Tasting Notes: d-Unkle Peanut Dunkle Weizen from Garage Brewing Co.

Posted on by mashingin

GarageDunkel1000Tasting Notes starts the week off in a bit of a nutty direction as we take a look at d-Unkle Peanut Dunkle Weizen from Garage Brewing Co. (Temecula, California).

Released as a part of the brewery’s line of Specialty Beers, d-Unkle Peanut Dunkle Weizen is Garage Brewing Co.’s riff on the traditional German Dunkelweizen.  “Dedicated to your favorite Uncle that might just be a bit nutty”, d-Unkle Peanut Dunkle Weizen combines the style’s trademark dark malt and wheat characteristics with the flavor of roasted peanuts.  Full-flavored but still easy drinking, this brew clocks in at just 4.8% ABV and 14 IBUs.  d-Unkle Peanut Dunkle Weizen is nearing the end of its limited run, but it can still be found in 22 oz. bottles and on draft at craft beer establishments located within Garage Brewing’s distribution area.

Alright, you wanna get nuts?  C’mon, let’s get nuts and get into some Tasting Notes!

Tasting Notes for d-Unkle Peanut Dunkle Weizen from Garage Brewing Co.

Appearance: d-Unkle Peanut fills the glass as a chestnut brown-colored brew that is capped with a creamy finger of light tan foam.  Held to the light, red and amber hues appear to give the brown an added pop of vibrancy.  Although the beer is a bit hazy, a healthy carbonation level can be seen coursing within.  The head shows good retention, eventually falling to a silken, half finger that lasts throughout.  Lines of lace draw across the glass after each sip, but most eventually slip slowly back down into the top cap.

Aroma: The first thing to hit the nose is straight up peanut butter.  This is definitely a surprise as I was expecting more of a roasted nut note, but this will do just fine.  That peanut buttery goodness is surrounded by the beer’s dark wheat malts to conjure up youthful memories of spreading unreasonably sized gobs of delicious peanut butter across really good wheat bread – no jelly necessary.

Taste: The flavor moves in more of a Dunkelweizen direction with dark, deep wheat tones leading the way.  The hops surface with a touch of bitterness before being pulled back under by notes of cereal, fresh baked bread, and just a bit of banana and clove.  Just as we near the finish, the peanuts show up to lock in with all other aspects of this beer.  This thing has tons of flavor, but it is not muddled at all.  Completely direct, clean and cohesive.

Mouthfeel: This Dunkel falls on the lighter side of medium in body with a medium carbonation level.  It is lightly sweet on the palate, but that is easily countered by the beer’s roasty character and balancing bitterness.  The fact that this beer is just 4.8% ABV is ridiculously awesome, and it keeps the experience delightfully easy-drinking.  As it should be, the aftertaste is all roasted peanut.

Final Thoughts:  To be completely honest, I was more than a little excited when I first laid eyes on d-Unkle Peanut Dunkle Weizen.  This is for two reasons:

  1. I am a devout lover of German styles and you really do not see many American breweries taking on the Dunkelweizen these days.
  2. It is creative take on the Dunkelweizen, and for some reason that is an incredibly rare occurrence in craft beer.

With that now disclosed, this beer had a lot of high hopes to live up to . . . and it more than met those expectations.  It all starts in the aroma as that peanut butter note is so spot on that it will easily stop anyone in their tracks to take notice.  More surprises await as you move into the arena of flavor and discover how effortlessly the roasted peanuts merge with the style’s defining characteristics of wheat, banana and clove.  Then you wrap all of that in a full-flavored package that is still somehow light and easy-drinking?  I mean, it is absolutely dumbfounding how well this beer came together, and it left the entire Mashing In crew wondering why more breweries are not experimenting with peanuts in Dunkelweizens?  It just works.  Seriously, why isn’t this a thing?  To the folks at Garage Brewing Co., good on you for making d-Unkle Peanut Dunkle Weizen a reality.  You’ve got a winner here.  Prost!

Tasting Notes: Tropical IPA from Garage Brewing Co.

Posted on by mashingin

garageTropIPA1000Our well documented love of hops surfaces once again in this week’s installment of Tasting Notes as we have a look at the Seasonal release of Tropical IPA from Garage Brewing Co. (Temecula, California).

Established in 2013 in what was once an eight-bay garage, Garage Brewing Co. hit the California beer scene with a mission “to provide exceptional beer in an array of styles that appeal to a broad spectrum of beer lovers.”  Since many homebrewers got their start in a garage, Garage Brewing Co. uses their own to adopt the homebrewer’s freedom to dabble and experiment so that they can “stay on the cutting edge of the craft beer industry.”  This approach allows their brewing team to “maintain four or more year round styles and regularly rotate in five to six seasonal creations.”  The beers of Garage Brewing Co. are currently available in over 100 locations within the Inland Empire and San Diego County areas of California.

One of the most recent releases from Garage Brewing Co. is their Tropical IPA.  This Seasonal brew is an American India Pale Ale that has been heavily dosed with the flavors of grapefruit, pineapple and passion fruit.  At 7.5% ABV, this refreshing brew promises to be the perfect balance of tropical fruit notes and hoppy goodness.  Tropical IPA is available for a limited time in 22 oz. bottles.  It just so happens that we were lucky enough to get our hands on a bottle, so let’s pry off this cap and get to some Tasting Notes!

Tasting Notes for Tropical IPA from Garage Brewing Co.

Appearance: Tropical IPA fills the glass as a bright orange-colored brew with a frothy two fingers of white foam lounging comfortably on top.  Held to the light, sun-kissed yellows appear but that deep, vibrant orange holds its ground at the center of the pour.  The beer is pristine in clarity and displays an enthusiastic carbonation activity coursing within.  The head drops down to a complete and lasting finger that lays down wide sheets of lace after each sip.

Aroma: Tropical leads in the name and it certainly leads in the department of aromatics.  Incredibly clean notes of pineapple and grapefruit hit the olfactory quickly and clearly.  Seriously, the pineapple is impressively pronounced and enticing.  Orange and tangerine notes reinforce the tropical character before giving way to a lightly sweet grain presence.  A wisp of hop resin breezes through to close things out.

Taste: Juicy, tropical fruit notes once again strike first with passion fruit and grapefruit immediately establishing their dominance.  Those notes eventually allow the hop character the chance to show off a playful bitterness that bounces back and forth between pine and the zest of various citrus fruits.  Pineapple slips through the back door with the malts to lay down a bit of balancing sweetness.

Mouthfeel: This IPA is on the lighter side of medium in body and has a prickly carbonation level.  This combination keeps the beer easy-drinking and constantly begging for another sip.  The hops do have some stick to them, and this allows the beer’s flavors and bitterness to linger a bit.  Both sweet and bitter on the palate, balance is eventually achieved so the beer can clear out and allow the palate to reset.  At 7.5%, the ABV presence is well masked and never makes a noticeable appearance. The aftertaste keeps things tropical with lasting notes of pineapple and grapefruit.

Final Thoughts: Garage Brewing’s Tropical IPA absolutely showed up to represent itself in the incredibly popular fruited IPA segment while still remaining true to its West Coast IPA roots.  The tropical fruits definitely get top billing in this release, but the hops are still given a chance to work and add their own distinctive dimension to the experience.  The real showstopper with this beer is the aroma.  I simply cannot think of another beer that has such a blatant and pronounced pineapple character billowing from the glass like this Tropical IPA.  Once you combine that with the juicy tropical fruit flavors and the hidden ABV, you are left with a ridiculously easy-drinking and refreshing IPA that is a fantastic go-to option after any hot day.  If you happen to be in the SoCal area, be sure to give this one a shot.  Prost!