Hofbräu Dunkel

Brewed By: Hofbräuhaus Newport

Style: Munich Dunkel Lager

ABV: 5.5%

IBU: 10 – 20

I was already excited enough to BE at the Hofbräuhaus (post coming soon) and couldn’t wait to finally try the beer. Of course, I had a liter of it sitting in front of me, so I was going to have PLENTY of time to either enjoy it or hate it. All the beers at the Hofbräuhaus are brewed according to the German Purity Law of 1516; the law states that beer can only be brewed using barley, hops, and water. You can read an English translation of the whole law HERE. Lets get in to this very simple, classic beer.

Look – Reddish-brown pour with a TON of head, as expected. The head stuck around for a decent while as well.

Smell – A lot of malt up front, caramel malt mostly. Not much else to speak of with the nose. Smelled a little similar to an adjunct lager and smelled a little watery/weak. Almost no hop smell.

Taste – Extremely simple tasting beer. There was the prevalent caramel malt, slighty sweet taste and a tiny bit of hop flavor. Food did bring out some of the more subtle characteristics of the beer and made the hops a little more obvious. Very light body and very easily drinkable (even if there was a whole liter).

Conclusion – There is not really much to say about this beer. It is a very simple beer with nothing flashy. It wasn’t that great, but it did go pretty well with the traditional German food I was eating at the time. I would love to go back and try the other beers though to see how different they all taste.

I give this beer a C-

Once again, I definitely suggest a visit to any of the Hofbräuhaus locations, with Munich probably being THE one to visit. If anyone wants to buy me a ticket to Germany, I guess I would go with you.

Happy Drinking!