RaulMondesi
Reviewed by RaulMondesi from California

4/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A wise poet once had this conversation:

“Do you want me to pass it?” “No!” “Do you want me to shoot it?” “No!” Do you want me to Dunkel it?” “Yes!”

And I think Raul will.

Peace!
Mar 15, 2021
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.05/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Murky maple brown with a mocha head. Aromas of caramel, cocoa, raisin toasty bread, and puff pasty. Taste is milder, more focused on the bread/toast and cocoa, malts round out. Feel is malty, chewy, yet surprisingly light and frothy, could be crisper. Not the cleanest feeling dunkel but well worth a try
Dec 30, 2020
Photo of Stevedore
Reviewed by Stevedore from Oregon

4/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Darker amber brown body. Frothy offwhite head. Caramel, light milk chocolate and cocoa, bit of pumpernickel and a dab of allspice. Mild floral notes and overall medium noble hop bitterness, good carb, nice body, pleasantly balanced and not too sweet.
Dec 12, 2020
 
Rated: 3.81 by bret27 from California

Dec 03, 2020
 
Rated: 3.92 by bschmidt_37 from Illinois

Nov 20, 2020
 
Rated: 3.72 by 0x4a64 from Nevada

Nov 16, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by rab53 from Washington

Nov 15, 2020
Photo of MaltsOfGlory
Reviewed by MaltsOfGlory from Oregon

2.84/5  rDev -28.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 2.5
16oz can

Pours two big fingers of pillowy head into my nonic, just off white in color. Retention is very nice and I haven’t lost much after a few minutes. Initial lacing looks very thick. Body is a dark reddish brown, visibility is low but I can see quite a bit of bubbles when held up to the light. Looks really nice so far.

Something seems off here with the nose, it’s a little metallic, a little mineral, and a lot of paper. Usually I don’t perceive oxidation as papery, but when it’s this obvious…hard to miss. This does not smell good.

The flavor is a little better, but very thin. Faint notes of paper, faint notes of caramel, toffee; I will reiterate, very thin. Kinda just tastes like seltzer water that touched some grain at some point. This is probably what I’d expect a Budweiser attempt at a dunkel to taste like.

Mouthfeel follows suit with this odd beer. Carbonation is through the roof. Body is super thin. Bitterness is quite high for a dunkel, weird. Hardly any malt or any perceived sweetness, also very weird. Quite off style for a dunkel, and it just adds to the overall mess here. Maybe in a different beer this would work.

Drinkability is…ok, I’m drinking it fast because I don’t care to savor it.

Appearance turned out very nice, thick lacing and a small chunk of head lasted to the bottom, it’s a shame the rest of the beer is so poor.

I can only assume that something went wrong here and this got severely oxidized. Heater Allen is usually pretty reliable. That said, really no part of the mouthfeel makes sense to me, even if the flavor had been fine.
Nov 07, 2020
Photo of pkalix
Reviewed by pkalix from California

3.79/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
too bad... i really love a good dunkel, too.... watery, thin. flavor is its best attribute but getting the tinny-can taste at the finish. not bad. but hoping for so much more. especially from these guys who i know can put out good stuff....
Oct 25, 2020
Dunkel from Heater Allen Brewing
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 52 ratings