Great Divide Dunkel Weiss

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Dunkelweizen
Denver, Colorado USA

22oz bomber served in a tall weizen glass. This poured a hazy caramel brown hue with a two-finger thick head of creamy tan foam that quickly settled into a lasting cap. Some bubbly lacing was left behind. The aroma had caramel, fresh banana, spicy clove, and also a bit of fruity citrus. The flavor had toasted caramel, oranges, banana, some clove spice, and an underlying note of chocolate. Fruity and sweet. A little too sweet for my tastes. Medium to full-bodied. Moderate carbonation. Smelled and looked pretty good, but the flavor missed the mark a little. Just OK.

Had on tap at Great Divide 15th Anniversary Party. Color is a hazy brown with good carbonation and a nice head. Aroma is sweet with a good banana note. Starting with a medium body it goes down smooth with a creamy feel. Finish is a nutty malt flavor followed by a bold yeast flavor of banana and a touch of clove and hop spice. After taste leaves you with a smooth feel as the flavors slowly fade. This is a very tasty Dunkelweizen and maybe one of the best I had.

Bottle from SL. Poured the usual murky brown color, but really with a totally lame head that enabled almost the entire 22oz being poured into one of my 16.9oz hefe glasses. A real shame, I like that pillowy huge rocky head, so where did it go? The aroma was caramel, some bananas, bready. The flavor followed, but the caramel flavors were a bit sloppy, the cloves were lacking to give this some dry bite, overly caramel malted period. An ok brew, but not one I was excited about, inferior flavor to its peers, and really off the mark on appearance.

Poured a hazy amber with a modest head. Smells of sweet bananas. Taste is a little unbalanced. A little too malty sweet with an off flavor I can’t quite place. Palate is ok with a mostly clean finish. Decent beer if a better choice isn’t available.

Pours a nice copper with a small off white head. Aroma of sweet malts and bread. Tastes of dried fruit, bananas and some spicy notes.

Bottle (22oz). Shared by tupalev with me, blankboy, garthicus and gregclow. Bottle April 17/09. This is almost exactly the same beer as their Saison, just add caramel malt and more banana to the taste and aroma. Overall impressions: sweet; grassy; astringent; bready - lush.

Pours copper with gold edges and tan head. The aroma is sweet malts followed by cherries, plums and a dash of caramel. I seem to be getting a bit of smoke too. The taste holds a nice load of cherries and prunes then turning toward solid black pepper. Smooth good stuff. It ends with sweetness, dark fruitiness and fading black pepper corns.

Many thanks to Tupalev for sharing this from his trip to Denver. Appearance: Red/brown body with a small white head. Aroma: Malt, toast, rye, some floral notes and a nice hint of hops. Flavour: Malty-vanilla, floral, some fruitiness, long sweet finish.