Julius Echter Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel

Brewed by Würzburger Hofbräu (Schörghuber)
Style: Dunkelweizen
Würzburg, Germany

Serve in Stein, Weizen

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I poured a 500ml bottle into a weizen glass. It has a best before date of May, 2013. It cost $3.29 ($0.19 per ounce).

Appearance: Opaque brown body with a glowing ruby red aura. Forms a large, white, frothy barm which mostly dissipates and leaves only minor lacing.

Smell: Mostly just banana, no spice notes. Also quite mild.

Taste: I’m a big fan of wheat beers. It seems to me that they’re a hard style to get wrong. Even if you make one by the book it may be unoriginal, but it’ll be good. For some reason, Julius Echter Hefe-Weiss-Dunkel comes up a bit short. While not a bad beer at all, it’s a little too mild for its own good.

The palette doesn’t have a lot of distinctive character to it. Similar to most German wheat beers with the usual notes of banana and clove, but this time they’re mild and contained. I prefer cinnamon bread character from a dunkelweizen, but this one is just plain bready. There’s a faint sweet taste right as it finishes, but it’s not a beer that I would consider robust. Thankfully, there’s no off flavors, and those that are present become more prominent as it warms. Maybe it’s just an old bottle, but the fact remains this is an okay beer at best.

Drinkability: I deliberately bought and drank Julius Echter Hefe-Weiss-Dunkel for its performance value. I had just come back from a long walk on a hot, humid day and this was the refresher I was seeking. It was comfortable in the mouth with noticeable carbonation, but with a smooth finish. It’s definitely refreshing and at only 4.9% ABV it’s ideal for hot weather in a large quantity over time

Tap. Brown color, small head and light lacing. Smooth throughout. Slightly sweet, but well balanced.

Dégustée en fût au Farmhouse Tap & Grill à Burlington, VT. De couleur brune-ambrée et voilée. Nez de levures fruitées (bananes, moyen d’agrumes) et légèrement épicées (clou de girofle), moyen de blé, léger de gomme balloune avec des notes de caramel, de houblon herbeux et de pain. Moyennement ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen ainsi qu’une texture aux petites notes crémeuses. Goût de levures fruitées (agrumes, moyen de bananes) et moyennement épicées (clou de girofle, traces de coriandre) avec des notes de gomme balloune lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un goût de blé avec un moyen goût de pain et un léger goût de céréales sucrées aux notes grillées puis en finale l’on retrouve une légère amertume de houblon herbeux. Post-goût moyen, composé d’un goût de levures fruitées (pelures de bananes, léger zeste d’agrumes) aux notes épicées avec un léger goût de blé et de houblon herbeux ainsi que des traces de céréales grillées. (17 avril 2013)

500ml bottle, best by 2013/03. Poured into my weizen glass. Clear brown color. Big 2-finger pillowy off-white head. Thin bit retains, leaves some loose splotches of lace. Medium body. Smooth, sort of crisp carbonation, light bite to the finish, though. More dry overall. Banana in the nose. Toasty malt, little dark fruit, light spice, hint of vanilla, light herbal, little tobacco. Hint of tobacco. Hint of chocolate. Sweeter taste. Light bitter. TIny bite. Little dusty, lightly spicy. Bit watery overall. Still, a decent dunkelweizen.

Bottle. Sweet apricot, banana, and creamy wheat malt aroma. Cloudy brown with a large thick creamy off-white head. Fruity apricot, banana, and toasty malt flavor with just a touch of spice. Medium creamy body, moderate carbonation.

Bottle: Hazy, chestnut-amber coloured, smaller - stable and firm - off-white head, dried fruits and caramel in the yeasty-wheaty nose; moderate sweet-sourish flavour, smooth MF, medium bodied; sweetish caramelly finish. Really a decent Dunkelweizen....

Bottled 500ml. -Courtesy of and shared with Marko (thanks). Dark amber/brown coloured, medium to big sized pale beige head, mild banana in the nose. Toasted malt, slight yeasty and banana taste with hint of caramel in the finish. Nice.

UPDATED: MAR 9, 2013 Bottle @ Joe’s, Würzburg 31/01/13. Pours an auburn cola with an off-white, large head. Aroma is banana, caramel and cloves. Taste is caramel and banana. Light on the cloves. Light roast on the finish. Palate is light, quite carbonated, watery. Not that good really.

Julius Echter Premium Weissbier Dunkel, 5.3%. Poured a dark murky amber/brown body. Roasty yeasty dry sweet malty aroma. Malty taste with vague notes of banana, quite lactic/yeasty again. Hm, I expected more but it’s a nice drink in any case!

16.9 oz bottle to snifter (shared with the Mrs.). Looks good; a semi-opaque brown with fluffy off-white lacing. Smells solid; yeasty, doughy, malty, and roasty with notes of banana and spice. Tastes like it smells with a good mouthfeel. A good example of the style.