Lakes And Rivers
ShawneeCraft Brewing Company

1909
Name: Lakes and Rivers Imperial Schwarzbier
Brewery: Shawnee Brewing
Location: Delaware, PA
Style: Imperial Schwarzbier
ABV: 8.3%
Date: Unknown
Next on the review desk is an Imperial Pilsner from Shawnee Brewing, collaborating with Wallenpaupack. In my continuation of working through this massive haul from Jay, my interest was piqued by this beer and the other from the series. Using another pilsner glass, I served this beer at around 46 degrees. The pour created a frothy, airy, three-fingered light tan head with excellent retention. The slow dissipation left chunks of lacing on the glass—the dark brown color with little discernable hues chart around SRM 34. The appearance of this beer is above average for this style.
Nosing the glass, I smell dark roasted malts, chocolates, coffee, light Maillard, a hint of char, bread, a skosh of floral esters, and some earthiness.
The dark roasted malts are more prominent in the first sip than in a normal Schwarzbier. I get more char, Maillard, dark chocolates, medium roasted coffee, bread, malty sweetness, and a touch of caramel. I also taste floral, hint of herbal, earthy, and light molasses.
The mouthfeel is heavy and slightly astringent, finishing dry.
I enjoyed the bigger-bodied Schwarzbier; to me, it seemed like a porter but not. Tasty stuff; my mind is trying to avoid bending around this idea that it is an imperial and a regular Schwarzbier. I enjoyed sipping on this beer.