Today's beer is Hefe-Weisse Dunkel brewed by Franziskaner Weissbier Brewery in Munich, Germany. In case you missed it on the gold foil this beer is imported. Apparently the monk-looking fellow in the picture has a full belly, plenty of keys, and likes staring at his beer.
Franziskaner claims to trace its roots back to 1316. The name "Franziskaner" comes from the fact that the brewer was next to the Franciscan monastery. Half a millennium later, give or take half a century, Franziskaner moved to the Munich "suburbs" in the mid 1800s. In 1935 their distinctive label with the Franciscan Friar was designed. And in 1984 they started selling their beer internationally.
Enough background, as you can see in the photo, this beer is copper in color. What you can't see in the photo is like many hefe beers it tastes malty, wheaty, and is light on the hops. I think this beer is surprisingly light tasting for its color. This guy on the inter-web thought it tasted like "[d]istinct banana, pear, and bubble-gum esters, along with mild clove aromas, mark this as a classic Bavarian hefeweizen." I'm sure the brewers were going for that hint of bubble-gum flavor. Anyway, even though this beer is dark for a hefe, it still has that background of a hefe flavor.
As I've said before, hefe-weizen is not usually my favorite (unless its Tustin Brewing Company's Lemon Heights Hefeweizen), but this Franziskaner hefe is different. I think its the dunkel part of the beer. What's dunkel? Its German for dark, much like San Diego is German for a whale's vagina. Dunkel beers usually are darker wheat beers that have roasted malts and sweet flavor. Ergo, a dunkel hefe-weisse is going to be darker than a normal hefeweizen. I think that really is the key to setting this apart from every other hefeweizen out there. Its almost like a cross between a marzen and a hefe.
Final thoughts: great beer, its a nice twist on a hefeweizen, even Kiki approves, go try it, thanks Corey.
