Eaglebrau Weizenbier Dunkel
Privatbrauerei H. Egerer

November 14th, 2016 - The next beer in the Costco German brew Advent Calendar box comes with a keen looking bird of prey on the can, and a dark brown plumage in the glass. The scent is quite mild, like a brown ale, and features an inoffensive smell of brown ale. The flavor is light but satisfying, and really shows off how a thinner lager body can still feature some maltier flavors. In fact, this starts to develop a meaty flavor around some chicken and pork, plus some brown bread crust, practically making a sandwich for each flavor.

L:. Pours a slightly cloudy copper yellow color with a medium foamy head and a little bit of lacing on the glass.

S:. Kinda phenolic, clove and banana, I like the smell of the banana but there is also a weird aroma underneath that I can't quite figure out.

T:. Wheat, with notes of banana and clove, seems at times a touch like soggy banana bread.

F:. Carbonation seems a little off.

O:. This beer is weird, it has some good features but it also misses in several points.

CBAC #13
Dry, only a touch sweet, a little sour, tangy with banana notes, the finish is somewhat metallic.
Interesting but not something I would reach for.

 

 

$ 2.50 (Including tax)/500 mL can ($0.148/oz) from Costco, Schertz, TX. Part of the Costco 2019 Advent Calendar. Reviewed 11/05/19.
Can dated “EXP 05/2021”. Stored on the shelf at the store, stored at home at 42 degrees and served at 50 degrees in a hand washed and dried weizen glass.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Very light amber, clear.
Body – Light brown, very slight haze.
Head – Large (Maximum twenty cm, stabilizing at fourteen, aggressive center pour), light tan, medium density, average retention, eventually diminishing to a five mm crown and complete cap. Large irregular three-dimensional pieces of tiny to small-bubbled lacing remain hanging on the glass as the head recedes.
Lacing – Excellent. Wide irregular three-dimensional bands of tiny to small bubbles. See above.
Aroma – 3 – Weak malt, no hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 3 – Begins and ends slightly sweet and malty. No hops. No yeasty elements. No alcohol (5.3 % ABV as marked on the can) flavor or aroma, no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3.25 – Almost medium, watery, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.25. Very much like drinking weak wort that has been carbonated.

The last beer I've left from the very mediocre 2019 Costco Beer Advent Calendar (which I'd strongly advise against purchasing).

"Weizenbier Dunkel." 5.3% ABV / 4.3% ABW.

Looks mundane. Dull copper body. Drab off-white head. Lacks the haziness I'd expect in an unfiltered dunkelweizen.

Aroma hints at banana and clove from the yeast as well as some generic wheat malt. Not terribly enticing, but not unpleasant either.

Clove. Banana. Wheat. Some breadiness and caramel, maybe some toffee. Vanilla from the yeast. That's it...it's a pretty simple shallow dunkelweizen but it's balanced. Not as bland as most of the beers in the Costco Advent Calendar pack, but pretty lackluster compared to, say, Erdinger Dunkel.

Drinkable but forgettable. A lacklustre German brew that doesn't stand out. I'd chalk its inflated ratings up to American reviewers who don't have access to expressions of the style that aren't distributed stateside and don't know what they're missing.

C (2.80) / AVERAGE

Appearance: Hazy, light amber with a modest, dense, and persistent off-white head. Thick Belgian-style lacing adorns the glass wall.

Aroma: The aroma presents dark bread, ripe bananas, bitter apple rind, and dessert crackers.

Taste: Begins with dark bread, ripe bananas, and a hint of cloves. A bit later in the taste, there is a mildly sweet undercurrent that persists throughout, as well as bitter apple rind. A bit of semisweet cocoa is present, also. Late in the taste, a faint herbal hop note appears, which serves to diminish the overall sweetness a bit.

Mouth feel: Full and pleasant, almost creamy, very soft, with an intimation of sharp carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: Quite drinkable, not the best example of the style, but good, nonetheless.

Presentation: Packaged in a 500 ml, 16.9 ounce steel can, served in a South American-style Pilsener glass. Beer number twenty-one (December 21st) from the 2017 Costco Advent Beer Calendar.

I have not seen this beer before, just happened to be a random find in the singles section of my local beer stop. 500ml can.

Pours out with an enormous billowy off-white head, the beer a dark shade of amber. A nice layer of foam sticks around and the bubbles are small and fine, leaving some nice sheets of lacing throughout. Looks great.

Some mango and dates on the first whiff, and a definite funky yeastiness. Curiously, that funk is almost akin to a sour or saison--it's pretty damn prominent. I'm not complaining. I don't get much of a wheat character from the aroma though, and it's fairly one-dimensional.

Mouthfeel is a tad thinner than I'd like, and the flavour is pretty much dominated by a strange sour yeastiness. Also seems pretty watery overall. I get next to no dark malts or hopping--bizarre. It went from promising, with the appearance, to mediocre with the aroma, to downright bland with the flavour. Too bad.

 

 

 

Of the three Beer Advent Calendar brews I've tried so far, this is the best.

It pours light brown and murky, with just a tad of head and lace. The aroma is a pronounced yeasty smell. The taste is a fairly typical example of the style and the whole thing is pretty drinkable. There is a pervasive funk to the brew, but that's common with these.

Recommended. Drink this one.

PS 11-9-2020 With a fresher sample, it's pretty good. I think that's the deal with these - don't wait until after Christmas to start - they are stale and can-bound by then.

Very nice smell, first part of the beer is nice but finish is a little watered down

 

 

 

Pours copper/amber with a thin white head. Good carbonation, low head retention. Smells of burnt caramel and biscuit. Mild phenols and light banana. Taste is surprisingly smooth and bready, low bitterness with a nice backbone of German malts. Overall a pleasant beer. Would definitely drink again.