Schwarzbier
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

On draft at the brewery in Bethesda.

Deep and chocolaty like a rich porter but lighter.

 

I had this on-tap in a Pilsner glass at the Rock Bottom in Seattle.

Appearance: rich deep dark brown with maybe a touch of haze and a thin layer of frothy tan foam. Not too bad!

Smell: rather roasty malt character, which I like. However, it's a bit light in intensity.

Taste: roasty right up front, like in the aroma. It had a really good dry stout quality combined with a lager base -- it really works for me. Simple, but well-composed.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a very good carbonation and satisfying creaminess. I really like it.

Overall: a schwarzbier that really hits the spot. It's on the roaster side for the style, but I like that. Kudos!

 

 

 

Beer on draft at the Bethesda MD location. Beer is dark brown but clear at the corners with a tan head, thin, some lacing, moderate carbonation, looks fine.

Aroma is light, a little roast, mild yeast.

Beer is smooth, medium in body with a light bitterness on the backend of the beer. Decent little schwartz, a little too much roast for me for the style but overall a decent dark lager.

(Served in an American pint glass)

A- This beer has a dense black body that lets in a bit of light showing a gentle carbonation of tiny bubbles. There is a creamy deep tan head that last for a good bit of the beer.

S- This beer has a smooth clean smell with the dark mellow nougat note and a green hop finish.

T- The smooth taste of brown malt had a brown nougat flavor to it but the freshness of the malt overpowered the nougat. There was a cola note to it that came through as the beer warmed. The finish was a nice green pine hop flavor with the bitterness of hops and black malt softly lingering after.

M- This beer has a medium-light mouthfeel with a tight fizz that cleans up the finish nicely.

D- This beer had a nougat flavor that was more hidden at cool temps and the flavor was smooth but not as bold as I would have liked.

Had this at the Rock Bottom in Colorado Springs and it was the hit of the party. We ordered the sampler with 10 beers to taste, and they were all excellent! But this one stood out as a wonderful dessert beer. It has chocolate, coffee and vanilla blended in a Kahlua-like mixture that is the epitome of a dessert beer. Nicely black in appearance, with nice coffee colored foam, an aroma that was redolent with sweet coffee and smoke. The initial taste is lightly carbonated with a ton of flavor. This is sipping beer!

Jet black, with small windows of light getting through the glass' bottom, under a very nice, creamy tan head.
Mellow, roasty nose, hints of cocoa.
chocolate is all over the taste, though, dripping on the palate, flavor is smooth, creamy, delicious. Medium bodied, genteel finish, ...so flavorful, you'd swear it was a porter. Very good one, of the more satisfying beers I've had here.