8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

16 ounce crowler into lager glass, filled on 10/6/2019. Pours clear very dark brown color with a small dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with light notes of wood, pepper, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of roast/bready malts, and light earthy hop notes; with good strength. Taste of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, and dark bread/crust; with light notes of wood, pepper, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Light herbal, woody, floral, grassy, peppery, roasted bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, roasted nuts, toasted biscuit, dark bread/crust, wood, pepper, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of roast/bready malts, and light earthy hop flavors; with a nice hop/roast bitter/sweet balance; and no cloying, acrid, astringent flavors after the finish. very clean on lager flavors, with minimal fruity/yeasty notes. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roasted bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 5.8%. Overall this is an excellent schwarzbier. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of roast/bready malts, and light earthy hop flavors; very smooth and pretty refreshing to drink with the mildly bitter/drying finish; awesome soft feel. Awesome clean/rich Roast/Vienna/Munich malts; with solid noble hop presence/balance. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on style example as expected.