Black Black
Mountain Merman Brewing Company

my first from these guys, clever recipe, a black lager with black currants, hence the name, its well made lager at its core, the fruit is natural and not overdosed, and i think these elements work very well together, the roast and the fruit, despite being relatively uncommon companions in a beer like this, very cool, a neat first impression for sure. the base lager, loosely a schwarzbier in that its a black lager, although not ready particularly german to me in the glass, is a solid start, its roasty without being too bitter, it has some body but is still easy to drink, and isnt loaded down with sweet middle malts, its simple and decently well lagered, off dry, smooth on the palate, a little starchy maybe, but i think overall the quality is pretty good, and it lends itself well to the black currant, which has some natural tartness, some light fruity astringency without quite being medicinal, and whats here from the lager yeast and minerality work to mellow that part out. deep dark fruitiness that hits like blackberry jam is also present with some gentle fruit sugar in the center, a neat counterpoint to the later roast and cocoa character this finishes with, but its not overly fruited and its certainly not desserty, a win. trace smoke to the base lager, lager yeast has nice flavor, and the fruit is a pleasant brightness cutting through the darkness a bit. red wine or even port wine nuance to the currants, drier to drink than it seems like it would be, maybe just a touch less refined overall that it could be, but i have to give a little extra credit here for the creativity, this is not a style that sees fruit too often, and this really works. ill be curious to try more from these guys in the future, this is fun!