Hexagon Brewing Company | Carl’s Dunkel
One thing I love about our craft beer culture is that we’re branching out. No longer are pale ales, IPAs, ambers and porters the norm but instead we’re seeing a resurgence of styles such as German Lagers, Belgians and all but defunct historical styles like gose. It makes checking out the boards at breweries and craft beer bars a little more fun as there are just so many styles and flavors to choose from. We’ve got it pretty good!
Today I want to check out Hexagon Brewing Company’s Carl’s Dunkel. While Yee Haw Brewing gets the credit for making me realize this is a wonderful style, Hexagon doesn’t do anything halfway. I’ve got my BJCP guide out, so let’s jump in.
This beer pours a dark brown – almost black until you get it into the light. Then you see that it is filtered and has a beautiful dark ruby hue to the beer. The head is also an off-white color and pours moderately full and thick at first before retreating to the edges. On the nose I’m finding toast and chocolate from the malts and an ever so slight spicy hop note. Given the style, as expected there aren’t any yeast characteristics to note. On the palate I’m greeted with a sweet, full sensation of chocolate, toast and a hint of nuts. There is a slight hop bitterness but it is overshadowed by the malt sweetness. The mouth feel is moderate, carbonation moderate and it coats the entire palate well leaving a sweet hue across the tongue with just a touch of bitterness that beckons the next sip.
Final snobs: This is a wonderful beer. At 5.5% ABV, while at the top of the range, it’s approachable, very drinkable and could be easily paired with a burger as well as chocolate. I’d lean towards nuttier cheeses when considering charcuterie with this beer and perhaps a strawberry or two as the contrast between the malt sweetness and the fruit sweetness should be pleasant. If you like darker, sweeter beers, this one will not disappoint.
Head on over and visit our friends at Hexagon Brewing Co, grab a pint and a crowler to go, tell ’em the Knox Beer Snobs sent ya!
Prost!