Dunkelweizen

I picked up a bottle of Great Divide Dunkel Weiss this week mostly because I've never seen it on shelves before at my local liquor store. Hefeweizens are one of my favorite styles, the more weiss-ier the better. Dunkelweizens are an interesting take on the style, taking a richer and more savory approach to what is essentially a lighter summer wheat. The getting darker malt to play nicely with cloves and banana flavors can be a difficult task. Great Divide makes some awesome beers so I had faith in their ability to pull it off. What I found in the Dunkel Weiss was a bit disappointing, it turned out to be more Dunkel than Weiss.

Ah the elusive Shiner Holiday Cheer... I was only able to find this beer at a single restaurant last year. After having a bottle of last year's Holiday Cheer I went to a number of liquor stores looking for a six pack but no one in the area had it in stock. This year I was lucky enough to find some Holiday Cheer at the store and pick up a couple. This is an interesting take on the Christmas seasonal. It isn't a traditional Winter Warmer, but it does have a lot in common with those beers. The Holiday Cheer is a Dunkelweizen style dark wheat that's been brewed with pecans and peaches. Those added flavors push this Dunkelweizen into Winter Warmer territory by giving it a sweet and nutty flavor. There's very little bitterness in this beer but the parallels are otherwise quite obvious.