How About Some Pretzels and Currywurst As Well?


Brewery and Country of Origin: Wurzburger Hofbrau AG of Hochberger StraBe 28 97082 Wurzburg, Germany 0931 4109-0

Date Reviewed: 3-24-12

German Purity Laws have dictated the brewing of traditional beer styles in Bavaria for quite some time. Sure, we love beers infused with exciting ingredients like Maple, toffee, caramel, coffee, blueberries, and... well, you get the idea. But as it is with just about everything in life, some of the best examples of beer are the simplest you can come by. And as the old rule states, only four ingredients can be used in the brewing process of German beer. Water, barley, wheat, and hops. These four ingredients can make literally an infinite amount of flavor, and experience possibilities. What's even more amazing is that when you realize that this is a weissbier which has been produced for hundreds of years, people are still going through life without even knowing that it exists. Well hopefully our words of encouragement, a little boldness, and perhaps some desire to try something not from a can will get this beer in your glass. As you may be aware, wheat beers are usually not at the top of our list. Personal preference... deal with it. But because this one was pretty special, we couldn't go without letting you know why.
Date Sampled: 3-23-12 At: Sunset Grill and Tap, Brighton Ave, Brighton, Boston, MA, USA
Beer Style: Dunkelweizen
Alcohol by Volume: 4.90%
Serving Type: 16.9 oz Bottle, 20 oz Weizen Glass
Rating: 3.68

Look

This beer is dark brown, unfiltered (giving it an opaque appearance), and contains low amounts of carbonation, resulting in no foam residue on the glass, and virtually no foam head on top.

Aroma

The Julius Echter features very powerful fruity (mostly banana) aromas typical to weissbiers. The use of dark malts contributes to a sweeter and maltier aroma as well.

Feel

This beer is very light, with a low viscosity, a crisp and refreshing finish, and a thin to moderate body. Given that this is unfiltered, this is a smooth beer considering.

Taste

Traditional wheat flavors are present, with some hoppiness and trace amounts of dark malts, contributing to both semi-sweet and somewhat bitter flavors. The fruity/banana flavors are present, though nothing is overpowering. The nutty aftertastes do not linger. Overall, this is a nice light balance of hoppy and wheat based notes.

Our Take

Like we said, chances are you would be hard pressed to find an example in time when we would actively choose a wheat beer over any other style. And that is why this dunkel was such a special one. It incorporates some of the elements we like in other beers (such as a rich, maltier finish than most heffes), and yet this was still a very German, very traditional weissbier. We can definitely recommend this to people craving a lighter, sweeter, and very forgiving beer, especially for those who happen to enjoy wheats from time to time. Would we get this beer again? Perhaps that's the key question. To be honest, we're not the best people to ask, because given the opportunity at the same bar again (which has hundreds of choices), we'd rather try something new. But if you're not the adventurous type, and you do happen to fancy a weissbier every now and then, why not try this one?