Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Tuesday Night Tasting - Blue Hills Brewery: Dunkelweizen



Blue Hills Brewery - Canton, MA
Dunkelweizen, Wampatuck Winter Wheat*
6.9% ABV, 1pt 6oz

This beer pours a medium dark amber brown concoction. It has a slight head, that disappears almost instantaneously. That's okay though, because it's better not to mess around and get straight to the drinking. Of course, it should be noted that the Dunkelweizen has a nice sweet aroma, but has a slight and subtle smokiness. You can also pick up tones of caramel and butterscotch too!



The flavor is a nice blend of sweetness with a malty backbone. It's quite dry, but clean and smooth going down. It's not very bitter, but not too sweet at the same time.

While drinking this beer, I though it would be a great barrel aged beer! I'd love to see what additional flavors and aromas the oak or cherry wood barrels would give this beer. I have to say, this is my favorite Blue Hills Brewery beer so far!

With a medium to moderate mouth feel, this beer leaves you wanting more! I chose to drink mine out of an imperial pint glass, so I was stuck with just a little more than a pint; however, considering this beer is extremely drinkable, I should have picked up another bottle. I had one with my Thanksgiving dinner, and it was quite enjoyable.

Now I realize that I say a lot of the beers I review are drinkable, but I honestly wouldn't say so if I couldn't continue to drink these beers. I've been somewhat critical about a few Blue Hills Brewery beers in the past, but between the Black Hops I reviewed in September, and this Dunkelweizen, it has breathed new life into my interest in the brewing company. I love small companies, not just breweries, and local ones at that. Located just a few towns over, Blue Hills Brewery has made a name for themselves in a short time, and is picking up recognition all over the region. I just picked up another bottle of the Black Hops too, so I'm interested to see how it has progressed over the past few months.

I strongly encourage those of you in reasonable driving distance of a good package or liquor store to grab one of these Dunkelweizens. Blue Hills Brewery does a few variations on the Wampatuck Wheat beers, including the straight up Wampatuck Wheat as well as their Wampatuck Watermellon Wheat beer. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the Winter Wheat!



*this beer has a grain bill that's more than 60% wheat, as are their other Wampatuck Wheat beers!

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