Schwarzbier
John Harvard's Brewery & Ale House

 

 

 

On tap at the JH in Lake Grove, NY.

A - Dark brown with a slight head. Some lacing ont he glass.

S - Very malty smell. Scents of coffe and carmel are present too.

T - Very typical of the style. Has a bit of a molasses-like finish. Very sweet.

M - Decent drinker. Light enough to be a staple beer for the night. This particular Schwarzbier is tasty but after one I was ready to move on.

O - Worth a try, though not very impressive.

Had on tap at the John Harvard's in Smithaven. On tap in a pint glass. First review of the style so cut me some slack, Jack.

Look: dark brown, kinda red. Very red highlights. Thin, one finger foam head. Not much retention and no lacing.

Smell: some roasty, smoky flavors here. Smells like coffee malt to me. Some caramel flavors as well.

Taste: follows the nose well. Roasted malts with some smoke, coffee malt, and some caramel.

Feel: fairly light in body, crisp and had a dry finish. Unfortunately, like most John Harvard beers, it was flat after five minutes or so.

Drink: sessionable if one wanted to go that route.

Reviewed on 9/17/08. On tap at JH. Pours a dark brown with a small ring of tan head. Aroma of sweet roasted malt, rich chocolate, caramel, molasses, and chocolate truffles. Flavor is similar with lots of bitter chocolate and sweet roasted malt. Had a heavy mouthfeel but somehow was quite drinkable. Lots of flavor (especially for a JH brew), sort of like an "imperial stout" lager. Pretty good.
7/4/7/4/14 (3.6/5)

What a nice looking beer! Had this one on tap. It pours a very dark brown, basically black with a light tan head. Nice retention and lacing. The smell was smokey, burnt, and sweet. Certainly a pleasant aroma.

The beer tastes as good as it looks. The smokey, grainy taste sticks around on the pallette but not for too long.The malt flavor comes through with a certain coffee characteristic. The hops toward the end round out the flavor nicely.

This beer is incredibly smooth and goes down very easily. Mouthfeel is clean. Overall a highly drinkable Schwazbier from John Harvard's, and one of their best beers ever IMHO.

Poured a deep black hue with a one finger foamy white head. There was good retention and lacing.

The smell featured a deep toasted, burnt grain aroma. There was a hint of coffee as well.

The taste was dominated by a roasted grain and coffee flavor. Light hop spice.

The mouthfeel was crisp and clean with a very dry finish.

Overall a very good example of the style. Very drinkable with a nice dryness.

Delivers a dark brown, slightly hazy body, with chestnut highlights. Average sized tan head. Creamy. Holds very well and leaves nice lace. The nose expresses dark malt with a touch of caramel and some very subtle chocolate. Medium-light body. Smooth. Tofeeish, toasty, and subtly chocolatey malt with an underlying roastiness. Low-key bitterness. It finishes dry with a lingering bitterness and increasing roastiness.

Appearence: A black body with a reddish-ruby tint sits underneath a creamy, 1/2 finger beige head.

Smell: A mix of chocolate, roasted malts, coffee and caramel hits your nose. There is the obvious lager crispness, with an almost fruity malt tone.

Taste and Mouthfeel: Complex as all hell, yet smooth and crisp. The flavors of chocolate and coffee are very strong and very intense, but this beer still remains balance, and winds up being rather thirst quenching. It finishes dry, which balances out the heavy flavors.

Drinkability and Overall: Stunning! This is really a good Schwarzbier. It's complex, but rounded, and tasty enough to consume a whole growler of at once. This was the most impressive beer I had there, out of their 11 brews, so I picked up a growler. A nice offering from John Harvard's.

Dark reddish brown with a small tea coloured head and some nice lacing. Coffee is predominent in the aroma, as is a nice dose of roasted chocolate malts. The taste is bigger and better than the aromas hint at. Roasted malts, a bit of a burnt smoky taste, chocolate, a bit of caramel and some coffee. A nicely balanced and very flavorful dark lager. The finish is biting, bitter and light with just a hint of smoke in the mix as well. Mouthfeel is a tad bit watery though, but the drinkability remains good. Nice.

Clearly very similar to Saranac Black Forest, though not quite on par with it. Dark, reddish brown with some hints at roasted malt and coffee in the aroma.

This is a very good tasting beer. Starts very malty, mostly dark roasts, with some mild flavors of caramel and coffee. Finishes delicious, surprisingly chocolatey with a soft, bitter hop bite. I was quite surprised at their attempt at a Schwarzbier, and pleasantly at that. One to try if offered at JHBH.