“Paul and Natasha Holgate dreamt up their brewery while rambling down Woodend’s Brick Kiln Road. The brewers dreamt up this dark Bavarian-style wheat beer to remember that beginnings are cloudy and well worth chewing over.”
From the brewery that brought us one of the best chocolate porters in Australia (chocolate temptress) comes this German influenced dark wheat beer. Served in a weizen glass. Pouring a mahogany/deep brown with a compacted tan head which persisted but gradually peels off to a collar with minimal lacing. The aroma offers a gorgeous blend of earthy hops, German style wheat malts, ripe banana, nuts and toffee/caramel. In the mouth it provides a creamy texture with a nice weight behind it. Medium body and carbonation. Unfortunately the flavour profile (or lack thereof) is what brings it down. All the yeasty and ester-like flavours you would expect from a good dunkelweizen are missing in action. Hints of caramel and wheat malts come through delicately but disappear and all that is left is a simple German Marzen-style flavour in the finish. On the upside it’s only 5.3% ABV and quite sessional for a dark beer. Not the best Holgate brew we have ever had but it’s drinkable.