Weyerbacher Slam Dunkel

<i>Draught at Brickseller, Washington DC</i>
Cloudy dark brown color, big head. The smell reminds me sewage water. It has a solid body, but again it seems that a quite good beer (sweetness, caramel, wheat...) Has been brewed with dirty water; but it’s a pity because the beer should not be bad. Difficult.

<b>In short: </b>A Dunkel Weizen on steroids a bit too heavy on the spiciness for me
<b>How: </b>Bottle 22oz, consumed 3 months after purchase
<b>The look: </b>Cloudy brown body topped by a small but long-lasting beige head
<b>In long: </b>Nose of cloves, laurels and toasted bread. Body has a whole lot of toasted hay with strong herbal spiciness with a ton of cloves, basil, laurels, freshly cut grass. Some cinnamon, coriander, and even more spices. Some ripe bananas and ripe-brown banana peels under can be found among the spices. The spiciness is mouth-drying, almost astringent. The beer felt quite heavy and really wasn’t highly drinkable. Weyerbacher better continue making extreme beers and let session beers alone. Overall not bad, this is a three points slam dunkel.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy brownish color with a tan head. Aroma is malty with wheat, clove, banana, fruit and light spices. Flavor is caramel malts, banana, fruit, wheat, and has a touch of chocolate.

POured a clear dark brown color with an off white head. Aroma was roasted malts and some dark fruits and spices. Flavor was nice and sweet but no overly so. Hints of clove and some banana esters appear within the smooth roasted malts flavor and texture.

Reddish-brown in color with a large off-white head. A little muddy. Aroma is very nice. Strong malty aroma with notes of bananas, yeast, and a little alcohol. Flavor is decent... not as complex as the aroma. Mainly malts with a little wheat in there, but could use more. Palate is a little too flat.

Bottle. Pours murky red brown with a beige head. Sweet fruity aroma with a bit of toasted malt and spices. Very smooth and subtle. Very well balanced with banana like fruity sweetness, some toasty malt, and clove like spice. Quite tasty.

20080613 at Weyerbacher open house and a bomber since. I did not know what to make of this beer the first time I tried it so I bought a bomber to try it again. Sweet, thick, and strange, this beer is no match for the likes of Aventinus. When I first tried it, I thought it was supposed to be a regular dunkel bock and it did not fit that bill, either. I guess if you like sweetly malted beers without much direction, then this is the one for you. Nice mouthfeel and pleasant eff. Yeast comes across with a rotting vegetable note.

On tap: This most unusual brew is misleading. It looked palatable and smelled wonderful, but was caught off guard by the heavy banana and clove. Yikes, I thought I might have been drinking banana nut bread with kick!