Harpoon Munich Dark

Brewed by Harpoon Brewery
Style: Dunkel
Boston, Massachusetts USA

Bottle (12oz). Shared with blankboy, his bottle. Poured clear brown-ruby with a solid lasting straw head. Aroma of dry roast malt, straw, candyish caramel, maybe some stale hops, a bit lactic and quite sweet. Taste follows the nose but some sour cherry in there. Mouthfeel somewhat thin, lightly acidic, flat and candyish. Not a great dunkel - not a patch on the Denison.

Nice aroma of malt, figs and grain. Dark reddish brown with minimal head. Palate is a bit thin but nice flavors of toffee and chocolate. Toasted - grain taste in finish. Decent dunkel.

"Harpoon is not on my good list, this beer just wasn’t right. Pour a dark brown large head. Smelled of coffee. Nutty and chocolate taste. Smooth full mouthfeel. Up until that point it is a good beer, but what in the world is that aftertaste ugh not sure but not a fan "

(12oz bottle) Clear mahogany body topped by a small beige head. Aroma is moderately sweet, caramel, some molasses, light cherry. Taste is medium sweet, caramel, some chocolate, toffee, light smoke, cherry. Creamy light-medium body. I found this surprisingly enjoyable.

Pours near black with ruby hues and a thin light brown head. Aroma of dark bread, light caramel, and plums. Taste is caramelized maltiness, complex vinous and toasted notes. Notes of roast, molasses, and dark fruitiness. A bit surprising from a lager. Finishes slighly smoky with a subdued bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with a slight stickiness and smooth carbonation. A great dunkel.

I dont know much about dunkels but this stuff was great. similar to a brown ale. malty toasted nutty aroma. dark brownish ruby in color with a small tan head. light to medium body with a big flavor of roasted malts, nuts, toffee, and brown sugar. I really enjoyed this.

Bottle: This brew pours a very dark brown and is barely clear with a small tan head. Nose is nutty,definate plum overtones, slightly malty, and reminds me of fruit bread. Taste consists of a initial dark fruitiness that stands aside to show the rather maltness of this dunkel. The palate is great in my opinion. It creeps up after a few seconds and bombards you with a fruity and caramel bitterness. I liked this a lot.

(12 oz bottles: Obtained in trades with shadey and jjpm74, thanks Shane and John!) I have two bottles of this beer, one recently acquired, the other from quite some time ago. First off, I’m not much of a fan of Harpoon, they were relatively decent back in the early days, but generally, I find their beers are average at best. But this dark brown beer is quite tasty. With the recently acquired bottle, the dark malts are very caramely, toasty, quite chocolaty, and fairly sweet, with a moderate bitterness rounding things out toward the finish. Perhaps the only wish is that this beer was a bit less sweet so that the true flavor of the malts could bathe my mouth with delight. The nose shows more dominance from chocolaty dark malts. Medium bodied. The beer is dark brown in color and capped by a small light tan head that settles to a ring. And now trying the older bottle, some nuttiness and even more chocolate has developed, to the point where the chocolate is almost the dominant flavor. Also, an obvious smokiness livens up the finish, and the sweetness doesn’t seem as sugary and less prominent. The mouthfeel is richer, more smooth and velvety. This has actually improved with age, and so my numerical ratings are for this older bottle. This just might be Harpoon’s best beer.