Double 'L' Dunkel
Larrabee Lager Company

Handsome shade of reddish brown with plenty of foam in the chalice. Light, sudsy, and refreshing in the mouth. Aroma of cereal, toast, and a whiff of burnt malt. Taste is roasted grain with a nice complexity of flavors: caramel, dark malt, and a touch of burnt sugar in the finish. Even a winey taste. Just sweet enough for the style and finishes with a small dose of mildly bitter hops. From the 16 oz can purchased at the brewery restaurant. Dated 03/04/24.

16oz can courtesy of the generosity of friend Madison. Canned on May 7, 2024, per the stamp on the bottom of the can.

Poured into a Chuckanut glass that sorta looks like a Stange, this was a dark, reddish brown color, taking on a rubyish look when held directly up to light. Big, sudsy, off-white head, almost beige in color.

Aroma is earthy and sweet. The can just say "dunkel," which made me think Munich Dunkel, but the earthiness in the nose is making me think it was brewed with wheat, and therefore deserves it's designation here as a Dunkelweizen. The sweetness is a light, toasty, caramel type.

Lightly caramel tasting, with an equally light, earthy graininess. This is a subtle beer that emphasises drinkability. Finishes dry and sweet.

Light bodied, with a clean mouth feel.

Weirdly, tasting it didn't solidify my thoughts over the style. It has a similarity to a Dunkelweizen, but it's really subtle compared to others of the style that I have had. I feel like one could almost still make a case for it being a Munich Dunkel. Incidentally, the brewery's website provides no help on this point. It merely describes it as a "German Dark Lager." Whatever it is, it's both quite tasty and eminently drinkable. I feel like I could fade several of these if able, and I look forward to trying more or Larrabee's beers. Thanks, Madison!

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium to dark, coppery amber with a three finger light khaki head that dissipates slowly to a thick cap with lots of lacing. Aroma of lightly toasted wheat malt, postum and a hint of dry caramel. Flavor follows, with lightly toasty wheat malt, postum grains, graham cracker, hints of caramel and clove; dries out a bit into a lightly toasty and malty finish with light hops. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. It's been too long since I've had a dunkelweizen and glad this one showed up locally. Larrabee appears to be concentrating on easy drinking German styles and if this is any indication, doing a fine job with it. This check all the boxes for the style with a quite continental dark weizen profile. Lightly hopped which shows up mostly in the aftertaste, nicely supported by the lingering toasted malt. Pleasant from start to finish. Looking forward to the hefeweizen waiting in the fridge. Good introduction to the brewery.