Black Bavarian

This one had been sitting in the fridge for quite some time after I discovered that Sprecher (at Brew Haha) had some potential for great beer. The story goes, I had always thought of it as a Euro ale because of the griffin and the medieval style writing. Then I had the Russian Imperial and loved it. So here’s the first of the Sprecher’s tasted before practice after microbiology lab of gram staining  our unknown samples of bacteria. Woo.

Appearance: Full on black color with slight brown transparency around the edges. Sticky lacing and thick pour into a pint glass. Head is minimal but initially held a one finger foams worth of micro bubbles colored grayish/brown.

Aroma: Thick mocha aroma accompanied with a burnt nut undertone. Malt sugars make their impression immediately. Subtle roasted character.

Taste: Rich chocolate flavors permeate the coffee/tannin bitterness that finishes the beer. The very end is quite dry with a chalky flavor. I taste licorice at the nose with black patton malt and molasses sugars for a initial sweetness. This beer has an amazing aptitude for changing flavors from beginning to end of each taste. As the beer progresses, the finish tastes more burnt, but the dryness remains.

Mouthfeel: Finishes a little gritty, took on the appearance of being lighter, but the texture said the alternative. This beer resembles a lighter syrup texture. Carbonation is introduced midway through each taste with a rush of foam that takes the beer down leaving the mouth dry and prickly.

Overall Impression: A beer that lacks fruitiness, Finally. This one maintains its own complexity given strictly to the temperature by which the malts were roasted at. The development of flavor through each taste and from beginning to finish is quite a transformation. The beer is robust and talks a big game, but it is hard to drink the whole thing in one sitting just because of the flavor content and pronunciation of the burnt and dry finishing characteristics. Nevertheless, if you haven’t give Sprecher a chance try this with a sweet fruity dessert to contradict the roasted malts used for the beer.

85/100