Schwarz - Heater Allen Brewing

jdense

Oregon

4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at The BeerMongers PDX 1.13.11.

Dark, more black than dark brown, opaque body, light brown head, medium dissipation with silightly above average lacing. A bit of light roast in the nose balanced by floral hops. Taste features light roast which got more assertive as the beer warmed, some nuttiness and floral hops in the end, minimal bitterness. Mouthfeel is light side of medium, about right for style, dry finish. Nice, drinkable, sessionable, worth a try.

Serving type: on-tap

01-14-2012 19:20:07 | More by jdense

cosmic-ray

Iowa

4.25/5  rDev +9.3%

05-05-2013 13:46:16 | More by cosmic-ray

artoolemomo

Oregon

4.25/5  rDev +9.3%

03-31-2013 23:03:22 | More by artoolemomo

HopHead84

California

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

2/16/2013

Bomber into a Moonlight pint glass. Thanks!

A: Medium dark brown with ruby highlights when held to light. The pour yields three fingers of persistent beige froth. Lacing is everywhere.

S: Light roasted malt presence with a little nuttiness and a touch of caramel. Very clean with an evident noble hop presence and an almost coffee-like complexity.

T: Roasted grains with notes of bitter and lightly sweet chocolate. The roastiness gives a subtle impression of coffee. Upper low level of bitterness throughout. The beer finishes dry, grainy, and clean with lingering chocolate, roast, and bitterness.

M: Upper light body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is smooth.

Overall: A well done Schwarzbier. Very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2013 21:11:53 | More by HopHead84

1whiskey

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%

01-28-2013 04:00:06 | More by 1whiskey

nmann08

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%

01-17-2013 01:49:51 | More by nmann08

DefenCorps

Oregon

4.25/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

After a week on Nyquil, Dayquil and Tylenol, it's nice to get some beer in. Bottle from Belmont Station.

In my Sam Adams Perfect Pint glass, this beer sits an extremely dark brown/almost black with dark reddish brown highlights, and is capped with a remarkably short-lived beige head that leaves little lacing. The nose is excellent. A near-perfect blend of roast, grain, acidity and sweetness (fruity and grainy), this is wonderful stuff. Just a wee bit of char, and a mild hoppiness are present.

The palate is a reflection of the balance of the nose. Opening moderately roasty with a touch of grainy acidity with minimal char and no acridity, these flavors segue into a mild dark (very dark) caramel sweetness. This sweetness is tempered by the roast, bringing to mind dark fruits (plum skins?). Drying on the finish with a lingering roast, the mouthfeel on this beer is nonpareil. Light and supple, creamy but with a firming acidity (from the grains and the carbonation), the smoothness on the palate shows exceptional finesse, especially when the ABV is considered. Marvelous stuff, highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2012 04:07:29 | More by DefenCorps

bluckbeyes

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%

09-15-2012 16:58:42 | More by bluckbeyes

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.6/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I have to say, I'm pretty sure I picked this out of the cooler at Belmont Station in Oregon because of the label. Especially with the other two beers from the brewery next to it, it's particularly compelling and striking.

Pours a clear, quite bright black-brown hue, with a frothy, insubstantial, but believable head of scungy white. Decent body and carbonation. Looks fair enough.

Nose is pleasantly balanced between crisp dark malts and a golden freshness of slightly herbal hops. It has a wholemeal, wheaten character to it, cut with a pleasant brightness. Not bad.

Taste is light but also pleasant. Crisp grain comes through with a light feel and a lingering greenness around the back. Slight bitterness makes it feel like a hoppier than usual dark lager, and the feel is pleasantly light and biting.

Very decent schwarzbier. It has a pleasant crispness and lightness to it, while maintaining some grips on its genesis as a dark beer. It's not particularly big or complex, but it serves its purpose well.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2012 00:07:10 | More by lacqueredmouse

vkv822

Oregon

3.7/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22oz bottle into tulip snifter.

Pours black with a thin, bubbly tan head.

Lightly smoky, roasty malts blended with some espresso notes.

Espresso, cocoa and an almost sweet smokiness.

Light to medium body, soft carbonation.

A pleasant schwarzbier, just enough smokiness to add some complexity without becomming overwhelming.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 09:02:41 | More by vkv822

shelby415

Oregon

4/5  rDev +2.8%

02-25-2012 07:39:19 | More by shelby415

ygtbsm94

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -10%

01-30-2012 07:54:31 | More by ygtbsm94

seanthornton152

Oregon

4/5  rDev +2.8%

11-17-2011 07:02:08 | More by seanthornton152

ottovon

Arizona

4.05/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours out an opaque black with a thin tan head.

S: I get lots of chocolate and some roasted malt. there is coffee and a little smoke as well. dark fruits, raisins, and molasses.

T: chocolate, almost like a tootsie roll I get molasses and roasted malt. there is a small amount of smoke and raisins.

M: thin body with low carbonation.

O: a really good beer. I would definitely buy this again.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2011 04:01:08 | More by ottovon

Phelps

Arizona

4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bomber shared by Ottovon, into a snifter. Heater Allen’s a little brewery in Oregon that does German lagers and ONLY German lagers — a dying art these days.

The color’s a mostly opaque cherry wood, though some amber highlights are visible. Very short-lived head of light khaki becomes a thin ring and leaves skinny rings of lace.

The nose: smoky pork and dark chocolate, met with lots of sourdough and coffee.

Clean, unadulterated flavor: bitter dark chocolate, sourdough, light roast coffee. Smoky pork and molasses are also there. Subtle sweetness. Very clean finish.

Medium-light body with very gentle carbonation and a subtle fizziness. The finish is just dry enough to keep you going back for another sip.

As another taster kept exclaiming, this is one “poundable” brew. The perfect amount of roastiness and a good blend of flavors makes this one of the better schwarzbiers I’ve had, in or out of Germany.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2011 05:06:37 | More by Phelps

Reidrover

Oregon

4.08/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

22 oz. bottle from Roth’s Sunnyside Market, S.Salem. $4.29 black beer, with an excellent tan head, that seems so thick and creamy. Malty chocolate milk aromas, with a subtle hazlenut back ground. Taste is of mild esspresso coffee, semi-sweet chocolate and gooey caramel. Nice. Ok on the palate..has low carbonation, which i liked. Overall a very nice easy going beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2011 02:22:25 | More by Reidrover

chumba526

Oregon

3.55/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Appears black with a thin brown head.

Smells sweet and full of smoky malts.

It tastes of caramel sweetness, smoky malts. It is a little reminiscent of dark chocolate or coffee.

The carbonation is moderately low.
The sweetness and the smokiness are balanced nicely so the drinkability is quite high.

Overall a well made beer and a nice tasting beer but not my favorite from Heater Allan. It is better than most Schwarz biers but is nothing truly amazing. Worth trying though.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2010 17:12:05 | More by chumba526

cavedave

New York

4.05/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to Matt who broke out this beauty at HT today. My first try of this style from my favorite brew state.

Pours a pure black, opaque, topped by a quick to vanish beige head. Some lace on the glass. Nice look.

Smell is a light/med. aroma, mild tart yeast, chocolate, coffee, even some floral/spicy hop in there.

Taste is a remarkable balance of chocolate malt, coffee notes, roasty notes, nice floral leading to the finish, and a pleasantly juicy finish of very mild bitter and floral. There is a bit of tart in this, but it is well tamed, and the result is a mix of understated flavors that is freaking delicious.

Low carb., easy on the palate, clean flavors, beautiful finish. Excellent mouthfeel.

This easy drinking beauty could be prodigiously consumed on a hot day such as today. If this is what this style is like I want MORE.

Impression: Yet another superb beer requiring cross country travel to revisit.

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2010 22:42:53 | More by cavedave

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Split a bomber with a friend and had this back to back with the Heater Allen Dunkel. That beer is a tough act to follow, but this is still quite a nice beer. My only gripe is that while the Dunkel was very true to style, this tasted more like a porter, with more roast than a typical Schwarzbier. Still, it held more than a enough lovely cocoa flavor to win me over.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2010 20:20:21 | More by tempest

mjl21

California

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Purchased at Belmont Station in Portland. 22 ounce bottle poured into a snifter. No bottling or abv info is given.

A-Pours an extremely dark brown that lets a hint of light through. It has a bubbly one finger sandy head that leaves some decent streaks of lace.

S-Lots of roast malt and smoky aroma. Coffee is apparent along with a tad bit of sweet malt.

T-Initially it has a nice bit of sweetness before quickly giving way to coffee and smokey/roast flavors. The smokey/roast dominates as it goes down and is the dominant flavor in between sips. The sweetness stays on the tongue in between sips which reults in the beer not completely drying out my mouth.

M-It falls on the lighter end of the medium spectrum. It has a soft carbonation level and is smooth and creamy.

D-A really good version of the style and is not super dry. You can tell that a lot of craftmanship is put into this beer.

I had never heard of HA and this was a recommendation of one of the Belmont employees. It is a really good lager and I would seek it out again.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2009 22:28:31 | More by mjl21

Spikester

Oregon

4.2/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I bought this hard to find black beer at Market of Choice in West Linn, Oregon.
Pour dark brown almost black with a one finger tan head. Has a good amount of lacings. Aroma is caramel malts. Taste is bold dark malts with a matching amount of earthy, leathery hops. Perfect balance.
Mouthfeel is pure silk with just enough carbonation to prick the tongue.
Nothing bold or unusual about this beer but I enjoyed it very much. Delicious black beer. Drinkability is very good due to the under 5% abv. I could drink many of these beers.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2009 06:44:57 | More by Spikester

RedDiamond

Oregon

3.1/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

If you shine a flashlight through it, you can draw out some ruby highlights. Otherwise, this black lager is indeed black. It is casually sweet with some hints of molasses and a bit of roast in the finish along with retained maltose. Its light, estery aroma is too frail to dwell on.

Reasonably enjoyable but somewhat indistinct and far from exciting.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2008 02:12:22 | More by RedDiamond

Metalmonk

North Carolina

3.95/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Schwarz and schwarz can be, this thing is quite lovely, with a stout-like cap of foamy foam on top. Not much lace, and a quick thinning of the head.

Aroma is nothing special, has that typical lager-ness to it, with a very mild hint of roasted malt inside of that. Try as I might, it's not leaving much of an impression, but there's nothing bad about it either.

Flavor is very good: a pinch of anise, coffee bitterness, dark fruit sugars, lactic goodness, and a big juicy/creamy mouthfeel that delivers the flavors beautifully. Coffee hangs around in the finish...seems like morning.

Another great lager from Heater-Allen that will turn the heads of lager-lovers and lager-disbelievers alike. There's nothing more to say--it's simply very good.

Thanks to msubulldog25 for this rare treat.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2008 00:04:01 | More by Metalmonk

msubulldog25

Oregon

3.85/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Another of the fresh bottles dropped off by brewer Rick Allen, just before Thanksgiving. This 22 oz. pours to a pint glass.

The H-A website describes as: "This is our interpretation of the little known Schwarzbier, or “black beer” of Germany...when I brew this, I use a lot of flavorful amber malts, and just enough black malt to get the color right – a total of nine different malts in all. The beer’s rich malt/espresso aroma, leads to complex malt, caramel, chocolate, and espresso flavors. There’s just enough hop bitterness to keep everything in balance. (1.014 BG, 4.8%, 36 IBU, 29 SRM)"

My review:

A: Deep, deep brown opacity - nears blackness but for a scant amber-hued thinning toward the edges. Modest bubbliness atop, visible in just that lightest portion; head is very slim, creamy/fizzy and light but with a short span of retention. Leaves a pencil thin trim of light rusty-tan and virtually no lace.

S: This one smells malty, with notes of sugared dark fruit, caramel and smoked grain. Unfortunately, to me it's also pretty metallic (beyond typical 'lager yeast' smell), like a kettle after a good steel wool scrubbing. This twang mellows as the beer warms; still it's worth noting.

T: Malty caramel sweetness upfront, then developing a deeper and more bitter roasted-ness. Dark chocolate and coffee grounds are really strong in the backing. Hops add a slightly sharp citrus zest, but don't entirely cut through the grainy roasting. It's balanced well between hops and dark malts, just a little heavy with bittering in the finish.

M: Light-to-medium body initially, modest carbonation. This became surprisingly heavy as a sticky maltiness crept up; my experience with the schwarzbier style is that it's mildly toasty/husky, yet clean finishing; this one is more clingy, almost chewy. Leaves a lasting coffee bittering.

D: Pretty good beer, definitely worth a try. Not my favorite of the Heater-Allen brews I've tasted so far, but one I'll return to for more evaluating/enjoying. Flavors are good, but mouthfeel and aroma are not quite as pleasing as I'd hoped for. Or, this may be one that needs to grow on me, as I'll admit my experience with this interesting style is relatively limited...it's a fine, sessionable lager (under 5%) that I'll be having again (2 more in the cellar).

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2007 02:01:19 | More by msubulldog25