Try?
Friends, let me
tell you. German beer is a great thing, and when it comes to German beer,
the Reinheitsgebot, or German beer purity law, is a great thing too. It’s
one of the reasons that German beer is as good as it is. And truth be told,
I would not have those wonderful German brews made any other way. Of course,
I don’t live in Germany. I live in America. And I wouldn’t want the
Reinheitsgebot to apply here. Does that sound like a double standard? Maybe.
But that’s just the way it is. Just today, I was on the way to enjoy some of Max Lagers’ wonderful Octoberfest beer. Sadly, they were out of it, but to my delight they had replaced it (ahead of schedule, mind you) with Max Lagers’ Pumpkin Dunkelweizen. I was already in a good mood. On the way to the brewpub, I had noticed a large banner less than five minutes walk away proclaiming the opening of a Paulaner Brauhaus nearby, projected for the summer of 2004. When I walked through Max Lagers’ doors and saw that the Pumpkin beer was on draft, however, that only served to cap off what was shaping up to be a wonderfully beery night.
I had known this beer was coming, of course. Let it be known that I love pumpkin beers wholeheartedly; thus you can imagine how I was looking forward to this one. One of the great thrills any dedicated beer enthusiast enjoys is trying a totally new brew, something he or she has never experienced before.
I'll reiterate: I have enjoyed many a pumpkin beer before. But never have I tasted a pumpkin beer like Max Lagers Pumpkin Dunkelweizen. That’s because the base beer, a German style dark wheat beer, is not usually the kind of brew pumpkin is paired with. Max Lagers, never one to conform to convention, takes the recipe for a classic German Dunkelweizen, tosses in some fresh pumpkin puree, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and gives beer connoisseurs a truly wonderful and original brew. They couldn't get away with that in Germany, but thankfully it's perfectly legal here in Georgia.
Max Lagers’ Pumpkin Dunkelweizen pours to a cloudy orange color with a medium head formation and a spicy nutmeg nose. The palate is firm and considerable in mouthfeel with a strong malt base backed up with a crisp wheat character. There is a subtle smokiness to the brew along with hints of clove and meaty pumpkin flavors. The spices (cinnamon and nutmeg) are more powerful than the pumpkin itself, and they intensify into the finish. Briefly, a quenching wheat tartness displaces them, but eventually they reemerge and linger on the tongue after sipping along with a grassy Saaz hop buzz.
This one really bowled me over, and I wasn’t the only one. Atlanta is truly a very diverse place, and a guy from Cincinnati to the right of me along with one from Chicago to the left seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. Somebody from Missouri at another table was heard to remark on the sublimity of Pumpkin Dunkelweizen too.
Max Lagers’ Pumpkin Dunkelweizen is available at the original pub on Peachtree Street downtown and also at the Mall of Georgia location too. If you will be in the vicinity of either in the coming weeks, I suggest you make it a point to try it. Missing a beer of this caliber is just not an option.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
