Tuk Tuk Brew Dunkel
Brewery: Tuk Tuk Brew
Town: Franschoek
Style: Dunkles
Color: dark brown, ruby highlights
Head: creamy, dense
Nose: some roast
Body: medium
Palate: roasty, hint of chocolate
Finish: clean, bitter
Served: on tap taster at the brewery
Impression: This is a brewery that would have likely been missed due to time constraints and being in one of the prime wine towns in South Africa. My wife is a great sport and loves both beer and wine but our trip to South Africa was planned to be more of a wine affair. I knew this place was here but figured we wouldn’t get to it so I didn’t do a lot of research on it. It looked like a typical modern brewpub and I had imagined the beers would be unimaginative at best. After a day on the wine tram, we were looking for a departure and Tuk Tuk provided just that. The tannins were getting to us and when I saw a Dunkles on the beer menu, I decided to give it a go. Living in Munich, I shy away from such beers abroad. It’s rare to get a good one but it just sounded like what I wanted. That it was, it was balanced and clean. Though flavorful with a moreish finish, it wasn’t overly hoppy. It might not have been up there with Munich’s best but I’ve had worse Dunkles in Germany and that’s saying a lot.
How about another South African craft beer?
I have never heard of a Dunkle! What is it exactly?
Dunkel is just the word for dark in German. All beers were dark at one point and Munich came up with lagers but even those were dark initially. Munich Dunkles is now what that beer was. It’s malty and sometimes has a bit of chocolate to it. The best ones remain dry with some bitterness in the finish. Sadly, Helles is mostly what you find in Munich now. Hell is the word for light in German.
Ahhhhhh ok thanks!