Leavenworth Biers, established in 1992, is a brewery based out of Olympia, Washington that specializes in German beers. I was very excited to find this at my local beer store; you really don't see dunkelweizens very often. I can't say I've heard too much about them or seen their beers for sale in very many stores. A lot of German styles really aren't very popular in this part of the world.
It pours a nice chocolate color which is quite clear for a wheat beer. A very small head was produced, composed of large bubbles, and it quickly drained. Wheat tends to produce monster heads with nice retention, but dark malts can produce virtually no head at all. Perhaps there is a much higher ratio of dark malt to wheat in this. Aroma is slightly astringent and a little worty. From my calculations, this would have ended at a gravity of around 1.024, which could definitely be giving it that wort smell. It has a plum scent that you find in a lot of dark German lagers and there is a noticeable wheat character, but it doesn't jump out at you.
It's a very heavy malt bomb upon first taste. When it hits the tip of your tongue, there is a noticeable dryness that quickly turns into a very rich chocolate and roast flavor. It mellows out in the end with some spicy hop and wheat character and subtle fruitiness. It has an incredibly thin body, which is uncommon for a wheat. In the end, it leaves a very long, lingering aftertaste of very tasty and clean crystal malt.
I think they handled this excellently. The wheat is used to sort of mellow out the strong dark malt and it actually makes for a very pleasant and balanced beer. It's just the perfect amount wheat to make for a very smooth, rich, and refreshing beverage. I'm impressed, and I'll definitely be looking into these guys again. I see that they brew a Marzen, and I'm already looking forward to that.
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