Warsteiner Premium Dunkel

Brewed by Warsteiner Brauerei
Style: Dunkel
Warstein, Germany

Draft: Pours a rich dark brown with a thin tan head. Musty hop and earthy malt aroma. Body starts with some grainy off-flavors and finishes with a more authentic German flavor and some sweet, almost floral European hops. This could definitely use some more balance and fresher ingredients.

Not very complex. Not very malty. In fact, not very flavourful. Not a favorite of mine. Still, better than all American, mass-produced lagers I have tried. If you want a German beer, try an Ayinger.

On tap on a stall at The German Christmas Market in Birmingham. Dark brown to black with cream fizzed head. Boy did I have to search around this market to find something worth drinking, this was slightly thin and sweetish, but did have a sharp fruitiness that rescued the score. Blooming expensive though, I headed directly back to the pubs after this.

Listless roastiness amongst restless veggies...Pumpernickel crumbs drowning in weak, watery fizz...Campfire embers several days after being doused by heavy rains...

Bottle. Toasted, starchy oatmeal and dusty malt nose. Slightly prickly up front, rolls over the tongue a little caustic in texture, slightly sweet up front with a slightly spoiled taste over the middle, but smoothing out in the finish, leaving a oat, toast and (mildly) charred maple resin.

Nice dark brown color with an off white head. Has a slightly sweet roast malt aroma, mayhaps a touch of nuttiness. Very smooth to drink. No overwhelming flavors to speak of. Malty. Crisp finish.

Tap. Light brown color with a bone colored, wispy head. Light caramel and nutty aroma. Typical caramel flavor without a lot of malt depth. Finishes quite dry and clean with only a bit of bitterness and light acidity.

Dark brown/ruby red color with a nice looking whispy head and some good lacing. The aroma has some light dark caramel malts along with some fig and some saaz crispyness. The flavor is vaugely watery with some of the roasted malts coming through but still light like a lager. Not too bad. I’ll see how the rest of this sealed six pack is.