Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel

May 29th, 2011 - That cheeky monk goes wherever good beer goes. He’s kind, affable, and accessible, even for the poorest beer drinker like me. There’s no reason not to pick up a whole line of the Franziskaner beers, then, and give yourself a week to take in a little German culture and art. I started my horizontal tasting with the Hefe-weissbier Dunkel, appealingly dark, but certain to have a refined elegance reserved for lighter beers. and lagers. It pours with a somewhat thick light brown head, and the body glows with a deep and dark-orange red color, like a dying ember. I can’t catch much aroma through the foam, so I dig a shaft through the bubbles and take a sip. It begins with a light core of chocolate, accented with clove and brown sugar, resembling a pumpkin beer without the vegetal notes. The body is medium, the flavor is good, clear and clean, and sports a lot of straightforward, no-nonsense palate pleasing that would go tremendously well with chicken or pork dishes. Why don’t I buy these beers more often?