Lakefront Eastside Dark

Brewed by Lakefront Brewery
Style: Dunkel
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA

Copper, verging on brown. Nice sturdy head. Honey, spicy aroma. Flavors hints at molassess, whiskey and pepper, maybe cola, as well. Nicley, subtlely blended. Finishes kinda dry.

Very simple beer--malty, with a bit of chocolate and caramel popping through in moments of the aroma and flavor. Clinging head on a clear brown body. Normal, unremarkable palate. Plain and simple beer, though not unsatisfying.

12 oz bottle from Lakefront Sampler from Bottle Barn! Nose smelled good as soon as I opened it, rich caramel and roasty coffee along with some graininess; clear dark amber with a medium straw head; flavor has caramel, very light hop bitterness, and lightly sweet caramel. Decent Dunkel!

[draught] Easy drinking, but lacking any stand-out characteristics. The body is pretty thin, and the aroma fails to grabs attention and make you want to drink the beer at all. Slight coffee flavor at least keeps the tongue from being completely bored, otherwise this is a waste of calories.

The aroma has herbal hops (mint), coffee, raisins, toasted malt, and caramel. The appearance is dark red/brown with a small head. The flavor is sour and not much like a Dunkel except for the very faint chocolate and toasty qualities. The palate is thin with a bitter aftertaste. This is not a good beer and closer to a Lambic than a Dunkel in taste. And what’s up with the commercial description? It doesn’t even come close to describing the taste of this beer. Do the marketing people even taste this stuff?

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with footbalm, thanks Eric!) This is one of the toastiest beers I can remember tasting. It’s sweet, malty, chocolaty and very nutty, with only a slight bitterness in the finish. The nose is equally as toasty as the flavor. Medium-full bodied, smooth and soft on the palate. Medium-dark brown and fully clear, but the light tan head is small and short lived, quickly fading to a miniscule ring. I’m glad this bottle was this tasty because my previous bottle of this was less impressive.

Bottle: Brown pour with a ruby hue and a creamy tan head that lasts. The aroma is sweet malts- lots of dark caramel and light chocolate, quite fresh smelling. Creamy feel with a nice malt character encompassing a soft sweetness and toasted character. Dark caramel, later gritty cocoa toasted notes and perhaps a hint of smoke. Well balanced and tasty. A well done German style dark lager.

Appearance: Pours a hazy, walnut brown body with a thin, wispy, white head. Smell: Aroma smelling of underperforming dark, nutty malts, light raisin fruitiness, and a pinch of hot chocolate mix. Taste: Mild maltiness displays an overall nuttiness and flavor of clearance aisle cocoa powder. Lightly sweet. Minor apple and raisin fruitiness. Faintly floral hops and bitterness. Though it was always light, the vague, unsweetened chocolate flavor is what you’re left with on the drying, crisp finish. Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium, fine carbonation. Drinkability: Take it or leave it. I was hoping for more toasted bread qualities, but it kept giving me nuts! It’s shrug-inducingly acceptable, but when shopping for a dunkel, I prefer Ayinger’s Altbairisch Dunkel. That’s just me though!