3.5 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Draught Small greige head, fast gone over near black beer. Roasted but sweet, molasses-like and sweet (honey-) roast; roasted raisins in a cake, near burnt. Burnt and very dry, nearly carbon-like, sticky in the finish. Well filled slick, sticky body. Good, but rather sweet, stout-like lager.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Black with a big brown head. Aroma is sweet, roasted malt and chocolate. Flavor is medium sweet and moderate bitter. Dry and roasted moderate bitter finish. Very good schwarzbier. 211011
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle. Nice dark brown pour wtih a small tan head. Aroma is quite nice. I got some roasted malt, coffee, some hops and a bit of yeast. Flavor is very roasty and has some dark bitter chocolate. A really nice hop finish. This would be a GREAT session beer. well crafted indeed.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle shared at Euston Tap. Pours pitch black with a sturdy, beige head. Big and roasted malt aroma with some sugary notes. Flavor is rich, sweet and very malty, with further roast, brown sugar, caramel and faint vanilla. Medium in body with average to lively carbonation. Finish is lightly dry and acidic, with more sweet, roasted malts and faint, coffee-like bitterness. Very good beer.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
A Mes rate. Bottle thanks to Owen.
An opaque black / brown colour with a good beige head and great retention. Really interesting aroma. Rich earthy malt and some glorious chocolate bitterness along with just a lick of amonia, but in a pleasant way. Similar flavour that is slightly floral and just a little soapy. The chocolate comes through beautifully in the finish though. It’s such a challenging beer on the senses. I know it’s a lager but all this black stuff comes at me at the same time. It’s the best thing about drinking a schwartzbier. Not my favourite of styles but just really really interesting.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 18/20
I like the style, and buying the bomber at Gordon’s in Watham, I was a bottle past my 12-packer for the plane. Hence an enjoyable and informative sharing with Jeff at Jaspar’s in Nashua. Roasty aroma, black body with permanent off-white little head, with a great drinkability, and this is 10 minutes in the fridge on a warm day. Balanced with a tad of fruitiness, and complexity in the roasted black malt.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Pours a nearly opaque with dark mahogany edges and a well-lacing beige head. Aroma of rich roasty malts and mild smoke with a touch of chocolate. Starts semi-sweet and fairly full with a good amount of roasted malt and hop bitterness before a drier, crisp, smooth finish with some lingering smoky roasty notes. A nice schwarzbier.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
A: Black, as one would expect from the name, with a thin mocha colored head.
S: Chocolate, nuts, a bit of coffee, and the roasted malt.
T: Very roasted/toasted flavor, a bit of coffee bitterness, and a mild sweetness at some points.
M: Kind of light in body, but a lot more punch than a typical lager.
D: Good drinkability, as you would expect from a lager.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Pours semi-cloudy dark chocolate brown with a small, thin head. Nose has some heavy amounts of roasted barley and chocolate malt, with a similar flavor: roasty, charred, dry malt, toasted bread, charred wood, cracked cereal grains, and a bit of a twangy quality as well, maybe from the yeast or the lagering? It definitely comes off like a stout, but has some small amount of character that’s unlike stout, but I certainly wouldn’t pen this as a schwarzbier. Pretty damn good, regardless of style definitions.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
My Bottom Line:
Molasses and raisins flow in this stout Schwarzbier’s veins, surrounded by muscular chocolate and agile roastiness, conjuring up a lusciously nourishing and drinkable example of the style.
Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam covers the brown-sleeved black.
-There is a lot of body for a beer this size; this feature tends to differentiate it from most German-brewed schwarzbiers I’ve had.
-Some coffee character is perceived as well.
-All flavors coalesce and present themselves as a single, complex entity.
-The finish is relatively crisp and nicely bitter, which was not necessarily predicted by the sweet nose.
Bottle.
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