Calumet Dark

Brewed by Rowlands Calumet Brewery
Style: Dunkel
Chilton, Wisconsin USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

Fourth stop during Wisconsin Trip #2 and one of 11 brews offered at this small town brewpub at any time. I remember trying Calumet Dark for the first time in 1990 at the Midwest Beerfest in Oconomowoc, WI. Bob Rowland’s entertaining charisma and Calumet Dark were a perfect match. No wonder his brews on this site usually scores high. Just like the Calumet Dark I remember over 15 years ago, it pours a deep mohagany with some amber highlights. A thick creamy off-white head slowly retracts giving a good lacing. Aroma picked up caramel, milk chocolate, vanilla and roasted barley malt. Taste is smooth and creamy with wonderful aftertaste of caramel and chocolate malt. This one has to be their flagship beer and happy to learn that Bob’s son is continuing his recipies and brewing skills. I can see more road trips to Chilton in the near future.

Solid dunkel. Very easy to drink too many, but very complex with the malt profile and slight hop finish. Keep it up, Bob.

Light mouthfeel. Chocolatey, roasty flavo rwith some green leafy hops in the finish. Great roasty flavor. A great beer.

The appearance is a dark brown/red body with excellent lacing atop a thick creamy tan head. Dark grains, rye? The flavor is really nice. Chocolatey, light fresh brewed coffee. Nicely roasted. mmmmm..... The palate is medium bodied, nice and slick. Over-hyped or rated. I don’t think so.

On tap at" brewery" OK so this is the best dunkels I’ve ever had. Including all over Bavaria. That said it isn’t a dunkels. This is Bob’s Dark...it poured a perfect head and presentation is unsurpassed. Chocolate brown...not a lot of nose, only some spicy crispness. Taste is in it’s own class. Peppery chocolate with nuts and yeast. Sweet? No, but so uniquely Bob. Diacetyl makes it tart like no other dunkel. Anise. Weeds. Sour milk and malt.

Deep, semi-translucent amber brown in color that’s now dispersed its initially creamy white head. Nice malty aroma, some semi-sweet chocolate chunks, hazelnuts, cake batter and pure cocoa powder. Flavor onsets with a chocolate malt ball taste, joined by Rolos and hazelnuts. One of the sweeter dunkels of my day with a borderline doppel sweetness. As a dunkel, definitely one of - if not the - best of the genre. Malt slick hits as creamy and then sweetens it presence and pulls at the corners of the tongue equivocally. Easily Calumet’s best beer.

Reddish brown color. Dark caramel flavor with some roastiness, slight coffee, licorice and piney hop notes. Very good.

On tap at the brewery. Dark ruby-black color. Aroma is a nice nutty molasses and toffee. Flavor is initially a brilliant sweet toffee and nutty caramel. It finishes with a nice roasted chocolate flavor. Smooth in the mouth.