Ringneck Dark Helmet Imperial Schwarzbier - The Brew Kettle Taproom & Smokehouse / Production Works

baconman91

Ohio

5/5  rDev +33.7%

05-31-2012 19:53:53 | More by baconman91

jaasen64

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-09-2013 12:26:29 | More by jaasen64

wyatt13

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

05-03-2013 18:11:13 | More by wyatt13

Bonis

Ohio

4/5  rDev +7%

04-06-2013 05:34:24 | More by Bonis

Goblinmunkey7

Massachusetts

2.73/5  rDev -27%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Appearance: Deep garnet/dark brown. Perfectly clear. Small light tan head drops to a tiny cap and slightly larger collar in short order. Some splotches of lacing.

Smell: Vaguely roasted with a strong grassy, leafy hop profile. Lager yeast is clean. Some minor chocolate malts in the back. Some dark fruit, unripe plum mostly. Slight smokiness in the back. Tiny backing spiciness.

Taste: Sweeter than expected. Raisins and milk chocolate sweetness. Some cocoa and chocolate malts. Caramel malt sweetness as well. Clean lager yeast. A touch of corn with a good bit of grass. Black licorice laced with some extra sugar. Warming adds even more sweetness. Cola syrup, caramel, even more licorice. Some minor roasted malts.

Mouthfeel: Body runs on the light side of medium. Lively carboation. Slick on the tongue. Some lingering dryness on the finish.

Overall: Lacking something cohesive. Roasted cola mess.

Missed the mark for the style. Oddly sweet and lacking that roasted lager thing almost entirely. It's not really a bad beer, but it's not what it claims to be and warming almost kills it.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 23:52:09 | More by Goblinmunkey7

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

It's amazing how much an imperial schwarzbier tastes like a baltic porter.

Upon pulling the bottle out of the fridge, I started pondering which Space Balls joke I could post here. "Their schwartz is bigger than yours."

This is a pretty thick beer. And really, everything about it screams baltic porter to me. I like this one a lot. Pick it up if you see it.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2013 05:32:22 | More by RblWthACoz

speedvagen

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +20.3%

02-28-2013 04:48:17 | More by speedvagen

sixerofelixir

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +20.3%

02-27-2013 19:16:39 | More by sixerofelixir

Lukass

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +20.3%

02-27-2013 01:16:33 | More by Lukass

oline73

Maryland

3.05/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Poured from the bottle into a Sam Adams perfect pint.

Pours a very dark brown with a small layer of off white head. The head goes away rather quickly. The nose is sweet with a smokey undertone. I'm getting some dark fruit and a cocoa note. There is a lot of malt in the flavor, but I would say that the smoke ends up being the dominant taste in the finish. There is a dark fruit note and a malt sweetness. Reminds me a little bit of a strong brown ale that has had a cigar dropped in it.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2013 03:15:50 | More by oline73

JimmyFlatRock

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%

02-25-2013 22:42:51 | More by JimmyFlatRock

Brownsfan13

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +13.6%

02-25-2013 01:00:33 | More by Brownsfan13

brandoman63

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +13.6%

01-30-2013 04:45:26 | More by brandoman63

zac16125

Florida

3.38/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into a pilsner glass
no born on date

This is my first schwarzbier, as I generally stay away from the lager styles, but received this in a trade (was supposed to get White Rajah and received this instead).

A: Pours a thin appearing cola brown, with some reddish hues when held to light and 1.5 fingers width of light tan colored head. Leaves a few random patches of spotty lacing.

S: Dark fruit sweetness, some spice, black licorice, raisin. Smells Belgium, like a Dubbel or a low end Quad. Hints of chocolate and roasted malt. Surprisingly nice.

T: Very sweet taste. Chocolate and dark fruits, a bit of roasted flavor. I dont get much else, just a huge sweetness. Nice at first, but it does become a bit cloying.

M/D: Medium bodied, low carbonation, no hint of the ABV. Drinkability is fair, limited by the sweetness.

O: Interesting beer here. I generally love me some high ABV dark beers, but this one just didn't do it for me. I would probably drink it again if someone gave it to me, but its not something Id purchase. Wish he would have sent me the White Rajah.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 02:07:00 | More by zac16125

deapokid

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

10-28-2012 16:24:55 | More by deapokid

whodeyvols

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%

10-27-2012 01:57:42 | More by whodeyvols

gpawned

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%

09-02-2012 00:42:17 | More by gpawned

thebouch01

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%

07-23-2012 01:20:00 | More by thebouch01

AndrewK

California

4/5  rDev +7%

07-12-2012 22:39:43 | More by AndrewK

AwYeh

California

1.95/5  rDev -47.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

A: Pours a deep, dark cola-brown/black with nearly no head. A few carbonation bubbles flow up along the slides of the glass, but other than that this is consistently dark– pretty intimidating.

S: Chocolate malts and a bit of roasted malts are on the good side of the smell, but alcohol and a black licorice smell that's much like permanent marker really overpower them. Unfortunately, I'm trying to avoid smelling this one too much as I drink it.

T: The odd marker flavor is gone here, allowing the quite sweet chocolate and roasted malts to be joined by flavors of cola, licorice, molasses, caramel, coffee, cream, and vanilla. Finish is extremely sweet, and a very light, roasted bitterness comes in at its end. Cola begins to dominate as the beer warms, which led to the beer becoming cloying before my glass was finished; I'm almost preferring smell to taste at the end.

M: Thin to medium-bodied and rather lively carbonated. Finish is partially dry, while still leaving a sticky mouth coating behind. Mouthfeel seems quite appropriate for the style.

O: This beer seemed rather unbalanced to me, with sweet cola and licorice really dominating the flavor profile as the glass went on, making it rather cloying. I would have liked to been able to enjoy the other flavors present, and maybe seen more bitterness coming from hops. Though it would be a totally different style if it even exists, this seems like what an imperial cream ale might taste like. If you're a fan of really sweet beers (or hey, pop/soda in general, which is usually too sweet for me) this one might be worth your time. I remain curious about the bready, fruity characteristics that many other reviewers noted but didn't seem apparent in my glass– maybe I'll need to revisit this, far off in the future.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2012 06:19:22 | More by AwYeh

mater

Ohio

4/5  rDev +7%

06-19-2012 06:07:51 | More by mater

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep amber to black in color with an off white head. In the aroma, sweet caramel and a small fruitiness. In the taste, a roasty note of caramel and a fruity sweetness. A small bite, but mainly smooth, and a medium to lighter bodied mouthfeel, with a small dry fruitiness in the aftertaste. Nice balance between the fruit and the roast, a nice body and very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2012 18:48:05 | More by OWSLEY069

jstewart1130

Ohio

4/5  rDev +7%

06-11-2012 01:39:49 | More by jstewart1130

WesM63

Ohio

3.9/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a Deschues tulip.

A: Pours near pitch black with a tiny 1/2 finger mocha head.

S: Pure malt goodness. Maybe a hint of chocolate and coffee with some alcohol.

T: Spot on the nose. Super sweet malts with a hint of chocolate, coffee and some alcohol to finish it off.

M: Medium body and carbonation.

O: Interesting flavor. I was expecting more of a Black Ale/IPA, this is not that. Still, very good. Smooth and very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2012 01:26:54 | More by WesM63

SaintJonah

Ohio

4/5  rDev +7%

06-05-2012 18:56:36 | More by SaintJonah