Black Bavarian - Sprecher Brewing Company

Offa

California

4.53/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This is a wodnerful schwarziber, complex, full of flaovur, yet very drinkable and smooth.

It's black, almost devoid of carbonation, and has a small, dense, light brown head that steadily thins to a foamy ring.

The aroma is rich, mostly roasted, chocolate, coffee, earth with elements of licorice and molasses.

The taste is similar to the aroma, but lighter. It has toasted malt, chocolate, coffee, licorice, other elements of flowers and spice, a tad like a little good root beer. It has a nice sweet-bitter balance. The flavour is strong and lasting, but incredibly smooth. Despite appearances, it is actually lightly carbonated and has a lively yet creamy feel, and is highly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2008 18:32:01 | More by Offa

yesyouam

New York

4.53/5  rDev +11%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Sprecher Black Bavarian is a solid black lager with a fluffy brown head. Wooden spice, sweet malt and roast are in the aroma. It's medium-full bodied and incredibly smooth with a slightly astringent finish. Big, chewy roasted malt is the flavor here. It's balanced, bold and simple. The wooden spice is in the taste too. It's almost a touch tart. This is very enjoyable-- a supreme lager!

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2009 22:19:37 | More by yesyouam

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.53/5  rDev +11%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This is another of tone77's big box o' beer that he dropped off recently in another local, in-person trade.

From the bottle: "This intensely dark Kulmbacher-style lager has a superb malt complexity with the distinctive flavor and aromas of caramelized and chocolate malts. A renonowned smoothness and a creamy, tan head make it a world champion."

I poured a couple of times, due to its desire to jump up to the top of the glass. Once it finished, I had a finger of dense, deep-brown head that sat atop the beer like a petulant child who refuses to go to their room when directed. I was going to spank it before i realized that it had the power to spank me tonight, Color was a deep, dark-brown that allowed just enough light to penetrate to show off its ruby highlights. Showoff! Mouthfeel was thick and creamy. Hey, is this a lager or a milkshake?!? The taste reminded me of Spike's request for dark chocolate-enrobed coconut eggs for Easter. Spike is NOT The Old Lady, but instead both a departmental colleague and my Lunch Duty partner. She helps me with the curriculum and I ply her with chocolate. In the meantime, this was a great pre-Easter beer. Dark chocolate, coconut, smoke and perhaps some wood all interacted to create a phenomenal lager. Finish was semi-sweet and I felt satiated on chocolate for the foreseeable future. Man, thanks to tone77 for a really memorable beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2013 00:56:40 | More by woodychandler

blackie

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

appearance: The pour into my imperial pint glass creates a big, fluffy, khaki head that recedes very slowly, and then persists in the form of a generous layer throughout the experience. The beer is a very dark brown in color.

smell: Though the beer is dark, the malt presence on the nose is somewhat subdued, as expected. At first I notice overripe bananas and banana bread, with some light caramel and milk chocolate notes in the background. The hop aroma is moderate. Smells good.

mouthfeel: The carbonation is on the lower end of the medium range, and very smooth. The body is medium, and very smooth and creamy.

taste: Delicious, subtle notes of milk chocolate and caramel on the tongue. Also subdued notes of roasted malt. Hop flavor is light, and the bitterness is just right...lingering into the finish with some roasted flavors.

drinkability: Definately easy drinking.

Picked up a single at Riley's while visiting Madison, WI. The characters 30108 FL 92701210 are printed on the neck of the bottle. Damn good beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2006 03:57:05 | More by blackie

scruffwhor

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Appearance- Pours a slowly rising to three finger head tha makes a slow recession to nothingness on the surface of my 16oz's of beer. Color is a deep, deep brown with some brownie/blood highlights.

Smell- Your are hit with complex malt aromas of smokey beech wood, toasty and roasty breads. With a lager like pop in the nostrils for the finish.

Taste- Strta out with mostly roost, but then you catch resurging waffs of smoke intermitant with a middle of toasty malts and a little burnt lager like grass flavors in the end.

Mouthfeel- The malts were awesome moving over my mouth. They mixed well with my garlic enveloped pizza. A little cloying...maybe. The malts I mean.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2006 03:24:24 | More by scruffwhor

Erdinger2003

Iowa

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours a nice head that doesn't dissapate easily and leaves a little lacing behind. It's black and beautiful. The smell is coffee roasted malts that are great. The taste is a bit bitter, but not overly bitter with coffee taste. The mouthfeel is pretty smooth. Overall this is my favorite lager to date, so I will be having more.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2007 05:44:50 | More by Erdinger2003

AmberMan22

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a near black with ruby highlights, Head is a frothy khaki/tan that disappears a little too quickly. Lacing is nice and pretty.

The smell is a robust, toasty and smoky chocolate malt notes are readily present.

The taste really is wonderful. A smoky heaven of dark roasted malt that leaves a little lingering bitterness.

The carbonation is maybe a little too strong for my liking, but it doesn't ruin overall mouthfeel, which is medium+ bodied, and feels warm and comforting on a chilling evening.

I do love this beer, and it makes for a perfect winter sipper. Glad I'm back in WI where they have this on tap at a bunch of places. Gotta be one of my favorite beers.

Serving type: on-tap

01-31-2010 00:37:46 | More by AmberMan22

GhostMtnAbbey

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Strong notes of plums, milk chocolate and raisins.

Pours with an amber head that doesn't last long. Lacing could be better.

A pleasant bitterness mixed with deep roasted malts and dark fruits. The blend tends to hold together great in mouth for a round sipping experience.

The best of Sprecher I've had so far.

I'd buy this one again.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2010 02:05:27 | More by GhostMtnAbbey

moester13

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A: Great looking pour, pitch black with a finger of tan head. Good retention and nice looking lacing.

S: Dark and toasty malts with hints of nutty caramel.

T: Delicious dark roasted malt sweetness upfront, with an excellent lingering chocolate bitterness and hints of toasty caramel.

M: Full bodied, very smooth.

D: A nice alternative for porter fans. Very smooth and not as filling

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2010 00:16:40 | More by moester13

tavernjef

Minnesota

4.47/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Color pours brown out of the stubbie brown pint bottle, settles nearly black, has a definate deep brown tone up to the light with ruby highlights. An inch high tan head of loose bubbly spongyness grew fast but faded nearly just as fast to a thin ring and minimal spotty lace.

Nose is roasty malts, slightly tangy of dark fruits and molasses with a touch of chocolate and light mustyness.

Has a complex mix of malts with alot of roastyness, has a bit of caramel and molasses, a very light touch of chocolate and very mild bitterness, quite smooth the whole way through. Some slight dark fruity tangyness and a smokey burntness pokes through close to the finish. Very subtle and well layered in its complexity.

Feel is solid medium body smoothness picks up some fullness in the middle and finishes smooth, lightly crisp with a mellow tangy smokey lingering dryness. An incredibly drinkable, yummy showing of the style; well rounded and smooth.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2003 01:11:54 | More by tavernjef

ppoitras

Massachusetts

4.47/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

16ozer bottle from prepackaged mixed 8-pack from Yankee Spirits, Sturbridge, MA.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1/2 inch tall latte-hued head which quickly faded to a small layer of foam. Very dark in color, yet still the slightest of translucency in this brew. Heavy malt nose, with coffee and burnt amlts predominant. Excellent malty flavor, with undertones of coffee, yet smooth like silk. Drinkability is superb, an excellent offering from Sprecher, my definite favorite of the 8-pack.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2004 21:47:40 | More by ppoitras

meathookjones

Virginia

4.47/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A big thanks to goes to Ben for this tasty brew. Pours out pitch black with a good sized foamy tan head. Decent retention and lacing are left around the glass. Roasty chocolate malts are in full force with a great caramel sweetness backing it up. Some bitter dark chocolate and a small amount of dark fruits aromas are in there as well. Very rich aroma. Taste starts off with a dose of caramel before the huge roastiness comes through. Chocolate is noted as well and this ends with a nice bitter roasty finish. Mouthfeel is medium and very rich and creamy. Goes down quite smooth, I could drink a large number of these. I wish I had a large number to drink as this would make a great session brew. This is really an excellent example of the style really wowed me.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2005 18:14:56 | More by meathookjones

alexgash

Connecticut

4.47/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Dark, oily brown with cola-amber edges that barely let the light pass. Light creamy tan head.

Charred, toasted, roasted malt/barley. Soda-like sweetness rises above somehow. Molasses, a little smoke, and coffee bitterness.

Balanced sweetness and toasted bitterness up front. Scorched brown sugar perhaps? Roasted, smoky bitterness pervades. Very nice. Light warming alcohol in the finish with lingering malt and roasted bitterness.

Medium plus body with an oily feel.

Muy bien!

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2006 23:05:35 | More by alexgash

SkinnyElvis

Pennsylvania

4.47/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Thanks to Vancer for this beer of my wants for the BA Anny Club. Pours dark black with a thin head. Nice smell of malts. Rich malt taste with a hint of sweetness. If I tasted this blind, I would have thought it was a well done porter. Extremely drinkable beer. I would drink this all of the time if I could get it.

Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2007 13:48:21 | More by SkinnyElvis

Gavage

New Jersey

4.47/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Apeparance: pours a dark black color with a 2" tan colored head that lasts for a long while.

Smell: chocolates, caramel, and malt sweetness are easy to detect by the nose well outside the glass.

Taste: soft roasted malt profile with some chocolate, caramel, molassess, and a hint of plum sweetness makes up most of the flavor profile. Some soft bitterness balances it out.

Mouthfeel: crisp at the start, smooth towards the finish. Very brief aftertaste. Medium bodied beer.

Drinkability: bold flavors make up a nicely drinkable beer. This bottle was consumed quite quickly and too bad there wasn't another one around.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2007 12:51:57 | More by Gavage

tgbljb

Pennsylvania

4.47/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured a very deep reddish-brown color with moderate tannish head.

Smell is loaded with chocolate, coffee, chicory, licorice, and roasted malt. Very strong and very nice.

Taste is also superb. Strong notes of coffee, dark chocolate, and roasted malt abound. The finish shows a nice balancing dryness and is the perfect ending for this beer.

Leaves a nice dry sensation in the mouth that beckons for another taste.

Really a great beer.Part of a sampler pack from my visit to Illinois so I don;t know if I will ever try it again.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2008 21:47:03 | More by tgbljb

opwog

Minnesota

4.47/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Now listening to: Joe Walsh - Life's Been Good

A- The color lives up to the name; black as night with a tan dark chocolaty head
S- Toasted malts, toffee...very appealing!
T- Just like the nose, only add black coffee to the taste. Really killer!
M- This is medium bodied, which is surprising for the depth of the taste and aroma. Normally I might say too thin for the taste profile, but in this case it all comes together perfectly!
D- I could sit back with these all night, except that I have a plane to catch in the morning :(

Serving type: on-tap

12-02-2008 04:45:45 | More by opwog

weatherdog

Illinois

4.47/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

16oz bottle poured into an oversized wine glass

It pours a dark dark brown almost black with a small 1 finger head that dies to a small perimeter of bubbles around the glass.

Dark chocolate malt dominated the smell. There is also a heavy residual sweetness attached similar to an RIS.

The taste has a lot of coffee undertones but then it gets into this heavy chocolate/ caramel malts. Once again I can't help but comparing this to a lagered RIS. There is a large back end sweetness like an RIS but it finishes amazingly dry and crisp which is where the lager characteristic shines through. Its really an interesting taste and I'm enjoying the familiar rich RIS taste with a lager finish; very enjoyable

The mouthfeel is full bodied and rich but my the carbonation is too high for the richness and distracts from the taste. The weird thing is this drinks very similar to 8-10%ABV RIS with all the richness but is less than 6%. Usually it is the other way around. What this means to me is although I am sipping this in a pace similar to an RIS I was able to have three 16oz. bottles in one night without feeling full or drunk which was a huge plus.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2010 17:57:15 | More by weatherdog

tjd112

New Jersey

4.47/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Presentation - Poured into River Horse glass

Appearance - Very dark black, off-white head that retains well and has somewhat filmy lacing

Smell - Very roasty, malty smell

Taste - Hints of chocolate, caramel, and chestnuts, sorta black forest cake

Mouthfeel - Medium to heavy, somewhat dry

Drinkability - Could have one or two of these at a time

Overall - A solid Schwarzbier

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2010 19:24:18 | More by tjd112

ManekiNeko

Virginia

4.45/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

16 oz. bottle served chilled in a pint glass.

Appearance: Dark black color with crimson highlights. Nice frothy brown head that stuck around in some form or another as the glass was emptied. Wee bits of lacing were left for short periods of time.

Smell: Bittersweet dark chocolate malt and molasses aromas are quite strong, some coffee notes. Cain't wait to take a sip.

Taste: The aroma delivers on its promise. Bittersweet - with emphasis on bitter - chocolate malt flavors dominate the palate. Faint bittering hops on the finish: just enough to support the malts without getting too strong.

Mouthfeel: Not as heavy as I was expecting, not that I'm complaining... Pretty much medium bodied. Somewhere between an IPA and a porter in heaviness, basically.

Drinkability: Rather potable. This would definitely be one to have lying around were it available in my neighborhood. One of the better bottles from a recent trade. Thanks to feloniousmonk for the opportunity to sample a world class beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2003 00:04:45 | More by ManekiNeko

rhoadsrage

Illinois

4.45/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

(Served in a 2L Boot)

A- This beer has a black thick body with a creamy thick head that last and last. No sign of carbonation in this dark body.

S- This beer has a dark roasted malt smell that is smooth and light with an earthy note to the malt There is a faint cream note in the background.

T- This beer has a dark malt flavor that is not bitter and very drinkable. There is a faint black grain note and a chocolate malt flavor that gets stronger as it warms. There is a faint noble hop bitterness at the finish that offers a nice compliment to all the malt flavors. As it warms some hints of molasses and prunes come through but they are dry more that sweet notes.

M- The mouthfeel is medium-light with a creamy texture in the finish that is light also.

D- This beer has nice complexity but is smooth and light making it very easy to drink. The chocolate malt and cream offer a great flavor without being overpowering or sweet.

Serving type: on-tap

06-29-2006 22:50:15 | More by rhoadsrage

supercolter

Minnesota

4.45/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This was a fantastic beer. It was the last of my sampler pack and I couldn't be more excited to have my second.
Appearnce is the only flaw here, black like coffee, like night black, but little head or lacing.
Smell and taste are delicious with slightly sweet malt mixed with coffee, and burnt chocolate.
This beer is medium-heavy.
Drinkability is excellent.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2007 03:56:07 | More by supercolter

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.45/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Pint bottle into a Duvel tulip.

A: A temperate pour results in a perfect 2" head that crests above the rim of the glass and very slowly melts into a solid cap, leaving a good amount of light lacing behind. The body is appropriately black with clear garnet highlights when illuminated directly. Quite nice indeed.

S: All malt here, with caramel and chocolate managing to be both sweet and crisp at the same time. Very clean and pleasant, if not overly complex or deep.

T: Quite restrained and tightly-constructed on the palate, with caramel malt and dry lager yeast combining to provide a very smooth flavor. Again, nothing pyrotechnic, but beautifully simple and simply beautiful.

M: Eminently smooth, with a medium body and plenty of soft carbonation. Excellent.

D: I'm glad this comes in pint bottles instead of 12-ouncers.

Notes: This is by far the best Schwarzbier I've ever had, and really defines the style as far as I'm concerned. Leave it to Wisconsin to produce a top-notch German style lager.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2010 16:09:52 | More by woosterbill

JohnQVegas

Tennessee

4.45/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Bottle into Sam Smith imperial pint glass. Very happy to see these guys make their way into Tennessee.

Pours ruby brown around the edges with a deep black body, and a thin creamy light khaki head on top. Head settles into a thin, solid cap on top, with decent retention and not much in the way of lacing.

Nose is textbook Shwarzbier. Sharp, almost burnt roastiness is surprisingly smooth, clean, with an almost woody ash character to it, and just a bit of underlying richness.

Taste is the same mellow, smooth lightly-roasty acidity, with an underpinning of just a bit of baker's cocoa. Nice molasses-like sweetness really mellows this one out in a delicious way. Dry finish has just a trace of ash. Beautifully done, very satisfying in the cold winter without being as heavy or full-bodied as a porter or stout.

Mouthfeel is slick, silky, just a bit creamy. Very light, tiny bubbled carbonation provides the perfect amount of tingle. Drinkability is class-defining - delicious, balanced, and mouthfeel is just spot on. Truly a great example of one of my all-time favorite styles.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2011 22:10:36 | More by JohnQVegas

matjack85

Illinois

4.45/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

I found this single 16oz brown bottle at the Binny's store in Plainfield, IL for $2.19. A little bit of information about the beer can be found on the neck label, but as far as any freshness date goes, there is only an undecipherable bunch of numbers and letters etched into the glass under the neck label, so no telling how fresh this bottle is unless you can understand that code.

The beer poured out black, as you would expect from a schwarzbier, but this one gave off purple highlights when held to the light. Nice 1½-finger creamy tan head with good retention and a tremendous amount of lacing. A good looking black beer.

Big burnt roasted malt smell along with some caramel and a touch of coffee.

Lots of flavor to this one. Burnt roasted malt leads the way, followed by some coffee flavor, a touch of caramel, and even some bittersweet dark chocolate. Enough mild hop presence to keep it from being too sweet, in fact it leans more to the dry side with even a bit of puckering tartness. A damn good mix.

Creamy, but not heavy. The beer stays on the light to medium side of things with just a medium amount of carbonation. I found the mouthfeel to be absolutely perfect.

Drinkability is great with absolutely no trace of alcohol at all. By far the best Sprecher product I've tasted yet.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2011 05:47:14 | More by matjack85