Spotlight Series: Spröcketbier
Stone Brewing

 

Although I love Stone and everything they brew, I must admit that buying this beer was partially made by a mistake: when reading the label I only paid attention to it being a (rye) kölsch - I just forgot to notice that it was black so when I poured it in the glass I was surprised to see its pitch black color!
But Stone never fails, this one is a masterpiece as well. Though I have not much experience with this style of beer so I could not tell how kölsch-y it was, I only remember that type being more fruity, more like an apple than regular lagers. Here I did not find that fruity overtome, rather the roasted rye that made it feel like coffee overall, although it was again different from a black lager or an ale or a porter or a stout. Perhaps that is why it was a kölsch? It is all okay, nothing to complain about, it is great as a black beer. I am rather interested in the hoppy side though but still I was 100% satisfied with what this beer can do.

 

 

22 oz bottle.
Appearance: Deep brown body, opaque in the glass, with a medium size khaki head that lingers for a good while. Partial sheets of lacing are left on the glass. lacing.

Aroma: rye, toasted multi-grain bread, yeast and chocolate.

Flavor: rich but modestly complex with lots of dark roasted grain flavor, some spicy rye, light hops and hints of bitter chocolate, toffee, roasted nuts and dark coffee. Mildly bitter.

Feel: Has a nice creaminess that suggests a full body but has a light bodied finish. Carbonation is near medium.

Overall: a really nice mixed-style beer. Tastes almost like a light rye porter.

L: pours dark brown black color, half a finger of dirty snow.
S: caramel, sweet coffee. Mix between brown ale and stout
T: First, sweet malt, raisins, spicy sort of like brown ale. Then there is a hint of bitterness. Finally, there is coffee, cocoa.
F: full of flavors and interesting details
O: really interesting I really liked the transitions.

 

 

served chilled from bomber to a stange german glass (yeehaw)
cellared for 2 years, y'all.

A: pours a beautiful opaque near-black with a decent lightly burnt tan head with excellent retention and some lovely sticky lacing.
S: chocolate toffee roasted maltiness, rye and smoke start things off, then it's an earthy bittersweet with a hint of booze.
T: follows the aroma with the pleasant addition of dark fruit and a bit of light hop earthy bitterness. rye is in fine form here.
F: medium body, fairly low carbonation. coats the tongue

bottomline (aka personal opinion time):
sublime. complete deviation from the style, and may not be for everyone (obviously, what brew is?) but if you like weird, then here's a great example of how to get weird and still have an incredibly balanced brew. just like my rough looking biker uncle, this brew looks a lot harsher than it actually is, and is definitely one you should get to know if you aren't usually one for darker brews..you just might find a new best friend.

 

From bottle, pours black brown with a decent finger of tan coloured head. Aroma chocolate, dark malts, toffee, cocoa. Taste follows the nose very nice.

 

 

 

 

22oz. Bomber

Pours a very nice black color, with some nice carbonation, with a nice creamy one-finger tan head, which leaves some nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, with some nice slight chocolate notes. The taste is pretty tasty, malty, chocolate. Medium body. Overall a pretty tasty brew, wish it were fresher. Totally different take on the style.

 

 

 

Poured from a 22oz. bottle.

A: Pours completely opaque black that allows not light to pierce through it. Head is an inch and a half of mocha color that retains very well. Leaves behind a fair amount of lacing.

S: Aromas of dark roasted malts, cocoa, and rye initially. Then toffee, dark fruits, and a subtle burnt mahogany aroma. Finishes with earthy smells, smoke, and a slight alcohol note.

T: Dark roasted malts, dark roast coffee, cocoa, and a distinct smokiness up front, in the middle, subtle flavors of dark fruit, toffee, and smoked wood. Finishes with flavors of rye, and earthy hops, with a slight black pepper spice and cocoa aftertaste.

M: Light to medium in body, with a moderate level of carbonation. Smooth with a slick finish.

O: A enjoyable brew that I wish I had a fresher bottle of. I enjoyed it but can't help but feel like it was lacking something. It's sad I found this in our discount section and didn't see it when it was fresh. But all that aside I did like what they did with this one a nice easy drinking black Kolsch that I would recommend if they decide to brew it again.

This one had a bit of dust on it but still poured a great-looking pour. Deep brown with a nice 1" khaki head that lingered on for a good bit. Sporadic lacing.
Smell is of rye bread, roasted barley, chocolate, bitter coffee grounds. Not boozy at all
Taste follows suit of the aroma. A little hop bite on the front end mixed with some bitter chocolate. I also pick up the spiciness of the rye. There is a bit of a nutty, almond hint, maybe due to the age.
Feel, in contrast to the color of the beer, is surprisingly light. Carbonation is fair.
Overall, better than I was expecting. I liked the melding of the easy-drinkability of a Kolsch with the spicy rye notes and roasty notes. Tastes almost like a porter.

Bottle from On the Fly Gasmart. Pours out almost true black, big beige, airy head, subsides quickly. Aroma is more roast grain than rye, but some grain sourness is present. Taste is where the rye comes into its own, funky, sour, musty, backed up with some burnt toast, roast grain bitterness. Finishes fast and clean, body is light like a kolsch. Nicely done.

I like my rye beers a bit hoppier than this one was. Since it was retired I am also not sure how old it was. Not bad, but nothing special.

carbed too heavy poor LBS decision

Enjoyed form the 22 oz bottle. This unique brew pours a muddy dark blackish brown with a moderate tan head that dissipates to a thick ring, a thin layer, and light lacing. Nose of subdued cocoa, moderate grain notes, and light caramel. Flavors surpass the light nose with moderately strong deeply roasted malts with mild caramel and cocoa notes that verge on burnt with a lightly bitter aftertaste from hops. Lightly chewy mouth feel finishes clean. Odd I do not taste the standard spicy rye notes, but more of a roasted flavor. A truly unique brew that is highly quaffable. Very nice. A stout drinkers kolsch.

Cheers

Dark but light refreshing beer

 

 

 

22 oz bomber, bottled something/04/14, (hoping its more later 14 than the 4/14/14 it looks like) poured into a stange. So much for Drink Fresh. I take some responsibility (even though I bought it last week), as I knew this was no longer being brewed, but was anxious to give it a try.

A - Dark black/brown with a fluffy two finger head.

S - Roasted grains and malts.

T- Follows the nose, with dark fruit and mild spice on the finish as it warms.

M - Very smooth, carbonation medium low. Somewhat light mouthfeel.

O - A decent offering, the first black rye kolsch I have had, so I don't have much to compare it to. Wonder what it was like fresh, but this was still worthy of a try.

I was really impressed by this beer. Not too heavy but not too light, looks can be deceiving. It's a great beer and the taste is really something else. More focused on malts than hops and gets the job done. It's something different but I like it.

 

Looks and tastes like a porter. Freshness date was too smudged to read, but I see that it has supposedly been retired. Tastes carbonated but has very little head. Odd.

 

 

From a bomber into a snifter.

Pour is black with 1 finger if kaki head that fades fast and light lace around the glass.

Smell is biscuit malts and sweetness. Rye in the background makes it unique.

Taste is light hops and malts finished with light coffee and chocolate. All flavors are light and airy.

Feel is smooth an refreshing. Very Kolsh like. Creamy with light carbonation. Nice feel.

 

 

 

-nice brown head that could have stayed longer but still good
- a mellow roasted grain slight bitter
- slight possible coffee but mild dryness with a smooth roasted head
- creamy smooth body
- great beer a dark flavorful beer almost Russian imperial but easy ale smoothness