# Dunkel

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{{Short description|Dark German lager}}
{{about|German dark beers}}
{{refimprove|date=March 2013}}
thumb|Paulaner Dunkel
'''Dunkel''' ({{IPA|de|ˌdʊŋkl̩|lang|De-Dunkel.ogg}}), or '''Dunkles''' ({{IPA|de|ˈdʊŋkləs|lang|De-Dunkles.ogg}}), is a word used for several types of dark [German](/source/Beer_in_Germany) [lager](/source/lager). ''Dunkel'' is the [German](/source/German_language) word meaning "dark", and dunkel beers typically range in color from amber to dark reddish brown. They are characterized by their smooth, [malt](/source/malt)y flavor.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.germanbeerguide.co.uk/dunkel.html |title=German Beer Guide: Dunkel |access-date=2010-05-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609015418/http://www.germanbeerguide.co.uk/dunkel.html |archive-date=2010-06-09 }}</ref> In informal terms, such as when ordering at a bar, "dunkel" is likely to mean whatever dark beer the bar has on tap, or sells most of; in much of north and western Germany, especially near [Düsseldorf](/source/D%C3%BCsseldorf), this may be [Altbier](/source/Altbier).

In [Bavaria](/source/Bavaria), dunkel, along with [helles](/source/helles), is a traditional style brewed in [Munich](/source/Munich) and popular throughout Bavaria. With [alcohol](/source/alcohol_(drug)) concentrations of 4.5% to 6.0% by volume, dunkels are weaker than [doppelbock](/source/doppelbock)s, another traditional dark Bavarian beer. Dunkels are produced using Munich malts, which give the dunkel its color. Other malts or flavors may also be added.

Many dunkels have a distinctive malty flavor that comes from a special brewing technique called [decoction mashing](/source/decoction_mashing). Most commonly, dunkel beers are dark lagers, but the term is also used to refer to dark wheat beers such as Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Dunkel. [Dunkel weizen](/source/Dunkel_weizen) is another term used to refer to dark wheat beers, which are fruity and sweet with more dark, roasted malts than their lighter counterpart, the [hefeweizen](/source/hefeweizen).

==Munich dunkel==
Dunkels were the original style of the Bavarian villages and countryside, and it was the most common style at the time of the introduction of the [Reinheitsgebot](/source/Reinheitsgebot) (1516). As such, it is the first "fully codified and regulated" beer. Its ABV is rarely higher than 5.5%, and it has low bitterness, a distinctive dark color, and a malty flavor. Dunkel is brewed using [lager yeasts](/source/Saccharomyces_pastorianus).<ref>{{cite book|last=Oliver|first=Garrett|title=The Oxford Companion to Beer|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWQdjnVo2B0C&pg=PA311|year=2011|publisher=Oxford UP|isbn=978-0-19-991210-0|pages=310–12|chapter=Dunkel}}</ref>

Lighter-colored lagers were not common until the later part of the 19th century when technological advances made them easier to produce.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

==Franconian dunkel==
Dunkel is also widespread in parts of [Franconia](/source/Franconia), for example the [Franconian Switzerland](/source/Franconian_Switzerland), where it has been originally the most common beer type. The region has a lot of [microbreweries](/source/Microbrewery), of which many still produce Dunkel.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bierland-oberfranken.de/bierige_pauschalreisen/fraenkische_schweiz__kulinarisches_brauereienerlebnis_144.html |title=www.bierland-oberfranken.de |access-date=2014-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219065219/http://www.bierland-oberfranken.de/bierige_pauschalreisen/fraenkische_schweiz__kulinarisches_brauereienerlebnis_144.html |archive-date=2014-02-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> One Example is [Weissenohe Abbey](/source/Weissenohe_Abbey) Brewery (''Weissenoher Klosterbrauerei'').{{cn|date=October 2024}}

==Examples==
* [Aktienbrauerei Kaufbeuren](/source/Aktienbrauerei_Kaufbeuren) Dunkel
* [Andechser](/source/Andechser) Dunkel
* [Augustiner](/source/Augustiner) Dunkel
* [Ayinger](/source/Ayinger) Altbairisch Dunkel
* [Dunkel Fester](/source/Wychwood_Brewery) A dunkel-style beer brewed in the [UK](/source/UK) by the [Wychwood Brewery](/source/Wychwood_Brewery)
* [Erdinger](/source/Erdinger) Dunkel
* [Franconia Brewing Company](/source/Franconia_Brewing_Company) German Dunkel
* [Hacker-Pschorr](/source/Hacker-Pschorr) Münchner Dunkel
* [Hofbräu München](/source/Hofbr%C3%A4u_M%C3%BCnchen) Dunkel
* [König Ludwig](/source/K%C3%B6nig_Ludwig_Schlossbrauerei) Dunkel
* [Löwenbräu](/source/L%C3%B6wenbr%C3%A4u) Dunkel
* [Paulaner](/source/Paulaner) Original Münchner Dunkel
* [Spaten](/source/Spaten) München Dunkel
* [Warsteiner](/source/Warsteiner) Premium Dunkel
* [Weihenstephaner](/source/Weihenstephaner) Tradition Bayrisch Dunkel
* [Weltenburg Abbey](/source/Weltenburg_Abbey) Weltenburger Kloster Barock Dunkel

==See also==
* [Doppelbock](/source/Doppelbock)
* [German beer](/source/Beer_in_Germany)
* [Helles](/source/Helles)
* [Schwarzbier](/source/Schwarzbier)

==References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061019152151/http://www.allaboutbeer.com/style/23.5-munichdunkel.html Munich Dunkel] – by K. Florian Klemp – ''All About Beer'' Magazine (Volume 23 Number 5 – November 2002)

{{Beer Styles}}

Category:German beer styles

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dunkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.