BREWtality - Espresso Black Bier - Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

largadeer

California

4.1/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Black and completely opaque with a thin cap of dark tan. Espresso on the nose - that's about it. No real malt to speak of, just intensely overpowering espresso. It's nicely expressed, however, and doesn't smell like a stale cup of coffee. The flavor is equally coffee-forward, but the base beer thankfully shines through a bit more. Chocolatey malt, light bittering hops and a touch of molasses shine past the punchy espresso flavor, though just barely. Bitter, semi-dry finish.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2009 22:29:18 | More by largadeer

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.1/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A: Pours a clear very dark brown in color (approaching but not quite black) with minimal amounts of visible carbonation and some cola brown highlights. The beer has a minimal amount of light tan head that quickly reduces to a very thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of freshly brewed coffee with some lighter amounts of roasted malts.

T: Upfront there are light to moderate flavors of roasted malts with some moderate to strong amounts of freshly brewed coffee. Just a touch of malty sweetness. Moderate amounts of bitterness in the finish that lingers for a short amount of time.

M: Slightly heavier than medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation.

O: The alcohol is well hidden and this beer is easy to drink - definitely the best schwarzbier that I have ever had. Wonderful flavors and aromas of coffee.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 21:03:56 | More by dbrauneis

metter98

New York

4.05/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A: The beer is jet black in color. It poured with a thin tan head that dissipated almost instantaneously, leaving only some wispy laces of bubbles on the surface and a thin collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderate amounts of coffee and dark malts are present in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of coffee, dark malts and dark malts along with some hints of malty sweetness. No bitterness or roasted malts are present.
M: It feels a little more than medium-bodied and clean on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is a refreshing change of pace for lovers of coffee beers as it drinks smooth and has virtually no bitterness or roasted flavors. It also hides its alcohol rather well.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 21:00:42 | More by metter98

Greywulfken

New York

4/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: black body with barely translucent brown edges; finger or two of dark tan foam that slipped away into a slim collar

S: espresso-like scents, some roasted dark malt

T: a different flavor than American black ales - the malts aren't as dominant, and bitter flavors are lighter and sharper; espresso flavors are the most obvious, background chocolate and mild roastiness; vanilla and maple (?) accents

M: thinner, slimmer, and lighter than most beers this dark would be; slick, bitterness has a tartness that lingers; mild carbonation; heavier abv than you'd think, because it is well-masked - only a little alcohol astringency slips out; has a wine-like quality

O: the only German black beer (bier) I've had - som my flavor comparisons are mostly from American black ales, as well as ales from the porter and stout family... I thought it a nice beer - a lager, based on the label, thinner than the American versions (which are ales), but just as formidable. I drank it slightly colder than I would an ale, supposing it appropriate. It nicely melded that light, lager fell with darker, more complex and rich flavors.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2012 00:22:05 | More by Greywulfken

GeezLynn

Minnesota

3.95/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pitch black and tranquil, lacking much in the way of head.

S: Sweet roasted malt, slight coffee, vanilla, and easily distinguishable lager yeast.

T: Flavor matches closely with smell, with lots of honey sweet dark malt and light molasses. Malt is less roasted than in the smell and this seems more like a dopplebock to me. Coffee is pretty restrained without much bitterness. Finishes with light lager bite.

M: Medium body and a slightly sticky texture. Carbonation is on the light side, which works for me.

I like sweet, but this might have been a bit too sweet for me. Would really have liked to have tried this right after it came out as it sounds like it had a much better coffee presence. But as always, a very good beer from MS and one of the better black lagers I've tasted in awhile.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 05:28:44 | More by GeezLynn

nkersten

Illinois

3.93/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed from notes, thanks to Alex for bringing this. Poured into a tulip, color is opaque brown with a small tan head, good retention and some lacing. Smell is chocolate, espresso, raw grains and molasses. Bitter coffee dominates the flavor followed by some hops, roasted malts, some sweetness, and finishes with more coffee. Medium bodied with a light carbonation. This is a decently drinkable beer, maybe a bit high on the ABV for the style, although the alcohol was not present in the flavor or smell. Probably a bit more coffee bitterness then I would have liked for the style. A good beer but probably not the best schwarz I have had (although it definitley falls in my top 5 coffee lagers, thanks again Alex!).

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2010 01:45:01 | More by nkersten

EgadBananas

Louisiana

3.88/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours black, looks thick. There was a small near finger of dark tan head. No lace. Roasted nose, espresso and coffee, and some slight dark fruits. The taste is sweet. Some bitter, roasted coffee notes, dark fruits. Bit of noticeable alcohol. The feel is medium, somewhat thin. I guess it's pretty substantial for the style.
Unique, interesting, tasty, but not mind-blowing.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2012 05:06:42 | More by EgadBananas

brentk56

North Carolina

3.68/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Pours a coal black color with a film of a head that leaves a few dots and dashes behind

Smell: Black bread, dark fruit and coffee

Taste: Roasty, but surprisingly sweet, up front, with a molasses, mint and a brown sugar character; coffee, black bread and dark fruit arrive in the middle but the sweetness returns, after the swallow, and continues into the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: I was expecting something quite different when I saw this was listed as a Schwarzbier, but the sweetness here is just a bit overwhelming

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 20:49:28 | More by brentk56

AgentZero

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Another MS beer shared by MasterSki.

A - Dark brown beer with a finger of brown head. Faded to a partial cap with some decent lacing on the sides.

S - Huge, almost knock-you-over, coffee aroma, which is really good. Nice roasty notes and chocolate. Really pretty interesting for a schwarzbier. Has a bit of that acid tone you would expect, doesn't really work with the coffee though.

T - Roasted coffee flavor with a little bit of molasses and some acidity. Has a lot of roast in there, finishes off with a bit of bitterness/acidity that isn't the greatest finish on the beer.

M - Soft carbonation, medium bodied, slightly astringent finish.

O - Solid beer, although it was kind of a srange combination. Not bad, I liked it, but didn't love it.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2011 03:52:59 | More by AgentZero

womencantsail

California

3.48/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to Bobby for sharing this.

A: The pour is a very dark brown color without much of a head.

S: Smells sort of like what you would expect. Very roasty with a fair amount of coffee and chocolate. There's a bit of acidity which I tend to find in a lot of schwarzbiers.

T: Nice and roasty with a decent amount of coffee flavor. There's a mild to moderate bitterness as well as some bittersweet chocolate flavors. A touch of molasses seems to be present as well.

M: The body is light to medium with a low to medium carbonation.

D: Not bad at all. A bit higher in alcohol than I was expecting, but at least it wasn't boozy.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2010 23:36:15 | More by womencantsail

jrallen34

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -17.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Bottle shared by Alex into a tulip...A dark brown beer with a light tan head that rises about a finger. Thin head and lacing...The aroma is SUPER strong coffee which is nice however there is a super strong undertone in there that almost makes me gag. I can't quite place if its nuts or super sweet chocolate but its unpleasant to me. The robust aroma is complex showing off coffee, molasses, cocoa nibs on steroids...The taste is like eating a coffee cake injected with esperro, chocolate and cocoa nibs. The coffee notes are nice but the rest is a strong mess, a nice bitter finish.

This has the makings of a good beer but there's something that I can't put my finger on that I don't like.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2010 19:14:04 | More by jrallen34

Gmann

New York

2.75/5  rDev -34.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a deep brown color with a minimal beige head that settled into a light ring.

The aroma is sweet with some caramel notes with a very light hint of coffee. I dunno I am just not picking up much from this one.

The taste is of a brown bread malt with a faint kiss of coffee. I pick up a strong presence of dark fruit; raisin and plum. Perhaps some fig as well. There is some caramel sweetness and some milk sugars. There is a subtle tart cherry flavor. Me thinks this brew did not hold up well on its trip from Alaska. There is a little bit of a roast flavor but it is quickly over-taken by the dark fruit flavor.

Moderate feel with spritzy carbonation; good for the style. Sweet for the style but does have some roasty bitterness.

Man, what happened to this brew. Very much not like an "espresso black beer". It doesn't taste funky except for the dark fruit flavors. I am hoping this is a bad bottle.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2012 02:47:11 | More by Gmann