Benefit Brew - Alberta Animal Rescue Dunkleweizen
Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.

 

 

 

650 ml bottle poured into a tulip. Add me to the chorus, a fantastic cause and great label to boot. Brew is a very dark clear cola brown with an initially large amount of creamy light tan head that settles in a compact yet resilient half-finger of tightly packed small bubbles.

Aroma is dominated by earthy yeast that comes across as atypical for a weizen (not in a bad way, either) ... Banana is present but low-key. I'm getting more dark bread-like malts, a whiff of sulfur or struck match like that found in some European lagers, some herbal noble hops.

Taste is again rather unique for the style. A rich malty flavor that recalls a fresh bran muffin leads the way, with the yeast remaining earthy rather than fruity. Almost sour at times, like a green raisin doused with a squeeze of lemon. Minimal clove flavor. More peppery than sweet. I am wondering how Phillips used a weizen yeast but managed this flavor profile. Its almost Belgian-like but amped down.

Chalky mouthfeel, quite dry and moderately thick. Quite fizzy. Remains malty until the end, with some further dark bread and light molasses in the finish. Enjoyable brew and I'm actually OK with the banana being toned down here.

 

650ml bottle, a beer brewed to benefit the charity of choice - the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society in this case, as chosen by the public.

This beer pours a mostly clear, dark cola brown hue, with a teeming tower of puffy, frothy, and somewhat creamy off-white head, which leaves some streaky, sudsy lace around the glass as it slowly bleeds off.

It smells of semi-sweet bready pale and wheat malt, faint ripe banana, earthy yeast, subtle muddled black orchard fruit notes, zesty clove and white pepper spice, and tame leafy, weedy, and kind of musty hops. The taste is bready caramel malt, a lesser spicy wheat graininess, clove, banana chips, aerosol black pepper, more mixed dark fruity esters, and weak earthy, mildly floral noble hops.

The carbonation is fairly forward with its swirling bubbles, and a tad fizzy at times, the body a sturdy medium weight, and so-so smooth, as the yeast and gritty maltiness seem like they're tramping clumsily through the petunias. It finishes off-dry, the fruitiness rising higher, in concert with the lingering caramel and wheat malt sweetness.

A decent enough version of a dunkelweizen, though perhaps the roasted character could have been upped to match the bang-on appearance and otherwise appealing flavour. Quite a worthy venture, to brew a crowd-pleasing offering, in both ABV and style alike - this will play equally well to fans of Erdinger, and to followers of Phillips' more intense meanderings.

Extremely enjoyable Dunkelweizen, for a great cause. I found the smells, flavors, and appearance in this brew to be subtle, but spot on for the style. Plenty of dried fruit, banana, clove and biscuit. Overall, this is understated but full of flavour.

Appearance - Pours a dark nut brown with four fingers of foamy tan head.

Smell - banana, clove, yeast, dark fruity esters (plum)wheat aromas, spicy noble hops, and bready caramalts.

Taste - Starts off with the pleasant notes of banana, clove, yeast and then goes into the wheat, spicy noble hops, and bready caramalts.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes dry with the banana, clove and fruity esters.

Overall - A spot on Dunkleweizen. I admire the initiative behind this brew as it will go to a worthy cause.