Black Giraffe
Burleigh Brewing Co.

Black GiraffeBlack Giraffe
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From:
Burleigh Brewing Co.
 
Australia
Style:
Schwarzbier
ABV:
5%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.89 | pDev: 7.2%
Reviews:
17
Ratings:
28
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 10, 2016
Added:
Aug 08, 2010
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
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Ratings by spicelab:
Photo of spicelab
Reviewed by spicelab from Australia

4.07/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
The things you find in the back of your cellar..

Dark chocolate with a fine-bubbled mocha head that springs to a few fingers before falling over a few minutes without lacing to a film.

Nose is a fruity-roast fusion of balance and subtlety. Iced coffee, dark and milk chocolate, muscatels, hazelnuts, baked toffee and toasted bread.

Flavours are very similar, perhaps a little more chocolatey, with an added bitter-roast character towards the end.

Light, smooth and mildly creamy. Carbonation is pretty subdued. Bit of bitterness on the back end.

An absolute gem of a Schwarzbier. The coffee is perfectly calibrated and lifts this from good to great. I couldn't quite give the aroma or taste a 4.5 but, I'm so impressed by how stylishly this beer is put together that it deserves it overall.
Apr 01, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.56 by sonorb7 from Australia

Feb 10, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by EdgarGerik from Venezuela

Dec 24, 2015
Photo of doktorhops
Reviewed by doktorhops from Australia

3.68/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
I could have sworn that I’ve had Black Giraffe before, in fact I did swear I said “Shit, I’ve had this beer before!” but for whatever reason I didn’t write up a review. Then again I don’t always write up reviews for every beer I try, Sean Penn’s character in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty put it (in the most succinct line of the film): “Sometimes I don’t [review beers - in his case take photos of Snow Leopards]. If I like a moment, I mean me, personally... I don’t like to have the distraction of the camera [in my case mobile phone]. I just wanna stay, in it.”

Poured from a 650ml bottle into a stein.

A: Obsidian cola body, 1 inch cappuccino khaki head that soon drops away leaving a half centimetre lace, what’s not to love? As an aside - judging dark beers is getting harder and harder these days - they all seem to coalesce into one black gumbo of delight... anyway... 7/10. Done.

S: Aroma is a mixture of cold drip coffee, metal and roasted cereal grains - not the best aroma in a coffee beer but it’s all in the taste is it not [at least 40% of my scoring is]. What is it missing? Could use less metal for a start... aside from that - remember FBS didn’t ‘wow’ me with its aroma but dropped a truck load of flavour on my tongue and said “Ere you go guvnor!” so let’s not dismiss BG yet ppl. 6/10.

T: A bit of dark fruits upfront (think prune/plum) with a toffee hint, ripe unroasted coffee bean, and cold drip coffee. Thankfully the above noted metal character is a lingering hint the background here, and the finish is a Helles Lager dry with a touch of earthy coffee bitterness. You really get a sense of that unroasted coffee cherry from the aftertaste and I think the Schwarzbier (a Lager beer) plays into that quite well - long sentence short: Coffee + Schwarzbier = Tasty. 8/10.

M: The body could use a little heft: Mid to light and slightly watery with a medium carbonation, but otherwise it feels to style, though a bit weird like a coffee flavoured soft drink. 7/10.

D: I feel like some bacon and eggs now - high praise for a coffee beer of any calibre - what Burleigh have done well here is take two seemingly disparate things: Coffee & Lager, and combine them into a brew that is sure to warrant a second tasting. I’m not the greatest fan of Burleigh, however this Schwarzbier is a tasty drop (and I love coffee, especially single origin) front of the class Burleigh. Did you do your homework? Burleigh: No. Me: Back of the class. 8/10.

Food match: Full English this brew.
Nov 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.48 by hopnerd from Australia

Nov 21, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Kroehny_Loves_Hops from Australia

May 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by magpieken from Australia

Nov 26, 2013
Photo of admiral
Reviewed by admiral from Australia

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
strong, flavoursome beer - enjoyable to share

aroma: dark toasted malt, chocolate and slight hay

taste: dark toasted malt, chocolate, coffee, vegemite with some slight pepper/spice. As it warms up some slight smokiness and caramel comes through

Strong, bold flavours come out with plenty of bitterness accompanying it. Enjoyable enough to drink although having a full 650ml bottle might be a bit much to have by yourself. For my own personal taste, would have preferred it just a touch sweeter or an extra flavour or two coming out
Oct 12, 2013
Photo of PolarBear3
Reviewed by PolarBear3 from Australia

3.58/5  rDev -8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
A - Pours a black oil colour with tanned head that retains well in my duvel tulip

S - Strong espresso, chocolate, roasted malts, with some liquorice

T - Roasted malts, coffee , chocolate quite prominent , caramel, some toffee with a slightly burnt bitter finish.

M - Medium bodied with low carbonation

O - A nice beer without being outstanding. lacks a little complexity but interesting all the same being described as a black lager.
Oct 09, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by Rwalford74 from Australia

Oct 04, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by LathouXaris from Australia

Sep 15, 2013
Photo of ykncornelius
Reviewed by ykncornelius from North Carolina

4.36/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
This things's retired? I'm surprised--just picked up 3 bottles at 50% off in a run-of-the-mill bottle shop in Surfers Paradise! Beautiful fortune.

It's what you expect and want from a coffee beer, y'know? It's just delivered so well. Plenty of coffee/chocolate/smoke/etc beers come up way short, over-exerting the gimmick flavor and forgetting the fact that, at the end of the day, the drinker still wants a beer. This one's refreshingly on-point. So! To the stats...

If this were any other beverage, I'd instantly use the descriptor "it looks like coffee", but that's kinda lame this time. Seriously though, it's midnight black--literally zero light coming through, but it's lovely. Fluffy tan head died fairly fast, leaving a rather unattractive-looking lacing (it's a cruddy pale brown, after all...), but looks-wise this is Old Rasputin country. And so I approach the rest with high hopes.

Smells like a piece of chocolate rye bread dunked in espresso, sprinkled with sugar, thrown into the oven and kissed by faeries. Enough said.

Tasty. Much more coffee on the palate than in the aroma, with all those great malty lagery flavors showing through. My aftertastebuds could literally be convinced I just downed a double ristretto. Otherwise, IT TASTES LIKE IT SMELLS! ...delicious. Could do with a BIT more booze heat to it, to be an alcoholic about it.

It's a touch flat, which would be expected from a stout or porter...but I figured a dark lager would have a bit more pop to it. This one certainly won't be fizzin' out your nose. Once I got over that though, the thick creaminess is quite nice.

I'm really glad I bought three. At that price, probably should've cleared their stock. Fantastic winter sipper, which is fortuitously-timed as the nights are pretty chilly here right now. Tuck up next to a fire with a thick book and enjoy this as you would a port, brandy, hot chocolate...pick your poison.
Jul 02, 2013
Photo of SmashPants
Reviewed by SmashPants from Australia

3.68/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Bottle: a solid, brown 650mL bottle with an interestingly stylised label, per the Burleigh Brewery norm.

Appearance: almost jet black in appearance, until you put it against the light. It is actually a solid dark brown with light red-brown highlights. A solid head jumps up about an inch-and-a-half, and settles to a creamy one-finger. Good lacing and retention.

Aroma: not overly coffee- driven though it is there, with some stone fruits and spice.

Taste: wow, they weren't kidding! Heavily coffee-driven, with a touch of those fruits and spices. I am not a coffee person at all (though I still quite like roast coffee as a characteristic of beers) - I think this is one designed for the coffee enthusiast only (which is fair enough). Still, very well balanced over all.

Aftertaste: the coffee lingers as an almost sweet molasses kind of flavour. Not unpleasant, even as a non-coffee drinker.

Mouth feel: pretty much bang on - mid weight body and a spritely yet not overwhelming carbonation.

Overall: normally I wouldn't want to have this kind of coffee-orientated beer, but this was extremely drinkable. Doesn't mean I'd have another one as it isn't my type of flavour, but bang for your bucks this is pretty tops, and more importantly it is a very well-constructed and balanced beer.
Apr 28, 2013
Photo of foles
Reviewed by foles from Australia

4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Black coffee lager - interesting concept, but will it be any good? Short answer, yes! Unbelievably black, it appears the rule book has gone out the window, probably off the scale, and possibly the blackest lager I have ever seen. And yes it tastes like a schwarzbier - a very good one. Roasty chocolate goodness, but smooth, clean and with that lovely lager profile. Some nice hops - noble tasting. And a kick of coffee in the background. Great beer.
Nov 10, 2012
 
 
Rated: 4.5 by pin from Australia

Oct 07, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by mungus from Australia

Aug 26, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by MenInVen from Australia

Aug 26, 2012
Photo of heygeebee
Reviewed by heygeebee from Australia

4.03/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From Warners.

Pours black - just a hint of red around edge when held against sun... dark! Coarse tan head subsides quickly.

Toffee and roast malt on nose, with coffee.

Taste is as above, add in some nice hop flavours and easy drinking is the go. Real good balance of hops n malt and roast flavours.

Quote from a mate - 'beer equivalent of a long black'.

All in all - a good find - had been recommended to me many times but had not found.
Jan 02, 2012
Photo of ADZA
Reviewed by ADZA from Australia

3.73/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This brew pours a dark as night black hue with decent carbonation that leaves behind a creamy two finger head and sporadic lacing,the smell is strong dark coffee and some underlying piney hops,it has a medium bodied well carbonated mouthfeel and has tastes of very strong,black coffee,strong mocha,dark roasted malts and finished with a piney,hoppy bitterness and overall it reminds me of a nice strong dark bitter black alcoholic coffee and very original even though its been done it hasnt been this coffee orientated cheers.
May 09, 2011
Black Giraffe from Burleigh Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 28 ratings