Brewed By: Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu (InBev) in Munich, Germany
Purchased: 1 Pint, .9oz (16.9oz) bottle from Binny's in Chicago, Illinois; 2012
Style/ABV: Dunkelweizen, 5.0%
Tonight I'm drinking a beer from Munich, Germany, brewed at the Franziskaner brewery. Franziskaner in German means "Franciscan monk," and Franziskaner dates back as the oldest, privately-owned brewery in Munich. The record books trace Franziskaner back to 1363, when brewer Seidel Vaterstetter was first mentioned as the owner of the 'brewery next to the Franciscans' in the Munich Residenzstrasse. In 1841 the brewery moved to Lilienberg, Munich, and Augustin Deiglmayr, son-in-law of Spaten's owner, Gabriel Sedlmayr the Elder, buys the Residenzstrasse brewery. In 1861, owner of the Leist Brewery, Joseph Sedlmayr (also a son of Spaten's Gabriel Sedlmayr the Elder) buys out August Deiglmayr. In 1865, the Leist Brewery stops all operations, and leaves them entirely to the Franziskaner Brewery. Did I mention that the end-game in all this is that Franziskaner gets bought out buy AB InBev?
Moving on...in 1872, Franziskaner-Leist rolls out their Ur-Märzen, and serves it at the Schottenhamel Tent at Oktoberfest. Wieners are schnitzeled. Finally, in 1909, Gabriel Sedlmayr III turns the Franziskaner-Leist Brewery into a stock company, the "Joseph Sedlmayr Zum Franziskanerkeller (Leistbräu) AG." Blitzkrieg that name three times fast. In 1922 Franziskaner-Leist and Spaten unite, to form a single joint stock company: the "Gabriel und Joseph Sedlmayr Spaten-Franziskaner-Leistbräu AG." At this point, we jump to Wikipedia for a better snapshot of the brewery's history. Following the merger with Spaten, the advertising slogan "Lass Dir raten, trinke Spaten," or, "Let yourself be advised, drink Spaten," is rolled out: it is still in use today. The brewery continues to expand and grow, until 1997 when the brewery combines with Löwenbräu AG to form the Spaten-Löwenbräu-Gruppe. And in 2003, the Spaten-Löwenbräu-Gruppe was sold to Interbrew. In 2004 Interbrew and AmBev unite to form InBev. And that's how shit went down in Munich.
It's also worth mentioning that in 1935, artist Ludwig Hohlwein created the company's bitchin' trademark. The Franciscan Friar; drinkin' beer, slappin' bitches, and doin' the Lord's thang. Can I get a Hallelujah and a cheers? Pass the blunt while you're at it.
Moving on...in 1872, Franziskaner-Leist rolls out their Ur-Märzen, and serves it at the Schottenhamel Tent at Oktoberfest. Wieners are schnitzeled. Finally, in 1909, Gabriel Sedlmayr III turns the Franziskaner-Leist Brewery into a stock company, the "Joseph Sedlmayr Zum Franziskanerkeller (Leistbräu) AG." Blitzkrieg that name three times fast. In 1922 Franziskaner-Leist and Spaten unite, to form a single joint stock company: the "Gabriel und Joseph Sedlmayr Spaten-Franziskaner-Leistbräu AG." At this point, we jump to Wikipedia for a better snapshot of the brewery's history. Following the merger with Spaten, the advertising slogan "Lass Dir raten, trinke Spaten," or, "Let yourself be advised, drink Spaten," is rolled out: it is still in use today. The brewery continues to expand and grow, until 1997 when the brewery combines with Löwenbräu AG to form the Spaten-Löwenbräu-Gruppe. And in 2003, the Spaten-Löwenbräu-Gruppe was sold to Interbrew. In 2004 Interbrew and AmBev unite to form InBev. And that's how shit went down in Munich.
It's also worth mentioning that in 1935, artist Ludwig Hohlwein created the company's bitchin' trademark. The Franciscan Friar; drinkin' beer, slappin' bitches, and doin' the Lord's thang. Can I get a Hallelujah and a cheers? Pass the blunt while you're at it.
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| Original Gangster: 1935 |
If you're anything like me, you're wondering what a Dunkelweizen is. Maybe you should speak German, fool. Actually, I don't speak any German...I'm white. A Dunkelweizen, or "Dunkelhefeweizen," or if you're really German, a "Dunkelkristallweizen," is simply a dark wheat beer. I know because I like to read the German Beer Institute's website in my free time, and you should too. Dunkel literally means "dark" in German, and there actually is a dark lager style called a Dunkel. We'll save that for another rainy day. If you know what a Hefeweizen is, then a Dunkelweizen is going to make a lot of sense. It's a dark Hefeweizen/Weissbier/Weizenbier. What makes beer dark? Malts and Old Rasputin's soul. Dunkel means "dark," weiss means "light," so now you can order your Weizenbier accordingly. Like a Hefe, the Dunkelweizen is made from a mash of wheat and barley malts. Unlike a Hefe, the Dunkelweizen also contains lightly to thoroughly caramelized or roasted malts that give the beer a dark color and malty complexity. Thus, a Dunkelweizen has all the typical flavors of a wheat beer - banana, clove, vanilla, apple, bubblegum, nutmeg, lemon, etc. - plus some nice chocolatey and roasted flavors. This is an incredibly complex style of beer, with a lot of potential for flavor.
At this point, I can point you (the three readers) in the direction of the BJCP, and the Brewing Encyclopedia for any additional concerns regarding style guidelines. German law states that a Dunkelweizen must be brewed with at least 50% malted wheat; the rest of the malt is usually Munich or Vienna malt. The beer uses specialty Weizen ale yeast, and just a dash of noble hops are used. The beer is described as being fruity, having clove and banana, and possibly a slightly toasted or chocolate flavor. No veggies (DMS) or butter (diacetyl) are supposed to be present. There's hardly any info on the company's beer profile page, so with that all said, let's pour this thing and see how it holds up.
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| Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel |
I hate foil over the bottlecap. And that's all I'll say about that. This beer pours like a dark Hefeweizen, with a giant, pillowy, bready, thick head. The head is slightly tan/sandy in color, and I initially poured about 5-fingers worth. My only gripe with the glass I used is that it is hard to do a vertical pour...not that it matters. As always, make sure you swirl the last 1/4 of the remaining beer in the bottle to stir up all that wonderful yeast, and make sure all the yeast gets into the beer. In low light this is a super murky, swampy looking beer, with hints of pale/straw/swampy gold around the edges, and a darker, purple/maroon center. Basically, I'm going with swamp beer. It's been a few minutes, and the head has dissolved into a half-finger's worth of coating. In bright light, the head is still slightly tinted tan, and the beer has a super hazy/yeasty/swampy appearance. This is a murky brown beer, with tons of proteins and yeast and shit floating around. There are some hints of gold/bronze/straw escaping around the edges. I can actually see some carbonation bubbles in here, so I'm expecting nice carbonation as per the style.
The aroma is like a Hefeweizen, only with this looming malt heaviness. I'm getting banana, cloves, vanilla, the usual suspects. But I'm also getting some bread, caramel, almost a raisin-like note. There's some caramel, and those Vienna malts are really prominent. It smells really good, but it is definitely a bit subdued, and the banana and clove are really overshadowed by this looming malt presence. Maybe a hint of toffee. Let's see how this tastes.
You'd think this would be a lot bolder and aggressive, given the nose, but this is actually very clean and light. I'm immediately picking up on some toasted malt notes, and some nice wheat notes in the back end. There is a crisp and sweet fruity kick up front, with some hints of very mild lemongrass, and apple. Maybe a slight twang of tart on the back of the front-end. The fruit is maybe enhanced with some malt sweetness, and all that good stuff carries into the middle, where you get some more malts and hints of wheat. The back end is just big bold malts (relative to the style, mind you), with nice waves of wheat and Vienna malts. I'm getting a little banana and clove in the mix as well. I could see where this style could have chocolate notes, but this beer only dials the malts up to toasted/bready/caramel.
This is medium-light in terms of mouthfeel, incredibly refreshing, super drinkable, and just a touch dry in the finish. Palate depth is good for the style, and complexity is moderate. At 5.0% ABV, this drinks like a much lighter beer. If you're used to American craft beers, this beer is basically a light beer. There is moderate carbonation, which goes wonderfully with the body. The front is light, crisp, carbonated, slightly fruity, and you get some wheat; the middle is more wheat, fading fruit, burgeoning malts; the back end is a nice play of wheat, Vienna malts, hints of bread/toast/caramel, and a finish that is just a touch dry.
You'd think this would be a lot bolder and aggressive, given the nose, but this is actually very clean and light. I'm immediately picking up on some toasted malt notes, and some nice wheat notes in the back end. There is a crisp and sweet fruity kick up front, with some hints of very mild lemongrass, and apple. Maybe a slight twang of tart on the back of the front-end. The fruit is maybe enhanced with some malt sweetness, and all that good stuff carries into the middle, where you get some more malts and hints of wheat. The back end is just big bold malts (relative to the style, mind you), with nice waves of wheat and Vienna malts. I'm getting a little banana and clove in the mix as well. I could see where this style could have chocolate notes, but this beer only dials the malts up to toasted/bready/caramel.
This is medium-light in terms of mouthfeel, incredibly refreshing, super drinkable, and just a touch dry in the finish. Palate depth is good for the style, and complexity is moderate. At 5.0% ABV, this drinks like a much lighter beer. If you're used to American craft beers, this beer is basically a light beer. There is moderate carbonation, which goes wonderfully with the body. The front is light, crisp, carbonated, slightly fruity, and you get some wheat; the middle is more wheat, fading fruit, burgeoning malts; the back end is a nice play of wheat, Vienna malts, hints of bread/toast/caramel, and a finish that is just a touch dry.
Rating: Above-Average
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