Onyx
Gänstaller Braumanufaktur

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a small, creamy, dark brown head. Smells of roasted, caramel malt, dark chocolate and red berries, with hints of coffee and licorice as well. Taste is a good balance of roasted, caramel malt and lighter herbal and bitter hops, as well as a distinct dark chocolate and red berry presence, with notes of red currant and cranberry, with lighter coffee, licorice and tobacco notes as well. Finishes bittersweet, with a medium bitterness and some dark chocolate, herbal hops, red berries and licorice lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and light/medium carbonation.

I'm having a little bit of hard time with this one, to be honest. While I really like the roasted, bitter character here, those slightly tart red berry notes are a little too much for my personal taste, although the distinct dark chocolate and lighter coffee, licorice and tobacco notes kinda make up for this. While I think that the overall balance could be more harmonic here, this still makes for a complex, enjoyable example of the style with a rich character and full body and mouthfeel.