Okay, I know, I kind of go on and on about Beau’s. But seriously, this is one of the coolest friendliest breweries out there. And they just keep on making awesome beers. Many of you will be familiar with their “Wild Oats” series, which are special batches of beers they make seasonally. Vrienden, Bog Father, and Winterbrewed all pop to mind. So of course, when I heard about their new Wild Oats, No. 10 “Dunkel Buck”, I was excited. Beer from one of my favourite breweries named after one of my favourite films from my youth. It’s hard to imagine it could go wrong. The style of beer is a Dunkel Weisse beer, the dark strong Bavarian-style wheat beer. For comparison, you might have had Schneider-Weisse Aventinus, which is an excellent benchmark. Let’s see how this goes!
Dunkel Buck - Beau's All Natural Brewing Co.
From another super gorgeous designed 600ml bottle (Beau’s regularly has some of the best design work on their labels/packaging), with a date stamp on the neck-hanger, the beer pours a hazy chestnut brown that hints at slightly orange/red at the edges. A tan foamy head drops to a nice film fairly quickly, that leaves touch of lace throughout the drink. Aroma is heavily wheat beer, hitting on bubblegum and banana and a touch of lemon.
I still miss John Candy
There are lovely spicy yeast notes, anise and pepper and a little clove (which makes me happy, clove is normally a little too present in Dunkels for my taste). In addition to the wheat characteristics, there is a lovely sweet caramel note to the nose; with the little alcohol heat it gives it a rum like quality. Taste is huge, immediately banana and spices. More of the same from the nose, but now a little tart too, the sweetness is still there, but is balanced with the tart wheat tang. The alcohol pops just before the finish, giving a bit of heat, which clears out some of early spices, but sets you up nicely for the tart long finish with a little more of the tart quality with some lingering sweetness too. The beer is medium bodied and creamy smooth on the palate. Carbonation is minimal, just a little sparkle to keep everything from bogging down your taste buds. This is just an incredible beer, and while it’s is a bit costly at the LCBO, remember, it’s organic, it’s rare, and it is amazing. Pick up a bottle or two; you won’t be sorry.
Cheers Beau’s! I’d say keep up the great work, but I don’t know if you are capable of doing any other kind.
http://www.beaus.ca/beer/wild_oats/dunkel_buck
About The Brewery
We are a local, family-run and totally DIY company. We brew interesting, award winning, tasty beers using the highest quality, all natural ingredients like certified organic hops & malts and local spring water. We have names, not titles. We brew using equal parts art & science. And we always have time for our friends.
