Night Shift
Railway City Brewing Company
- From:
- Railway City Brewing Company
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- Schwarzbier
- ABV:
- 5.5%
- Score:
- +9 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.75 | pDev: 0%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Dec 03, 2025
- Added:
- Dec 03, 2025
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
Express Series No. 2
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.75/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
473 mL can from the LCBO, included in Railway City's 2025 Give'R mixed pack. Dated Oct 17 2025 and served barely chilled.
Pours black as night; holding it to a bright light reveals blood red highlights. Roughly one finger of loose, bubbly, light tan-coloured head floats atop, but deteriorates within a couple of minutes' time; a sickly thin collar is the only remnant, with poor lace deposition. Roasted malts and grains on the nose, with hints of coffee grounds, cocoa and burnt sugar.
It's a solid black lager. The flavours follow the nose - roasted malts and grains, with notes of coffee, bread crust and cocoa, as well a little bit of caramelized sweetness. Hints of herbal hops quickly fade into a roasty, mildly bitter finish, concluding with an off-dry aftertaste. Medium-light in body, with low carbonation and a smooth, generally pleasing mouthfeel. I found this very crushable, to the extent that knocking back a few in a row would be no issue whatsoever.
Final Grade: 3.75, squeaking out a B+. Railway City's Night Shift is a pretty decent rendition of a schwarzbier. I am not typically fussy about this style, with the only exception being the finish: it needs to be dry, or at least dry-ish, and Night Shift does an admirable job of just that. Most of my complaints are minor and/or superficial, e.g. the lack of head & lace, plus the mouthfeel could use a little more pep IMO. Still, I enjoyed this lager and would consider picking it up again as a single.
Dec 03, 2025Pours black as night; holding it to a bright light reveals blood red highlights. Roughly one finger of loose, bubbly, light tan-coloured head floats atop, but deteriorates within a couple of minutes' time; a sickly thin collar is the only remnant, with poor lace deposition. Roasted malts and grains on the nose, with hints of coffee grounds, cocoa and burnt sugar.
It's a solid black lager. The flavours follow the nose - roasted malts and grains, with notes of coffee, bread crust and cocoa, as well a little bit of caramelized sweetness. Hints of herbal hops quickly fade into a roasty, mildly bitter finish, concluding with an off-dry aftertaste. Medium-light in body, with low carbonation and a smooth, generally pleasing mouthfeel. I found this very crushable, to the extent that knocking back a few in a row would be no issue whatsoever.
Final Grade: 3.75, squeaking out a B+. Railway City's Night Shift is a pretty decent rendition of a schwarzbier. I am not typically fussy about this style, with the only exception being the finish: it needs to be dry, or at least dry-ish, and Night Shift does an admirable job of just that. Most of my complaints are minor and/or superficial, e.g. the lack of head & lace, plus the mouthfeel could use a little more pep IMO. Still, I enjoyed this lager and would consider picking it up again as a single.
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