Mighty Schwartz
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

"I persist on praising not the life I lead, but that which I ought to lead. I follow at a mighty distance, crawling."

--Seneca

Dark tobacco brown with glimmers of sepia along the bottom edge of the glass. A tidy slice of pale caramel colored foam was firm to start, then melted into a creamy puddle over time. Thin sheets of filmy lace later looked like paint daubed on with a sponge.

In terms of aroma 'color', the beer smelled both brown and black malty. Chocolate was uppermost, with an herbal-fruity essence that gave it added interest. With respect to both aroma and flavor, the beer came across more ale estery than lager clean.

Mighty Schwartz is a classic version of the style that was different than any schwarzbier that I've had yet, in some indefinable way. It might have had more hop flavor (hard to say), it might have used some secret ingredient, or it might have... who knows? It also paired beautifully with my lunch.

The flavor profile included chocolate wafer cookies dipped in black coffee, dark caramel and medium-dark fruit. MS was both sweet and bitter (as opposed to neither) and was impressively drinkable as a result. No negatives, I tell you. None at all.

The mouthfeel briefly flirted with the next highest score, then settled for the one seen above. It was lightly creamy and faintly clingy, with a near perfect amount of softly volumizing carbonation.

Mighty Schwartz is another in a long line of well-crafted lagers (and ales) from the West Des Moines Rock Bottom. Solo or in accompaniment, this one will do you right. Bottom line... mighty tasty beer.