Knecht Ruprecht
The Tap Brewing Company

Sampled on-tap at the brewpub.

This beer poured a deep, deep garnet color that was almost black unless held to a light. The foam was light brown and settled rapidly to a ring around the surface. The smell was sweet and malty and slightly vinous (Munich malt). The taste was slightly sweet and malty with some Munich malt apparent. It was a bit tangy and fruity as well. The mouthfeel was smooth with medium-full body and moderate carbonation. A bit of alcohol came through in the finish. The aftertaste was fruity and richly malty. This was a nice beer, and the 10% alcohol was fairly well hidden.

Deep brown, hardly any light passing through, but if you really try you can squeeze a little red out of the edges. Interesting, the head sort of forms after the pour on this one. Then it kind of fizzles though. Smells pungent. Melted fruit-roll ups, tree bark, a little nip of alcohol and raw yet roasty malty explosion. Much of this makes it's way into the taste, which is intense in a word. Very sweet and fruity, plums and raisins everywhere, almost floating raisin chunks, and an intense barky bitterness. Really interesting, just a bit much honestly. Very Jagermeistery. Syrupy, chewy, heavy mouthfeel. This would be a nice beer to have a glass of after dinner or as a nightcap or something, but it's just too much for more than a pint or so.

A big, bold Schwarzbier-based brew but with the strength of a Doppelbock. Style indicates: "German style 10% big black lager."

Sampled as served from the just-released draft at the Tap brewpub in Haverhill MA.

Appearance: Served in a 10-ounce stem wineglass. Practically no beer foam. Deep dark color of very dark brown amber, nicely filtered so that when held up against light a clear ruby liquid is revealed, like a Schwarzbier.

Smell: Enough aroma to discern its potency. I picked up on the sweet beer-alcohol. This totally released my anticipation and taste drive (my very first beer of the day after working a few hours with some furniture moving...).

Taste: A mouthfeel matching its potency, a bit more substantial than some of the thinner-styled Schwarz's, with a taste all its own. I was eager to analyze the flavor to find it would be different enough from a Doppelbock, and it surely is. This beer has great flavor and alcoholic and malty profile indeed, but it retains just enough of its toasted malt base (though not stout-like roasted barley) and hops to balance, preventing a bock-like malt-predominant complexity... This beer's complexity comes into play resulting from the fine malts and hops substantiating its original gravity. I would imagine also that this beer has lagered and matured for a decent stretch of time.

I found this Knecht Ruprecht offing to be rather drinkable in its diminished-ounce sample size. I cannot wait to break into the growler full of it that I carried back to RI. Yum.