Bischoff Falkensteiner Ur-Schwarze

Brewed by Privatbrauerei Bischoff
Style: Dunkelweizen
Winnweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Bottle. Aroma is hoppy and initially a bit skunky. Chestnut body, off-white head. Flavor is somewhat sweet, fruity and spicy.

Bottle from World of Beer, Clearwater, FL. Poured clear brown color with an average fizzy off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate toasted wheat aroma. Medium body and a thin texture and flat carbonation. Medium sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. Average beer that was not good for style.

Near clear brownish amber with thin off-white ring of head. Vaguely wheat and a hint of dark malt in the aroma. Bitter wheat dryness in the flavor, and slightly alcohol. Moderate carbonation. Boring.

Bottle from T’s in Tempe, AZ. Dark amber color with a large beige head. Aromas of roasted grain, clove and banana. Medium body with frothy carbonation. It’s nice, but all the expected flavors are mild. So it’s light on taste. Some dark malt comes out in the finish. It’s a pretty good drink, just not what was expected.

When it comes to import beers, I have two favorite countries and they are Belgium and Germany. If I am offered a chance to try a brew from either country I shall not say no. and so this is how I am here today writing down my thoughts on the Falkensteiner Ur-Schwarze from the Bischoff Brewery in Germany. I have had one other beer of theirs, the Ur-Weisse, and it was a decent sessionable German wheat beer. Now to see how the Ur-Schwarze holds up.
She pours a dark earthen brown into my glass. Light shines through her body in copper hues while a light layer of foam rests on top of her body. It quickly fades though into a miniscule ring around the sides of my glass. Raising her up for a taste of her nose, I am pleasantly surprised by a delicate array of sweet caramel malts, fresh bread (rye), and hints of sweet fruit such as melon, peaches, and orange. A hint of spices peek out from behind. I take my first quaff and again I am surprised to find that despite her rather intimidating looks, she is pleasantly crisp, light, and easy to drink. Not too effervescent, my palate is teased by a subtle array of melon, peaches, and sweet malts. I detect a hint of white raisins and caramel. There is quite an impressive array of flavors in my Ur-Schwarze, but they are light and subdued, making for a very sessionable and enjoyable brew. Her finish is clean with a mildly sweet aftertaste.
I wasn’t expecting much, but I am pleasantly proven wrong by the Falkensteiner Ur-Schwarze. I could enjoy a couple of these considering how sessionable she is even considering the bottles are 16oz bottles. For those who are scared of some of the heavier German beers, this is a great introductory beer.

Pours a hazy dark brown with a minimal head. The aroma is faint, but has nice hints of malt and vanilla. The flavor is mainly sweet malt, with some slight alcohol notes. The mouthfeel saves it... it has a nice thick consistency and finishes very slowy, but without much taste. A solid beer, and better than I expected from a beer in a screw cap bottle. Probably best with foods that aren’t particularly flavorful... I had it with pasta, and I think the pepper and spices overpowered the beer quite a bit.

500 ml, bb 17-10-08. Clear deep copper-chestnut with a medium-sized head that settles to a small ring. Spots of soapy lace here and there. Aromas of clove, wheat, spicy banana bread. Initial flavor of banana nut bread turns to more nut, cocoa, clove, wheat and caramel cola. Near-medium body is watery, dry and gently carbonated enough to leave a refreshing tingle. Kind of like a wheat cola, but not a bad summertime refreshment.

Bottle: one wierd beer, some strange sourness, some stale coffee notes, kind of fishy smell, quite doughy and bready, banana, clove, too much yeast, weak tasting, medium bodied and pretty unbalanced. drinkable but not enjoyable.