Dunkel John’s Band
Night Shift Brewing

 

Good Dunkel!!! Surprisingly no .abv shown on the 16 oz.can!!! Beer advocate says 5%, the brewery web site says 5.5%. Poured this beer into an Aventinus Weizen glass. Beautiful amber/light brown clear color with lots of reddish light coming through. The head is medium sized, a bit frothy and cream colored. Head retention is better than average and there are fragmented bits of lacing on the glass. Aroma and taste are malty , slightly sweet but with a little bitterness. A good lager with bready malt and a little caramel malt as the prominent flavors. Mouthfeel is crisp and light, goes down real easy. Very enjoyable and well doine!!!

Canned 2022/10/26, great name and Grateful Dead-esque artwork
Pours a creamy fizzy 1.5 finger off-white head with moderate retention, a bit of lacing, semi hazy deep auburn red color

Nose brings nice sweet malts, a bit of caramel toffee, nutty, nice toasted bread crust, general toasty malt, glaze, a bit of dark reddish malt-derived ester fruits, touch biscuity toffee

Taste starts with more malts, sweet-flavored but not actually sweet, with more biscuity toffee, caramel and a bit of caramelized glazed sweet bread crust, bright toasty malts, a touch of more malt-derived ester fruit with that reddish semi sweet jammy fruit, hint of herbal hop, low bitterness, semi sweet finish, more sweet characters lingering

Mouth is med to a bit fuller bod, med small bubble frothy carb

Overall not bad, good base malt, wish the hops were a bit more as well as maybe a bit more specific on the fruit, otherwise good

Canned 10/26/22

It’s nice seeing Night Shift brewing a classic and obscure style, especially when recently they seem to be focused on chasing trends and not even keeping up with them. It’s nice to see a little throwback like this, so naturally I had to pick it up when I saw it. Let’s get into it

Pours a slightly cloudy brownish orange with 2 fingers of beige head that fades to a thin cap and leaves minimal lacing

It’s pretty much standard fare in the nose but I’m certainly not complaining. I’m picking up on aromas of toasted grain, sweet honey, herbal hops, pumpernickel, toffee, light apple skin, and a touch of milk chocolate

Likewise in taste this is very straightforward; sweet but balanced. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting honey, toasted grain, dark bread, nutty malt, herbal hops, and light toffee. The swallow brings notes of dark bread, sweet honey, apple skin, herbal hops, peppercorn, and toasted grain

A medium body pairs with moderate carbonation, resulting in a smooth yet snappy beer. Finishes dry and balanced

This is solid stuff. It makes me wish Night Shift would go down the classic route more often

 

On tap at The Village Tavern in Geneseo, NY.

This one pours a dark-ish orange/amber, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like toasted bread with honey drizzled on it, and a touch of dark chocolate.

This is maybe a little bit too lightly malty for my ultimate preference, but what’s here is pretty tasty all the same. It’s toasty and lightly chocolatey, with just a hint of spicy bitterness.

This is medium bodied, creamy, and really drinkable.

I kind of forgot that Night Shift still exists, honestly. I hope they’re doing well and I hope they keep making tasty lagers.

Small, but smooth tight-bubbled head. Nice blanketing cream colored lace. The beer is ruby brown where light passes through the center. Appears to be clear.

Mild, darker bread aroma.

Darker toasted white bread flavor with a hint of chocolate. Higher carbonation with an appropriately thinner body. Excellent hoping which provides for a fully balanced beer. Moderate aftertaste.