Santorini Black

19/12/2017 - 33 cl bottle in a restaurant in Dock's, Brussels. Dark brown to black with fading tanned head. Nose is thin wheat, hint of roast. Taste is a tad watery, dark malt, coffee.

330ml bottle (BB Apr 2018): brought back from the Greek island of Lefkada by me to share with friends. Opened on 30th Oct 2017 during a monthly beer share evening in Chez Sophie, Shrewsbury. Black body, tanned head. Sadly this was broached after two 'big hitters' and it's subtleties were not very evident and it appeared a little bland and weak, so it suffered some unkind comments around the table. I actually liked it, even if there was a slight citrusy aroma. The taste was malt/wheat first with a light honey note or two, the finish got a little bitter compared to the initial taste. Greek beers in general are getting better, not just light lagers anymore.

330ml bottle @ monthly tasting, Chez Sophie Oct 17 Part 2, courtesy of Jeremy. Many thanks! Pours dark brown, small off-white head. Curious fruity citrus aroma. Taste is interesting, some herbal elements with faint honey-like sweetness, some cereal grain. Ok dunkel with some interesting herbal, fruity undertones.

Bottle. Pours slightly hazy reddish brown with large foamy beige head, faint caramel malt aroma, high carbonation, sweetish caramel malt taste, bit of a metallic tinge, thin body, abrupt finish. Nothing special.

Bottle shared by Goedele, thanks dear! One of several beers from this brewery on the famous volcanic island of Santorini - the few craft breweries of which are at the forefront of the new (still very modest but fastly growing) Greek beer movement. Apparently a dark lager, so a 'generalization' of the original M�nchener Dunkel in a sense, flavoured with local honey and citron, the latter being an essential oil made from a specific, thick-skinned kind of citrus fruit. Thick, papery lacing, off-white, medium thick head, clear and translucent dark caramel-bronze robe. Aroma of hard butterscotch candy, coffee beans, burnt toast, some vague honey indeed, soggy breakfast cereals, something ethereal not unlike black tea or dried flowers (probably representing the citron - but I do not get a lot of citrus notes, and I'm in doubt as to whether this is a good thing in this case or not), muesli, damp kitchen towel, peanuts. Fairly neutral, very obviously lager-like onset, sweetish graininess with a dry cookie-like character to it, the sweetness probably related to the added honey; medium carbo, smooth and rather thinnish, slick and soapy mouthfeel. Caramelly, almost vaguely treacle-like sweetness lingers but gets accompanied by a softly and subtly bittering coffeeish touch in the end, but it is the underlying cereally and sweetish graininess that remains - as in a standard pale lager, which probably served as the basis of this beer. Pale lager made interesting with darkening agents (syrup?) and notes of citron and honey indeed, maybe this kind of 'pimping' would have worked out better in a top-fermented beer?

330 ml bottle, thanks to Holmen1. ABV is 5%. Dark mahogany colour, huge beige head. Aroma of lightly roasted malts, dust and ashes, notes of burnt breadcrumbs. Dry flavour of roast malts and burnt breadcrumbs, no wheaty character, only a hint of honey, can't detect the citrus medica.

Quite dark color with a fine tan head. Ok intensity in the aroma. Could feel the volcano. Medium body and a fine carbonation level. Balanced sweetness. Unusual flavor. Felt like some volcano ash had entered this beer. Also some dark malt, fruity and toffee.
[Bottle Gry brought with her from Crete, Greece]

330ml bottle at Black Lothus. Clear dark brown body, beige head some of it remaining throughout. Spotty lacing. Roasted brown malty nose. Honeyed brow malty nose, hints of nuts and bred. Rounded roasted malty ending, mid-sweet. Pretty alright. (Rethymnon 10.06.2017).