Paddock Wood Black Cat Lager

A wonderfully complex brew! Tried it at a local pub on tap and have been enjoying it in bottles ever since. The pour, for me, was a thick slightly tan color head that diminishes rather quickly. Not a lot of carbonation. The aroma is beautiful; toasty nuts, coffee and maybe chocolate. I get a watery palate when served on tap, but a full bodied flavor from the bottle. The finish is slightly sweet, slightly bitter and lasts forever. One of my all time favorites and glad it’s brewed in my home town!

(Bottle) Purchased at the brewery. Pours a thin, milky biege hed and a deep opaque head. Nose of freshly ground coffee. The flavours are unbelieveable. Its a tad thin but the flavour is full and the coffee flavours are as good if not better than RJ Escousse schwarzbier. I have one more bottle but wish I’d bought them all...

Bottle 12 oz The pour: Puts a deep dark brown lager in the glass with a pleasing 2 finger rocky cap which lasts and laces well. The Nose: detects bready malts and a distinct "burnt toast char" also a coffee-like roast tone with some woody notes. The delivery: Big chewy malts laced with roast coffee warmth and some sharp spicy Saaz hopping. Mid palate we get a nice mix of dark toasted rye bread, some bitter-chocolate tastes, creamy mouth feel, weedy hop tastes... then the clean finish which tends to dry out slowly and linger, light hop bitterness with a complementary but subtle roastiness in the background. Some light residual sweetness in the after taste. The Verdict: A first class Canadian Schwarzbier which I much prefer to the Kostritzer from Thuringa.. ..This Paddock Wood brew is true to west Thuringia style..certainly a dryer cousin of a Munich dunkel. Black Cat was very fresh and flavourful compared to the commercial imported German blackbeers available. The 5.4%ABV makes it a soothing and satisfying beer as well as a natural to pair up with Pumpernickel, german mustard, cold cuts and munster cheese...wonderful stuff to wash a big sandwich down with ...wish I lived in Calgary I’d have a fridge full of this stuff!

Plenty of nutty and lightly roasty notes to the malt forward aroma. Sweetness almost suggests a cola-like coffee. Clear dark chestnut brown body is topped by a generous and lasting, foamy, fine bubbled tan head that sticks to the sides of the glass. Flavour is sweet and nutty up front with a nice bitterness and dark malt character especially in the aftertaste. Not as sweet as the aroma suggests. Medium body is smooth in the mouth with very piquant carbonation that awakens the tongue without becoming prickly. Tulip glass. Cellar temperature. Bottle (Kensington, Oct-07).

Dark brown. Cocoa, fudge, nuts in an appetizing, almost ale-like aroma. Smooth body has cocoa, nuts and a good splash of hop bitterness to balance it out, leading to a chocolatey espresso finish. Quality.