Bohemian Black Lager - Spoetzl Brewery

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.25/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Dark cola brown with generous scarlet and gold highlights. The beer looks opaque, but then it's an overcast early morning outside my front window. Unfortunately, the head drags the appearance score down with it. The styrofoam-like foam is soft and airy and fizzy and completely unsticky.

The nose delivers a dark caramel and molasses vibe reminiscent of dark Karo syrup. Looks like the flavor has some work to do. Note: warming opens things up just enough to earn a bump in score.

Bohemian Black Lager is just an okay schwarzbier. Spoetzl Brewery, for the most part, hasn't impressed me yet. Like the vast majority of their offerings, it's too light and too simple. Yeah, it's probably inexpensive, but so what? Quality has always been more important than quantity for true Beer Advocates.

It tastes like a Euro dark lager that's a little bit darker than usual. There is something here that's worthwhile, but there isn't enough of it. The flavors include the same dark caramel and molasses of the aroma, as well as an undercurrent of black licorice. The Czech Saaz and Styrian Goldings hops provide a balancing amount of bitterness and no real flavor.

The mouthfeel is BBL's Achilles' heal. A lack of malt results in a disturbing thinness, even when taking style into consideration. In addition, the bubbles are too big and soda-like, which leads to an initial harshness, followed by a flat feel as the carbonation fades too quickly.

The black and silver label is great and is exactly how the label on a schwarzbier (black beer) should look. Too bad the contents of the bottle aren't quite up to snuff. I would have no trouble drinking Bohemian Black Lager in a pinch, but it isn't a beer that I'll buy again.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2008 12:16:14 | More by BuckeyeNation

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to jsh420 for this bottle. Reviewed from notes.

Pours a deep brown with a light head and not much retention or lacing. Nose is crisp roasted malt with some light caramel and chocolate. Taste is roast with coffee and chocolate and some light earthy hops. Fairly light win good carbonation. Just like others I have had from them, this drinks well but doesn't pack much flavor.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2010 12:27:46 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

2.95/5  rDev -15%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Dark brown, black body, and quite clear, with a very thin, very wispy, off-white head.

Smell: Very wimpy, moderately disappointing nose overall. Faint notes of chocolate, roasted grain, and Texas-born sorrow.

Taste: Thin, watered down flavors of toast, roast, and chocolate with a light caramel sweetness. Small hint of grain. Still watery. Lightly spicy Noble hops with a very low amount of bitterness. Short finish with meek tastes of chocolate and roast. Eh.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium carbonation. Somewhat watery.

Drinkability: While the thin, watery nature of this beer lends itself to overall drinkability, the lack of flavor and complexities prevents me from wanting to ever again wanting to drink it in the first place.

Serving type: on-tap

01-05-2009 20:31:40 | More by ChainGangGuy

brentk56

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a cola color with a moderate head that leaves a bit of lace around the glass

Smell: Rather sweet, with a modest aroma of chocolate and caramel

Taste: Like the aroma, this one is rather sweet, kind of on the milk chocolatey side; not much flavor development after the swallow; becomes watery on the finish

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: What happened to the hops? Just to sweet and lacks complexity; easy to drink, however

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2007 00:52:41 | More by brentk56

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.08/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I don't really expect much out of the Shiner camp, but they dealt a nice surprise with this Schwarzbier. The typical black look with dark mohogany highlights and nearly opaque. Though head retention was timid, the lacing proved excellent. Obvious aromas of charcoal-like black malts backed with solid notes of caramel malts and nuttiness. The flavors were dominated with a simple and dry black malt that left a chalk-like, powdery feel in the mouth. The flavors weakened as the beer went down, but never became water or characterless. The beer is a very good representation of the style, though the caramel character caught me a bit by surprise. Quite dry and fleeting in the finish. Very clean and flavorful without getting heavy or over-sweetened. The best of the Shiner beers so far.

Bottle: 10-28-09. Thanks Exiled!

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2006 15:37:25 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

3.78/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Schwarzbier is a style you dont see a whole lot of and well to be honest I didnt think this beer would be real traditional, but I gotta say I liked the subtle qualities of this.Poured into my Monchshof schwarzbier glass a deep cola color with a fluffy off white head that left shotty lace as it settled.German malt aromas,iron and metallic with some bitter chocolate and earth,with a slight roasted nut element,flavors are quite earthy and dry with some metallic notes and unsweetened chocolate.Toastiness shows thru as I drink more and its quaffable,not bad,not bad at all.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2009 22:25:08 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I had this beer at a backyard barbeque so I have to admit to some lack of care in this review. On the other hand, what I can say is that it fit in nicely, sitting in the shade during a warm summer day with a wide variety of foods and good company.

That said, I was initially impressed by the massive head, and the retention that followed. Typical black body and dark cream/light tan head.

The nose expressed deeply caramelish and dark roasted malts with a hint of espresso and some burnt sugar and sticky dark fruit character.

In the mouth it was medium-light, and fairly bubbly - not exactly what I'd expect of a schwarzbier - but at the same time not off by too much.

The flavor delivers darkly caramelish maltiness wrapped around a bit of roasty bittersweet chocolate. It's moderately bitter, and dry in the finish with a flicker of dark malt acidity. Hops are relegated to far, far background status.

Overall, it's a fairly well-balanced and rounded dark lager that's got more flavor than the usual. Enjoyable and drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2007 19:19:01 | More by NeroFiddled

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.85/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served in an Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull shaker pint glass.

Ah, inexpensive bottles for my mixed-sixer. Love it. This one pours a lovely translucent garnet-brown topped by nearly a finger of off-white foam. The nose comprises light roasted malts, light coffee, cocoa powder, and a twinge o' flowers. The taste holds notes of cocoa, light roasted malts, thick and toasted caramel, and a swig o' roasty toffee. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a wet feel. Overall, a somewhat surprisingly nice schwarz, nothing too exciting but pretty tasty and highly drinkable nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2010 17:48:28 | More by TMoney2591

Mora2000

Texas

3.43/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a black color with red highlights and a tan head. The aroma is roasted malt, but it is a little bit faint. I really expected more from the aroma. The flavor is much stronger. I get the expected roasted malt but I am also getting quite a bit of smoke. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

I have had this beer numerous times over the years and it has always been my favorite Shiner beer. I never remembered the smoke in the beer before, so I am not sure if I always just missed it or if this batch was smokier than others in the past.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2010 05:23:17 | More by Mora2000

zeff80

Missouri

3.85/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Poured out a dark brown color with hints of ruby. It had a two-finger, tan head that was fairly bubbly and left behind some lace.

S - It smelled of malt and a mossy/earthy quality.

T - The first sip had a coffee-like taste with a malty kick. It was rather bittersweet.

M - It was soft and smooth. A light to medium-bodied beer.

D - This is a pretty good brew. The coffee taste is unique.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2008 12:27:13 | More by zeff80

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.48/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours with an initially three-finger thick, frothy, fairly large bubbled head that has a creamed-chocolate tan color and even leaves a bit of lacing as it falls back down to a ringed remnants around the sides of the glass. The beer shows a brilliantly clear, dark chocolate brown color as I pour it, but sits in my glass an almost black, dark brown color. The aroma has a touch of something like burnt raisins, but there is a bit of acidity here as well, which makes me think of burnt tamarind (if you can imagine such a thing). Aromatic notes of chocolate mix with something that makes me think of stale dark malts. That stale note may just be a mix of toasted grain aromatics and heavily roasted barley.

The beer is quite light on the palate, it is bone dry up front, but picks up a bit of malt sweetness by the end of a sip. The light sweetness accentuates a touch of chocolate in the flavor, but the dryness is accentuated by a roasted coffee burnt flavor that is found throughout this beer. A touch of roast grain acidity further dries things out in the finish, and it combines with the carbonation to give this beer a bit of a zing. All of the flavors and aromatics in this beer are, despite being fairly noticeable, quite light. This beer is ultimately quite quaffable, and the best way I can describe this beer is that it tastes like a light Schwarz-Bier. It is pretty tasty though, and I think that it would benefit from being sampled on tap at the corner bar.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2006 03:04:01 | More by Gueuzedude

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.85/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Acquired via trade from breity, so a big "Thank You" goes out to him. Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep black color, with a thin off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of roasted malts, coffee, lager yeast and a faint touch of hops.

T: The taste is malty but well-balanced with flavors of roasted coffee and dark chocolate up front but it's not overly sweet. There's a mild but complimentary hops presence. The after-taste is slightly bready and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium-to-high carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, mild kick, good representation of style, I found this beer to be surprisingly refreshing for a dark beer. It's definitely a beer worth drinking several of if you're in the mood for the style.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2008 03:05:40 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer was givent to me by a co-worker who did a trade with someone from Texas. I poured it out into a Sam Adams pint glass. The color was very dark brown with a light tan color head on top. The head had a good retentions which was impressive to me. The smell of the beer gives of a pretty typical roasted aroma with some lager yeast aromas. The taste is a little chocolaty and with the lager bitterness in the aftettaste. The flavors are better as the beer warms up a little. The mouthfeel is a little creamy, no bite to this one at all. Overall I found it to be a pretty nice Black Lager.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2011 23:23:03 | More by Knapp85

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.68/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Decided to try this since I saw the new packaging. Loved the labeling

Pours chestnut with reddish tinges & 2 fingers of tan head. Above average lacing & head retention

S: Roasted malt & licorice notes

T: Roasted malt, a bit of caramel & smokeyness up front. Dryness & some nice fruitty notes as this warms. Finishes dry, with slight sour notes & herbal hops, a bit of caramel & molasses

MF: Light/medium bodied with a little too much carbonation

Drinks good, but needs more malt backbone, still, this is better than I remember the 97 tasting

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2007 04:43:51 | More by russpowell

Gavage

New Jersey

3.45/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: pours a dark brown color with a short head. No lace develops.

Smell: light roasted chocolate tones come through to the nose.

Taste: mild roasted malt flavors, with some hints of chocolate, grass, and a soft bitterness.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Lightly crisp throughout.

Overall: an easy drinking black lager, but not overly exciting. Quenches your thirst on a hot day.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2012 19:58:24 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

3.73/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours black with dark brown hues around the edges. A fizzy thin head tops it off. Some lacing sticks.

The smell is grainy with a hint of coffee roast. Mild, earthy hops are in there.

The taste is of sweet chocolate and anise with mild coffee-like roast. A touch of hops is enough to balance thesweetness in the finish. The initial taste is very good; unfortunately it seems to die off, but holds up there enough to give it the higher of two scores I had in mind.

The carbonation makes this somewhat fizzy. The fizz calms down, but not much flavor lingers. It's not too thin. Easy enough to drink if you can get past the initial soda-like fizz.

This is a black lager with a good taste (that ends pretty abruptly). This is a "nice enough to enjoy" lager with nice "black" notes.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 20:18:22 | More by jwc215

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked up a single while in Fayettecille, AR.

I liked and enjoyed this beer despite the fact it wasn't terribly complexin the malt flavors. Basically there's a really nice roasted malt flavor that provides expresso and dried cocoa flavors. The yeast add a touch of fruitiness and there's also a nice balance of sweet malt sugar with the bitter roasted grains. Worth a try, pretty drinkable and overall a tasty brew.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2008 01:43:47 | More by tempest

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.35/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Again gotta love this little German style brewery from down in Texas and anyone who's ever driven through the lonestar state knows there basically two options that people drink as their local, Shiner Bock or Lonestar. Nice to see other German style popping up from them this one appears a dark cola ruby brown almost dark black nearly opaque...nice sized tan head dwindles rather quickly with light even lace that sticks to the glass well. Aromatics have alot of those dry slightly bitter dark chocolate roasted qualities mild watered down coffee with herbal hop traces going on. Flavor more watered down roastiness with dark chocolate cocoa powder and a subtle caramel sweetness with mild herbal hop finish overall a very light schwarzbier. Mouthfeel is light bodied evenly carbonated nothing too remarkable but definitely smooth going down . Drinkability is decent better than most dark style lagers around but I tend to want more flavor hell with Sam Adams Black Lager there's just no need to ever go for this one again.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2007 23:44:06 | More by WVbeergeek

Wasatch

Utah

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice black color, nice carbonation, nice little fizzy/creamy tan head, with some nice sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, sweet, slightly roasty. The taste is malty, slightly sweet, nutty, roasty. Medium Body, the finish is slightly bitter/dry. A pretty tasty brew.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2011 06:51:53 | More by Wasatch

Billolick

New York

3.29/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

12 ounce bottle, part ofthe newly arrived Shiner mix 12 pack box.

Pours near black, darker tan head that stays a spell. Leaving moderate strands of stick.

Nose is mildly of dark malts and a hint of coffee.

Dark malts, some dusty dark chocolate and some cola and thats about it. On the thin and watery side. Nothing special going on here as seems to be the case with all the shiner brews. Almost craft beer. One and done..

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2013 00:54:38 | More by Billolick

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

THanks to duff247.

Pours a lighter almost 1 finger fizzy head that fades semi quickly, over dark molasses mahogany brown color.

Nose of dark crystal malts, molasses, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, light roast, smooth brown malts, some light crisp lager fruit aromas.

Taste starts very porter-esque, light creamy dark malts, light oatmeal like, some hints of smoke, plenty of dark crystal malts, toffee, brown sugar, molasses, roast, some light grassy hops, slight bitterness, light crisp lager yeast and light fruits, smooth. Where are the hops? Finishes crisp with a bit of lingering sticky feel, hints of smoke and toffee linger. Pretty flat on the hops, if this were a dark ale it would be a lot better than trying to come off as though it has hops. As it goes I'm starting to get a bit of diacetyl, with hints of buttered popcorn and gritty dry toast.

Mouth is medium bodied with decent carbonation, a little slimy and stick though.

Drink is pretty good, dry crisp finish, smooth and light abv, very sessionable, bit of stickiness.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2011 04:57:56 | More by jlindros

ppoitras

Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle obtained via Local BIF from twiggamortis420. Thanks for the opportunity.

Poured into a pint glass, formed a 1" dark tan head above the clear burgundy brew. Head fades ever so slowly, with good lacing. Aroma is wisps of rich dark malt, but not enough. Taste is moderate dark sweetness, balancing bitterness, and a creamy close. Mouthfeel is smooth, and drinkability is easy. Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2010 22:51:13 | More by ppoitras

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First had: on tap at Elephant & Castle, Chicago, IL

Poured a nice, dark, cola brown with a wispy eggshell head that receded to a patchy layer. Dark roasty malts in the aroma with notes of coffee and sugar. More roasted malts in the taste, toffee, semisweet chocolate, and a coffee bitterness. Practically no hops detectable. Not as smooth as some schwarzbiers I've had, but I still liked it a lot. Medium-bodied, dry finish, and quite drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

06-17-2011 22:45:45 | More by Rifugium

DoubleJ

California

3.4/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

It's a battle of opposites; I'm never had a schwarzbier I didn't like, but this brewery's flagship beer (Shiner Bock) is the only beer I've tried from it, and Shiner Bock got nominated for a Razzie in the bock category. So on to this beer:

Pours out easy and hard into a standard pint glass, this beer has the appearance of cola brown, maybe a shade of black. The head is white with a little tan. Average aroma, mostly faded roasted flavors. Fortunately, the flavor is pretty good. Mild roasted malts, faint dark chocolate. Watery coffee. The hops form a light processed bitterness. Some astringency exists, but in this case it adds to the character of this brew.

This beer has restored some of my faith in this brewery. It's certainly better than the flagship Bock. Given its affordability and lack of balck lagers on the market, this might get a second purchase.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2008 03:09:21 | More by DoubleJ

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +25.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

I saw this on the shelf while visiting a DC liquor store over the weekend and thought that it might be a pleasant diversion from the CANQuest.

From the bottle: From the bottle: "This rare and deliscious style of beer is referred to in Germany as a Schwartzbier" or black beer."; "This handcrafted Bohemian black beauty is brewed with select roasted malts and imported hops."; "Every drop of Shiner is brewed in Shiner"; "Don't be Afraid of the Dark"; "Here in Shiner, Texas (pop. 2,070), we've been handcrafting beer since 1909. The passion of our original brewmaster, Kosmos Spoetzl, continues to inspire our efforts today. First brewed to commemorate our 97th anniversary, this Bohemian Black Lager remains true to the old-world heritage of the German and Czech immigrants who settled Shiner. Imported Czech Saaz and Syrian hops, and select roasted malts make this "Schwartzbier" our darkest brew yet. Prosit!"

The pour created two fingers' worth of light-brown/deep-tan head that quickly fell like Wile E. Coyote going over a cliff while holding an Acme Co. anvil. The label read: "Don't be Afraid of the Dark" and while I am not a shrinking violet, this beer might be scary to the uninitiated. They may have called it "Black" but it was really a deep, dark brown with beautiful ruby highlights. The nose was chocolaty with dried dark fruit, like raisins. I thought of a Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar, initially. Wow! Mouthfeel was a bit thin with only the CO2 giving it any real body. Nuts! Still, the taste was very pleasant - slightly chocolaty, slightly smoky, just right after a long workday. The finish was again chocolate with a light smokiness. The ABV made it a welcome addition to my day and I would definitely have it more often.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2010 20:58:00 | More by woodychandler