7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

12 ounce bottle into lager glass, no bottle dating. Pours fairly crystal clear deep reddish brown color with a 1 finger dense light tan head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, toast, dark bread, light nuttiness, herbal, grass, light pepper and roasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of roast/bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with solid strength. Taste of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, toast, dark bread, light nuttiness, herbal, grass, light pepper, and roasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/roasted bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, toast, dark bread, and herbal/roasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of roast/bready malt and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a nice roasted bitterness/sweetness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Moderate roasted dryness after the finish. Very clean on lager flavors with zero yeast notes present. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, crisp, fairly creamy, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with zero warming present after the finish as expected of 5%. Overall this is a very good schwarzbier style. All around nice robustness, complexity, and balance of roast/bready malt and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A very enjoyable offering.