I’m a fan of hefeweizens so it would stand to reason that I’d also dig a dunkel.

That’s because, essentially a dunkel is just a dark hefeweizen – the word ‘‘dunkel’’ means ‘‘dark’’ in German. While a hefe will use a lot of wheat, making for the lighter colour, the dunkel will instead use a lot of darker malts.

The finest dunkel I reckon I’ve had was at a get-together for the Illawarra Brewers Union (a loose-knit club where there are no fees, membership cards or annual meetings. Just occasional get-togethers with beer – a fine way to run a homebrew club). That dunkel was on tap, brewed by Paul, one of the IBU members – and it was delicious.

I’d say this Franziskaner Dunkel isn’t as good but it’ll work as an effective substitute. The thing I really love about the dunkel is the flavoursome mix of banana from the hefeweizen yeast and the caramel and toffee from the malts. Combined, the flavour resembles a caramel-coated banana – but less sweet. Yum yum.

This one’s easy to find – it’s at Dan Murphy’s all the time. So you’ve got no excuse – go buy yourself one tonight.