Brew Kettle Schwarzbier

Brewed by The Brew Kettle/TBK Production Works
Style: Schwarzbier
Strongsville, Ohio USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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Poured deep ruby/amber with about a quarter inch head which dissipated rather quickly. Some lacing. Slight malty aroma. Medium palate with more carbonation than I expected. Flavor of roasted malt (& something else I can’t quite put my tongue on) with lingering bitterness. Nice change from porters & stouts but still with the character of a dark. Low ABV makes this easy to drink more than one.

Bottle thanks to miketd!
Transparent sepia with a bubbly white head that goes quick. Heavy malt and chocolate in the nose, light bitterness from roast. Flavor is similar, more chocolate but with some strong malt tones that don’t lend to a creamy, balanced, experience.

This poured a dark brown color with an off white head. Aroma was slighlty roasted, darker fruits but pretty subdued. Flavor was malty and roasted upfront with a nice fruity finish. Much better than I was expecting.

Extremely gazy from the opening, this relatively pale brown beer leaves a large, but quickly fading off-white head. Bad omen. Plastic, strong oxidation, soap and old, stale root beer make for a weird and unpleasant aroma. Not so fizzy as anticipated in mouth, its carbonation ironically slows quickly. Nondescript roastiness is impaired by matchstick sulphuriness and total blandness. Empty watery finish. Plain dull in mouth, but its nose was just problematic. Make your pick I guess.

<b>In short: </b>A problematic dark beer of some kind. Most likely a bad bottle (at least I hope so)
<b>How: </b>Bottle 22oz (labelled Brew Kettle Schwarzbier Black Lager). Consumed soon after purchase. Tasting session with Montreal crew
<b>The look: </b>Clear dark brown body topped by a short-lived beige head
<b>In long: </b>Nose of wet sweaty socks. Body is below light, I’m talking totally empty, like drinking air. Doesn’t taste much and the few flavours are problematics. Rotten fruits, some leather and other stuff but why bother describing it. Some burnt malts in the finish. I was more than happy with what I drank on tap at the pub but this bottle had more problems than a guy named “Scooter” in a prison shower room.

Bouteille de 22 oz partagée lors d’une dégustation Ratebeer Montréal chez MartinT. Arôme: Légère odeur de savon et de cola dégazéifié. Apparence: La couleur est noire opaque. Présence d’un moyen col mousseux et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Léger goût de café. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement minérale. Faible effervescence en bouche. Légère présence de torréfaction en arrière goût. (Rating #2045)

My Bottom Line:
This flawed Schwarzbier attempt bothers with its soapy and oxidized, metallic blows from which roasted and bready malts cannot recover. This cannot be what the brewer intended, but they still sold it at the brewpub...

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A dwindinling head of foam fizzes out into th dark brown.
-That nose is simply offputting.
-Carbonation seems to be off as well, disparate and verging on absent.
-The body is lean but appears underfed in these conditions.
-The finish is quite bitter from the roasted malts. -A spicy sweetness recalls Coke-like dark sodas.

Bottled as Brew Kettle Schwarz Lager.

Bottle: Coppery brown w/a lasting off white/light beige head. Some toasted malt aroma with what seems to be hints of nutty almond. Not quite sure where that’s coming from, but I smell it. Very light hints of roast and sulphury yeast. No fruitiness. Smooth balance of flavors from roast & toasty malt, hints of caramel flavor, again a little sulphury yeast. HInts of roast in the finish & aftertaste. Lighter body but not watery, higher carbonation, and very smooth. Seems to be not quite as crisp & clean or dark as a true Scwarz, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Smells strong. Malty, yeasty. Dark black color. No head. Tastes strongly of alcohol and yeast. Tasty, but not for me. Pretty easy drink. Overall, ok.