Annie Schwarz Black Lager
The Tap Brewing Company

 

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a mug glass.

A: The beer is a deep black color, with a thin beige head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains coffee, roasted malts, lager yeast and a touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out with a creamy coffee flavor followed by a hearty roasted malt character and lager yeast breadiness. The hops presence is very mild but complementary and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly bready and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, mild kick, good representation of style, this is a good beer to drink for a while if you’re in the mood for the style.

 

 

 

Very dark and nearly opaque, but close inspection showed that it was slightly translucent with deep ruby highlights. An average pour produced a fine, soapy, dark tan cap that had good head retention and produced sheets of sticky lacing. Roasty, malty aroma, bittersweet and milk chocolate, a bit nutty. Low bitterness overall, but there was still some lingering in the finish. Malty flavour with sweet chocolate, some roast, slight cherry character, and a light grassy finish. Medium body and carbonation, leaning towards creamy in texture, light astringency. Very nice overall - looks and smells great.

Modest head that leaves a near total blanket of lace on the initial sips. Settles to a layer of about three bubbles wide. Light does shine through the dark ruby color.

Smells like (semi-sweet) chocolate milk. Light hop.

There's some black patent malt in the taste, but it doesn't give off any overly burnt flavors. The swallow is like darkly toasted bread and a touch of pepper. Thin bodied as German schwarz beer would likely be.

 

 

22 oz. bottle dated may 2011

about what I would expect for the style, a thin black pour but with a smallish off-white head that quickly settles to a thin film that leaves a little lacing.

aroma is of toffee, caramel, a bit of chocolate, brown sugar, tons of butter (diacetyl???) and some pumpernickel bread.

toffee, molasses, caramel, a bit of milk chocolate with a bit of herbal hops. a touch of roast, but very light on the coffee. significant nuttiness and a lot of butterscotch. kinda in between what I have experienced in other schwarzbiers and some English nut browns.

kinda oily for the style with a drawn butter feel, but a nice slightly roasty and sweet aftertaste.

overall, a good beer that is very approachable. Yet, it doesnt quite wow me on any fronts.

Pours deep brown with a thin tan head. No retention. Light lace if that.

Good roasted malt with a cocoa dusting in the nose. Well done.

Interesting and very tasty version of the style. Light coffee and coca up front, with good malty grainy flavors. The bitterness builds a bit, and you actually get a hint of citric hops -- but not enough to distract. Very very subtle.. A little nuttiness toward the end, with long malty bitterness. you want some sweet, and there is none. Dry and crisp and a little acidic in the finish.

Medium light in body, enough carbonation.

This brewery is hit or miss. This brew is a smash -- a home run for the style. Really enjoyable and highly drinkable.

Appearance: Pours very black, though not light-blockingly black like other dark beers. Holding it up to the light reveals a lot of shades of very dark red. Head is very small with no lacing.

Smell: Smell and taste is very reminiscent of a porter or stout. Smells of burnt crust on italian bread, along with dark chocolate.

Taste: Lacks much of the bitterness of a stout, resulting in beer that is much more balanced. And because it lacks the 'heaviness' of an ale, it's much more refreshing, too. Finish is fairly sweet, almost syrupy.

Feel: Perhaps I was expecting the thick feel of a stout, but this beer felt somewhat watery.

Drinkability: Overall, this beer was much like a stout in terms of flavor and smell, but lacked bitterness and the 'heavy' mouthfeel. Think of it as a more refreshing stout.

A: Black, as in the name, with a soft beige head.
S: Roasted coffee beans, milk chocolate, bitter espresso, and smoke.
T: Just like it smells with some more sweet notes. Chocolate, coffee, a good cappuccino, coco nibs bitterness for balance, and brown sugar.
MF: A balanced sweet and dryness with stout-like coffee and chocolate hints followed up with an interesting roasted tropical pineapple bitterness.
O/D: This is good and sweet and sips like a charm.

Light head covering fades over very dark brown black almost pitch black.

Nose has some light crsip lager aromas, dark malts like a little roasted and touch of chocolate too, slightly creamy.

Taste start with lots of chocolate malt, little creamy malt, touch of toasty too, malted milk ball taste, some crisp lager flavors, little fruit. Finishes mostly clean, hint of bitterness and lingering malts.

The mouth is lighter bodied with decent carbonation.

Its pretty drinkable, with nice crisp lager flavors, no real alcohol flavor, fairly dry and clean finish.