Black Forest Stout
Heinzelmännchen Brewery

Drain-pour!

 

They did the same disservice they did with their Alt beer by being misleading with the name of the beer. The brewer told me this is a swartz beer, not a stout. And I have a feeling that may be leading to lower scores than it deserves. I really enjoyed it and thought it totally solid. Not exactly sure why he named his beers like this, but have a suspicion it was more for the general masses rather than the BA types, who would be way more familiar with a stout than a swartz.

Not bad but a little too s we retain and not roasted enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: Dark brown, clear body with a wispy, near white head.

Smell: Nutty dark malts with a minor hint of cocoa powder. Nose is quite mild, a bit lifeless, even.

Taste: A dark maltiness with a light hint of roasted gains and over-toasted walnuts. Small kiss of dark fruits. Earthy bitterness, very light. Drying with more mild-tasting dark malts on the clean finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium carbonation.

Overall: Seems very far removed from being a stout and more akin to a schwarzbier.

The second beer of my tasting excusrion in Sylva today.

This one poured a dark brown, with a smallish tan head that faded quickly and left really a bare looking top with some light side glass lacing. The aroma was full of roasted malts and some llight smokiness. Not much depth to it though and a bit thin even in the smell. The flavor was more of the same and I have to agree with the other reviewer that this was more of a schwarzbier then a stout. Very thin body and lots of carbonation do not lend well to the style. The flavor though was nice, very sessionable with a good roasted profile and a nice tight peat like flavor. Quick finish again and not much in the way of aftertaste.

Overall not much of a stout here, more of dark lager, but still a more then decent effort here and very nice for a dark german lager, but a stout this was not.

I poured this beer from my Heinzelmännchen growler into a pint glass. It pours a very dark brown with a ¼” head that quickly fades to a fairy ring and some lacing.

Nose – A roasted malt scent that is stronger than most Heinzelmännchen beers.

Taste – A very light stout that leans more towards a schwartzbier or dark lager than an English stout. I can assure you this is a more German style beer. It tastes of roasted malt and a very slight hint of chocolate when it’s warmer.

Mouthfeel – It is a very light “stout” and has at most a medium/light mouthfeel.

Drinkability – Very drinkable. It’s like “stout lite” and won’t fill you up. I drank it all one afternoon.

Brewery Sample.

This beer was a deep black color. It had a thick tan head. The smell was of grain. The taste was a little bitter. A nice bitterness for a stout. I almost had my growler filled with this but settled for the Brown Ale. The mouthfeel has a small bit of harshness but not enough to detract from the overall veiw of the beeer. I could drink this beer again and will probably get my growler filled with it next time.

See my review for the brown ale for comments on the brewery. I really wanted to like this one. As with the brown ale, the brewer's wife told me it was a "German style" stout, which I can only take to mean an altbier or even schwarzbier. If this is supposed to really be an English style stout, then the beer could not have been more off the mark. As with the brown ale, I'm going to try this beer again when I'm down there this spring. If I get a completely different beer, I'll happily modify this review. But if I get the same beer, I will never drink it again.

Appearance - sure looked like a stout. Black to dark, dark brown, fully opaque. Head mostly white, but with a touch of tan. Very bubbly, not tight.

Nose - very little hop aroma. No esters or fruit or spice. Some roastiness - probably from roasted malt/black patent. No sweetness, little malt.

Taste - no fruit, very little hops. What hops there are are clearly noble, with some of that tettanang spice. Some malt backbone here, but not enough. Some bitterness from the malt, but little sweetness or malty taste. Pretty bland. Very, very clean beer.

Mouthfeel - balanced, but way too thin for a stout. I should feel sorta full after I have a stout. This beer was nearly as watery as a pils.

Drinkability - well, it certainly won't fill you up. But if I want to drink a stout, it's not this one. If I want a schwarzbier, maybe.