Pronunciation guide for
English-speakers:
"doonn-kel," with a short "oo" as in "foot."

Definition:
Dunkel beers are dark lagers. They are generally associated with Bavaria, their region of origin, but other regions of Germany nowadays make Dunkels, too. Like all Bavarian-style beers, Dunkel tends to be very malty with only a gentle hop accent for very little hop bitterness. It has almost no nose. The alcohol level by volume of a typical Dunkel is in the range of 4.8 to 5.6%. The term Dunkel is also often used as a prefix to describe the dark version of a beer style that may come in different colors, as in a Dunkelweizen (a dark wheat ale, known in its pale interpretation as a Weissbier).