BREWER: Hofbräu, Bavaria, Germany

STYLE: Dunkel

ABV: 5.5%

VESSEL: 0.5l

TWITTER: #hofbrau

INSTAGRAM: hofbraeuhaus_muenchen

DATE OF POST: 23rd January 2022

 

SAMMY SAY’S…

Hofbrau is a big brewing house that’s a fact. It has a formidable presence in the German world of beers. And ergo, the world of beers in general. Having given such an intro, they could have done a little better with the packaging on this beer. I mean, I love a trad approach to marketing but put a little effort into it…

Dunkel smells dark. It’s got a strong caramel aroma. The darkness and the caramel work well in tandem, giving an enticing lead in to the beer…

But, alas, there the intrigue and mystique ends.

You see, it’s quite light in the mouth for a dark beer. And dare I say it, Dunkel is lacking a little punch in the taste department. No I do dare say it: it’s lacking body and spirit. That’s not to say it’s bad. It’s just a bit of an anti-climax.

To be honest, what it feels like has happened here is that Dunkel has been toned down to appeal to the mass market. And that’s a shame. Because it’s become very mediocre in the process.

Not bad by any of the stretch of the imagination. But not good either.

Sammy’s Rating: 55%

 

JYMI SAY’S…

It was the traditional Sausage and Mash that I ordered. As did the dude to my left. As well as the 30 lads and lasses to his left. To my right it was a similar story but my eyes were foggy and the table was long so I could be wrong. Either way, there were a lot of people, even more meat n spuds and EVEN MORE BEER on the table I was sitting at at the legendry haunt that is the Hofbrauhaus in Munich. The beer was flowing and the atmosphere was pumping and it wasn’t long before my food was in front of me. My man to my left, let’s call him Larry, received his scran at the same time as me. It wasn’t long before he had a knife load of something up in my face asking… Is this cheese? I looked at Larry, well I tried to, and said, have you sniffed it? He had not and proceeded to do so…

Smells like cheese, said Larry and proceeded to eat the whole knife full, no banger, no spud, pure cheese…

But it was not cheese… It was freshly grated horseradish.

Though I really did try not to laugh at what happened next it was literally impossible. Larry, I’m sorry, and may God be with you all these years on as I assume you are still getting over what happened that day. F**k me, proper funny, I’m crying with laughter again now just thinking about it.

Anyway, here I am today faced with this Dunkel and the first thing that fills my heart with joy is seeing that iconic brauhaus on the label. Do not get me wrong, the label on the face of it looks shit, but add what it’s all about and for me it’s cracking. And I have to say, even though this beer is fairly straight forward, which is not necessarily a criticism, I flippin’ love it!

The dark cherry red appearance in the glass, the fabulous cherry fruit nose, the smooth and not too carbonated texture for a lager, the deep winter fruit taste…

I just really enjoyed this beer from start to finish I have to say.

Hold the horseradish – bring on the cheese…

Actually, bring on the horseradish too, fk it.

Jymi’s Rating: 84%

 

MUSE ON BOOZE RATING: 69.5%

MOB review next weekend: ROUNDHEAD by TWO COCKS BREWERY

Sammy & Jymi – Musing on Booze since 2017

Twitter: @museonbooze

Instagram: muse.on.booze

museonbooze.com