Beer 335/365 – Short’s Bourbon Barrel Sustenance Black Beer

Style: Schwarzbier

ABV: 6.5%

Purchased at: Sent in a trade

What makes this beer different: Not often you see a bourbon aged Schwarzbier. Its works though!

Will I be drinking this again: Loved this one, but I’m pretty sure its a limited release.

Grade: A

10/9/2010: Leave it to Short’s to decide to barrel age a Schwarzbier. Technically Schwarzbier is in the lager family, and lagers typically are best when consumed fresh. The idea sounds a bit hair-brained to me but I should know by now to not doubt Short’s Brew.

The nose has a sweet unobtrusive bourbon nose, with some roasty chocolate in there as well. The bourbon in Sustenance takes this beer to an entirely different level. Bourbon is there but not overwhelming; you still get the chocolate/smoke/citrus from the original Sustenance Black Beer. Sometimes bourbon can take away from the simple good flavor of a beer, but not in this case. I would compare it to saying Pizza is good on its own, but if you add just the right amount of hot sauce it makes pizza amazing. Mouthfeel is average, as well as the carbonation. I might have a soft spot for bourbon beer, but this one was without a doubt my favorite of short’s lineup so far.

Picture of the day: Frankie Muniz is kind of an asshole.

Beer 334/365 – Short’s Sustenance Black Bier

Style: Schwarzbier

ABV: unknown?

Purchased at: Sent in a trade

What makes this beer different: Not much its just very well balanced.

Will I be drinking this again: As with other shorts brew, if it were available in my area I would buy more!

Grade: B+

10/8/2010: Kind of curious as tom why the ABV is unknown on this brew? I love how shorts always has a short description of each beer, but dislike how they never seem to put the ABV on the labels. Very odd to me.

The nose is musty, earthy, and smoky. The flavor is very well balanced between roast/smoke, chocolate, caramel, and a bit citrusy tang going on. This beer is very flavorful considering the mouthfeel is a bit south of average. Good carbonation. Overall this has been the least unique of the Short’s Brew’s I have tried, but hey I’m not complaining as it was still very tasty.

Picture of the day: Funny collection of yahoo answers.

Beer 292/365 – Sprecher Black Bavarian

Style: Schwarzbier

ABV: 6.0%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate Wine & Beer – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: It might be the best Schwarzbier I have ever had.

Will I be drinking this again: Yes, and I’ll be this would make an awesome marinade for some steaks.

Grade: A

8/27/2010: One of my readers recommended I try some Sprecher beer, but I cannot remember who? Well whoever it was thanks. I didn’t know which specific beer to grab, so I just purchased the one that looked the most interesting.

The nose is burnt caramel sugar, similar to what a cotton candy machine might smell like (not the candy itself, but the sweet burnt smell). Also smells like some chocolate in the mix? The flavor took be by surprise as I was not expecting much. A lot of stout characteristics, smashed into a lager style beer. Really nice chocolate, some roasted caramel malts, a light smokey wood type flavor, and finishes with a dry earthy type kick. Very complex and a lot of nice flavors going on here. Even with all these heavy flavors, Sprecher Black Bavarian comes off “crisp” in an odd way. The over-average carbonation helps make it very drinkable for a heavy-ish beer. No question this is one of the best lagers I have ever had.

Picture of the day: Someone is overtly creepy.

Beer 269/365 – Buzzards Bay Black Lager

Style: Schwarzbier

ABV: 5.0%

Purchased at: Sent to me in a trade

What makes this beer different: Kind of minerally, not terrible though

Will I be drinking this again: Probably not.

Grade: B

8/4/2010: So turns out this beer has been retired? No idea when this was brewed but lagers don’t exact age well, so I don’t expect this beer to knock my socks off. Honestly I’m not even sure if the profile I found on BA is the right one? Is this brewed by “Just Beer Brewing Co?.” I don’t recall seeing it on the label, and the bottle is at home in my basement as I type this so I can’t check.

The nose of this beer is nothing special, just very malty. The flavor is mostly “roasty”, a little bit of burnt chocolate, a little bit of smoke, and a punch of this minerally/iron type flavor that you sometimes get when you sample an older lager. The flavor isn’t terrible, but its not super pleasing. The mouthfeel is about average, and very very carbonated. Not terrible, but nothing special.

Picture of the day: From one of my favorite video games growing up, fish hadouken.

Beer 263/365 – Köstritzer Schwarzbier

Style: Schwarzbier

ABV: 4.8%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Like a slightly smoked lager. Very tasty.

Will I be drinking this again: Yes this was really good.

Grade: B+

7/29/2010: Schwarzbier as as style is a little bit different. It falls somewhere between a brown ale, and a porter. It is dark in color but usually not heavy in body. Also this is a lager, not an ale like a porter/brown ale. I had this beer sitting around for a few months now, and since its a lager I am sure it would have been even better if I would have drank it fresh.

The aroma of Kostritzer was mildly smokey and very earthy. For this being such a dark beer it is very refreshing, clean caramel malt, earthy, and toasted bread. Oh and a little tiny tiny bit of smoke in the mix. The mouthfeel is light and very well carbonated. This style can sometimes throw you for a loop since the color is so dark you expect the body to be real heavy, but this usually isn’t the case. Very unique beer. If you haven’t tried a schwarzbier, go find this as I think its pretty readily available.

Picture of the day: A quick history of my favorite animated TV show, south park.

Beer 202/365 – Port Brewing Midnight Sessions Lager

Style: Schwarzbier

ABV: 5.0%

Purchased at: Sent to me in a trade as an extra.

What makes this beer different: My first Schwarzbier. Almost drinks like a porter.

Will I be drinking this again: Not sure how I feel about this style? But maybe

Grade: B+

5/29/2010: This is my first ever Schwarzbier, and honestly I have no idea what to expect. Lets check out BeerAdvocate for a description of the style so I know what to expect..

Schwarzbier (“shvahrts-beer”), is simply German for black beer. Unlike other dark beers, like porters or stouts, they are not overly bitter with burnt and roasted malt characteristics that the others tend to depend on. Instead, hops are used for a good portion of the bitterness. Very refreshing and soul lifting beers, they also make a great alternative for the Winter. Especially when you are looking for a lighter beer, but one with depth of colour and taste.

Midnight Session Lager pours out like a medium bodied Porter. The first smell I actually get is a little bit of hops, and some chocolate malt. The taste is like an extremely light bodied smoked porter; smokey, roasted coffee, a bit of chocolate, and some hops in the background. This beer is throwing me for a loop so far. I thought the hops would be much more prominent since they were semi-strong in the nose. My brain keeps telling me this beer needs to be thicker, and have more flavor, but maybe this is typical for the style? If I were blindfolded I would have guessed this to be a very light porter. Overall I liked this beer, it was very light and drinkable.

Picture of the day: I know I posted some of these up before, but here are some more BP Logos.