Sprecher Black Bavarian

Sprecher Brewing is based in Glendale, WI and I recently sampled their Black Bavarian lager. It's an American brewer's take on a Schwarzbier, which is one of my favorite styles. This is a fine example of the style. I couldn't help but compare it to Kulmbacher's Schwarze, which i believe epitomizes the style. Sprecher's version is much more chocolaty in flavor, and a bit more roasty as well. Schwarzbier is a lager style of beer, as compared to Porter, which is an ale. This is the third Sprecher beer I have tasted, and I'm still impressed. I also like their 16 oz bottles!

Kulmbacher Monchshof Schwarz

Today I was preparing to bottle my latest homebrew - my Imperial Stout, and discovered that I was a couple of bottles short of what I need for the batch. This posed a conundrum - do I get some more bottles? or do I empty some of the ones I already have filled with homebrew? Considering the magnitude of the decision, I decided to do both. With lunch, I drank one of my homebrewed brown ales which brought me one bottle closer to my goal. I then decided to add some more bottles to my collection, so off I went to one of my favorite beer stores to get some bottles. I always prefer to buy full bottles and empty them myself. Kulmbacher Monchshof in Germany uses some great bottles when packaging their Schwarzbier and Kellerbier. I picked up some of each, (along with 9 other beers) and decided on the Schwarz for tonight. Schwarz means black in German, and this beer is definitely black. So far, this is my favorite Schwarzbier. It's smooth, malty, a little bit roasty, and really easy to drink. It has a nice nutty flavor as well. Schwarzbiers are brewed with lager yeast, and Monchshof advertises this beer as "The Original Black Pilsner". IMHO, this is WAY better than a Pilsner. And I get a double benefit of being able to refill the bottle after enjoying its original contents!

Saranac Black Forest

Saranac's Black Forest is their version of a Bavarian style Schwarzbier - a smooth-drinking dark beer brewed using lager yeast. It poured a deep brown, almost black color with a fluffy tan head. The aroma is of caramel malt. Black Forest is easy to drink, and would be a great session beer. It's roastier than a lager due to the dark malts, and is slightly sweet as well. This went great with my dinner tonight. This bottle came from their Trail Mix assortment.

Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager

I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to post tonight. Work is killing me! I work from home, and today was a long day, finishing up just a few minutes ago. I wanted to post about Dixie Brewing Co.'s Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager before I forgot what it was like. I've seen this beer numerous times over the years, and I always wanted to try it. It definitely has a cool label. The Dixie Brewing Company was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and while the brewery is rebuilding, the beer is being brewed in Wisconsin by the Joseph Huber Brewing Co. No matter its origin, this beer is somewhat in the style of a Schwarzbier. It's a dark lager, with some chocolate and roasted malt notes, and it's smoother than a dark ale. It's a bit watered down in comparison to some other beers of this style, such as Samuel Adams Black Lager. It poured a deep brown, not quite as dark as a Schwarzbier generally is. The head only lasted a short time. This isn't a bad beer, just not an exceptional one.

Samuel Adams Black Lager

Samuel Adams Black Lager from the Boston Beer Company, is part of their Brewmaster's Collection. It pours a deep, nearly black color, with a small light-colored head. As you can see in the photo, the head disappeared pretty quickly. It's roughly in the style of a Schwartzbier and is smooth and easy to drink. The flavor is more roasty than a typical lager, and the hop character is much less pronounced than their standard Boston Lager. I really enjoyed this one, and would welcome a six-pack from time to time. This was purchased in their "Brewmaster's Collection", which also included their Brown Ale and Honey Porter.