Munich Lager
Steam Whistle Brewing

 

Bright, amber body, clear, with forming a decent, with good retention.
Aroma is malt forward, grainy-sweet, mild caramel; not sensing hops.
Taste matches the aroma, the malt dominating with a slightly richer profile than an American lager, including light notes of caramel and even toffee. Brings to mind what a Scotch Ale might taste like if it was lighter. Body is medium, creamy feel, with medium, fine carbonation. There is a deft touch of hop bitterness to balance out the finish, leaving it medium-dry and avoiding any cloying feel. Hop flavour is very subtle. Well attenuated.

A good summer choice for something that has a slightly richer flavour profile, and is refreshing but not crisp. Good example of the style.

Bought can at loblaws dated dec 6th 2019 poured a 2 finger head into glass .
Medium bodied easy drinking beer.
orange color to the beer its very enjoyable when drinking it .
From the makers of steamwhistle eh
Cheers

 

 

Pours dark amber with moderate frothy head that dissipates quickly. Toasty bready malts with minimal hopping to balance the malts. Great with Thai food.

This was most disappointing. It is so mild in taste I can barely tease out any flavor. Needs reformulation in my estimation.

 

Appearance: Every Dunkel I have had, was far darker then this. I'm going to give some slack here, but it's awfully clear and amber. Not brown or red by any stretch of the imagination. Produced a thumb of head that did not lace, nor retain at all. Carbonation is a little bit lower then I would expect as well.

Smell: Dry, as straw malt and rye bread scent is present. I'm also catching small plum notes that's ample yeast at work. That said, potency does leave something to be desired and doesn't really help it either way. Nothing bad, not

Taste: Light and very clean, which I don't often find in a dunkel, starts with mild caramel but mainly grain malt that turns to a plum note and maybe a touch of peach with dry yeast that persists to the brief floral hop touch that really keeps things clean.

Mouthfeel: My biggest complaint is the dry grain aftertaste, however the carbonation is good that accents the entire been, the transitioning is also solid but it's not the smoothest thing around. Points do get deducted though for the lack of head.

Drinkability: Oddly enough, the dry note which stops it from being refreshing tend to be the best trait of the beer. It's very clean and even though it isn't the smoothest thing around, it being on the light end of medium body and has a crispness that makes it very easy to drink. The gas never gets out of control as well, which is a bonus.

Final Thoughts: I'm to understand a lot of the guys behind Steamwhistle are behind this offering. I've long hoped they'd try to brew something new, but never really faulted them for not doing so because of their community engagement. If they did have a hand, this is a fairly solid offering, hitting the right buttons. That said, while I enjoyed it, not sure if I'd say it's the best example of the style. Thumbs up regardless though.

Tallboy can from the LCBO; dated Dec 3 2018 and served slightly chilled. I actually didn't realize this was a dunkel (as opposed to a helles) until I saw its colour in the glass.

Pours crystal clear, with a beautiful amber orange-coloured body crowned with one centimetre of creamy, off white-coloured head that sticks around for a good, long time. A fat collar and a fine coat of lace are its eventual descendants; looks great to me. Its aroma is quite mild, offering up some wholesome graininess, some lightly toasted malts and hints of caramel sweetness, as well as suggestions of grassy, floral, slightly herbal/spicy hops.

This is a fantastic German-style lager with immaculately clean flavours. It tastes grainy, with hints of toasted bread, toffee and (very slight) orchard fruit esters on the front end. Suggestions of roasted grain come through towards the finish, obscured by the spicy, floral, slightly herbal aspects of the (100% Czech!) continental hop profile, which assert themselves simultaneously. Light in body, with middling carbonation levels that start off strong, but soften out considerably over the course of the glass - this causes the mouthfeel to become less crisp and prickly, but more smooth over time. Extraordinary drinkability; I polished off my glass in about 15-20 minutes, which is (not coincidentally) about how long it took me to type out this review.

Final Grade: 3.92, a B+. I'm on the record multiple times saying that this is basically my least favourite German style, but Von Bugle's Munich Lager is one of the few dunkels that I have legitimately enjoyed to the extent that I'd strongly consider making it a semi-regular purchase. Easily on par with the (admittedly few and far between) exported examples of this style that we see here in Ontario, if not slightly better - if you like dark/amber lagers that aren't too sweet, then this is absolutely worth seeking out.

 

 

August 20 2019

 

473 ml can served fairly cold into a pint glass. LCBO purchase for $3.25 CDN. The brewers have many connections with the brewers from Steamwhistle.

Appearance - A robust amber colored brew, not really light enough to be a Helles but not quite a traditional Dunkel either. Brilliant clarity, two plus fingers of dense and fluffy head, great staying power. Lots of bubbles, good head retention and plenty of beautiful lacing at the edges of the glass.

Smell - Somewhat grainy, with a weird metallic note, however followed up by dark fruits (namely plum) and a pefurmey aroma. Dark fruit is very nice. Fruits overpower the metal after a few sips and sniffs.

Taste - Light and flavorful, quite fruity with plum and stone fruits being presented. Transitions to some caramel and lightly toasted grain. Quite tasty across the board.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied, a touchy sticky and carbonation is about right.

Overall - A little different than most lagers, the fruitiness sets it apart, yet easy drinking and well crafted. Certainly worth a tipple or two and this might even get some play as a regular in my rotation.