Plank Dunkler Weizenbock

Brewed by Brauerei Plank Laaber
Style: Weizen Bock
Laaber, Oberpfalz/Bayern, Germany

Bottle, 7.5%. Claims to be BB January 2001, 7 years ago, but here goes. Vinous aroma, somewhat like Aventinus. Dark, cloudy brown colour. Small, stable tan head. The flavour is quite sweet with some anis feel to it. As it warms, it gets a little roasted aftertaste, apart from that I find it slightly boring. I am still not sure whether it is too old or not.

Very nice beer that has that fantastic Aventinus taste to it. The body is not as thick and syrupy as I would have expected for a Weizenbock. OUCH!, don’t burp uninhibited while drinking this one or it will burn your nose and water your eyes like a bursting cola-burp. From the gut! Wish I could find this in sixers.

Big thanks to joss for the bottle. It looks good, but a little bit complex. The beer in the glass looks really good. The beer starts very strong and malty - I like that. The finish is fruity and prickly like a good hefeweizen. A really good beer!

Sampled from a 16.9 oz brown bottle this beer poured a caramel-brown color with a huge tan head. The aroma was sweet and fruity with notes of citrus and banana and a hint of clove and bubblegum. The flavor was bitter and tangy with a subdued roastiness and a light note of citrus and banana.

500ml bottle. Pours a slightly hazy dark yellow/brown color. Nose of starchy wheat, bread, dough, brown sugar, husky grains and sweet, tingly yeast esters - some clove, some fruity, some spice, very nice. Flavor is a mix of spicy clove and pepper yeast, some husky but chewy wheat, some lightly cooked banana, and a floral element that rounds out the experience quite well. Sticky, having a perfect level of sweetness, chewy, expertly made and very delicious.

2 Bottles at the Laid back Brussels Tasting (Feb 9, 2008): one for domestic market and one for export. Points are for the domestic one.
Domestic Deep, hazy brown body. Lightly brown, fizzy to creamy head with an excellent lace. Aroma of caramel, coffee and spices. Excellent aroma (abt like). Lightly bitte, lightly sweet flavour. Not so heavily bodied, nor very complex. Quite nice flavour, but not as nice as the nose would predict. 9/4/8/3/15 = 3.9
Export Clear, brown body. Good lace. Creamy off white head. Malty aroma with some spices. Well balanced aroma but sofrter than the domestic one. Lightly sweet, lightly bitter flavour. Nice, but not as nice as the German one. 8/3/8/3/14 = 3.6

We did a side-by-side with this and the export version. DerDoppelbock was convinced that the recipes are different, and now so are we. But not according to the brewery, so... The domestic version pours dark mahogany, dark-beige head. Great nose, malty and fruity-vinous... notes of bananas foster, cinnamon, caramel. In flavor the sweetness is restrained, bitteress is mild... good balance. Lightly bitter aftertaste, but pretty clean. Export version had a livelier mouthfeel, more carbonation, and the aromatics were slightly weaker. Enjoyed the domestic version more, and my ratings are for that version only.

Obtuse dark brown appearance. Heavy effervescence procures a constantly regenerating foamy head. Strongly yeasty nose starts up with strong banana puree character, but also procures a fair spiciness that goes beyond the usual clove. Its malt base is heafty, kinda fruity while minimal hops nevertheless manage to impart a flowery notion. Aptly perfumey. Well displayed wheat fails to act as a refreshing component. Instead, it quickly gets lost amid the rather unfocused and wandering yeastiness. After a few sips, it feels obtrusive, powdery, kinda dirty. This fits many belgians, but feels inadequate in a german ale. Very sweet, but the carbonation does a fair job at keeping it below my intolerance threshold and some bready dryness manages to kick in by the end. Just not the most cohesive example, feeling a bit too unfocused in its yeastiness and surprisingly alcoholic for its size, hinting at something that could be plum liquor at times.