Warsteiner Dunkel

One of the few styles I'll venture out of my comfort zone for is a good German brew. I spent a few weeks in Munich for the World Cup in 2006, and in addition to copius amounts of bratwurst and football, I enjoyed the local flavor and culture of Bavarian beer. While most of the beers you'll find at beerhalls and beer gardens are hefeweizens, altbiers, and pilsners, I love a well crafted dunkel.

Unfortuantely, while the origin of this beer is unquestionably German, it's not one of the finer ones. A Dunkel is similar to a Hefeweizen, wheat beer, but is brewed as darker version (Dunkel means "dark") with deliciously complex malts and a low balancing bitterness. Most are brown and murky (from the yeast). The usual clove and fruity (banana) characters will be present, some may even taste like banana bread.

Mr. Warsteiner has that nose of sweetness, but dies on the back end and the body leaves for a fairly malty uninspired beer. For me it's just too bland, but is definitely a step up from Becks dark or Heineken dark. Try a Leffe Dark instead.

Dunkel: **