BREWtality - Espresso Black Bier - Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

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

ngeunit1

California

4.33/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Dark brown-black with a finger of frothy chocolate-khaki colored head. Fades fairly quickly.

S - Roasted malts, coffee, a bit of cocoa, molasses, black licorice, vanilla, lager yeast, touch booze.

T - Roasted dark malts, coffee, bitter cocoa, molasses, black licorice, lager yeast, vanilla, hint of booze.

M - Medium-full bodied, moderate carbonation. Smooth with a sweet, roasted, dry finish.

D - Nice big schwarzbier. Great balance.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 05:40:34 | More by ngeunit1

HuskyinPDX

Washington

4.31/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Bottle opened on 2.1.13
Bottle picked up at the Brewpub in Anchorage

A - Pours a dark brown with a thin dark tan head that quickly moves to the edges.

S - Strong coffee and some roasted malts.

T - Sweet chocolate and lots of coffee. Good!

D - Mild carbonation with a surprisingly heavy body for a lager.

O - Coffee lager, yes please! Very smooth and tasty.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2013 05:19:38 | More by HuskyinPDX

joefuzz

New York

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a thin looking deep brown with a small light brown head. Smells of red grapes, plum and raisins. Taste is very sweet up front lots of dark fruit and some slight smoke flavor and goes down with a light espresso aftertaste. Mouthfeel is on the thiner side with pretty low carbonation. Overall a very good beer...not much coffee going on but still very good.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 04:06:20 | More by joefuzz

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

UCLABrewN84

California

4.3/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to wethorseblanket for sharing this one at drewone's tasting.

Pours an almost opaque super dark brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, and coffee. Taste is much the same with a really nice coffee flavor and a mild roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer that is extremely tasty and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2012 23:09:15 | More by UCLABrewN84

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

sevenarts

New York

4.48/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Dark, dark black. Smallish head even with an aggressive pour, and it quickly fades to almost nothing with no lacing left behind.

S: Smells really rich: sweet chocolate, intense coffee, boozy alcohol, roasted malts.

T/M: Even richer and more flavorful than the smell would suggest. Loads of rich dark chocolate, milk, bold and bitter espresso. The sweetness does a good job of balancing the bitterness of the coffee as well as the underlying alcohol, which is fairly well hidden but still shows through. This is a beer that will quickly get you drunk if you're not careful, because it's so sweet and delicious but so heavily alcoholic. The finish has a bit of a dry bite to it as well as a velvety rush of throat-coating chocolate.

O: An amazing, intense, incredibly flavorful beer, a really interesting take on the coffee beer. It would perhaps be even better if it toned down the sweetness just a touch, but it's already wonderful as is.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2012 22:27:35 | More by sevenarts

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

brotherloco

California

4.23/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle. 2012 Edition. Served in a tulip.

Pours a very dark opaque brown. A small head settles quickly to a thin dark beige ring. Some bits of lacing.

Aroma is rich with chocolate and coffee notes. Sweet, roasty, and slightly bitter. Mild hop presence. A touch of alcohol at the end of the draw.

Flavor is a lot sweeter than I was expecting. Like a delicious melted coffee ice cream, or sweetened coffee drink. Tons of chocolate notes as well. Finish dries up a little, but some long lingering sweet coffee remains. Alcohol is very nicely buried.

Medium full bodied with a mild amount of carbonation. Drinks really well and maybe gets a touch thick on the finish.

The sweetness of this beer may be too much for some, but I love the way it offsets the stronger coffee notes. Another great brew from Midnight Sun.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2012 01:53:39 | More by brotherloco

rudzud

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Received in a trade. Poured into my Duvel tulip.

A - Poured a nice deep dark brown with a one finger mocha head that faded to leave thin clouding and a nice thick halo. Pretty nice.

S - Wow, this is pretty nice. Smells like an iced coffee almost. Lots of good rich espresso notes, light chocolate, and some light roasted malts.

T - Taste is delicious. Strong coffee notes, very good quality coffee. My only thing is that this is WAY too sweet for me. A super sweetened iced coffee. That said, its delicious, just not the way I like my coffee. Also, no alcohol whatsoever. Crazy.

M - Mouthfeel is good, very, very light carbonation. Really drinks like a sweet ice coffee. The booze will creep up on you though.

O - Overall this was a delicious beer. Excellent coffee notes just too sweet for my tastes. Still, well executed.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2012 03:03:12 | More by rudzud

cosmicevan

New York

4.78/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

was pleasantly surprised to hear the news that this recently retired beer was not only back in circulation, but on shelves locally!!! nabbed a bottle earlier today and had to give it a shot. enjoyed from my midnight sun glass.

a - brew poured a deep black with soft subtle even carbonation that swam to the surface continually creating an off tan almost building like a guiness tint to the beer near the surface. the brew boasted a cream colored head that hung out for a while looking like a dessert coffee. chunky lacing coats the glass.

s - i can smell this deliciousness from across the room. roasty coffee with a hint of cocoa powder and chocolate sweetness. the coffee smell is fantastic, really gourmet and fresh.

t - oh my god. this is amazing. big bold flavors. uber fresh gourmet coffee with the perfect amount of roast and creaminess and chocolate. really just fantastic.

m - although the flavor is INSANELY good, the mouth jumps out at me first. it is phenomenally creamy. rich and full bodied.

o - overall, i'm pretty blown away by this beer. i had no expectations coming into this just that it was newly out of retirement and appeared locally from one of the better breweries to recently hit new york. this is quite a surprise and really an out of this world beer. i WILL be picking up additional bottles of this.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2012 00:30:39 | More by cosmicevan

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

Jeffo

Netherlands

4.68/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bomber courtesy of akbeerfiend. I'd never even heard of this beer, so thanks for suggesting it.

From a bomber into a snifter
Vintage: 2009 Crew Brews
Creator: Jeremiah
Type: Espresso Black Bier
IBUS: 17

APPEARANCE: A black pour yields a 1+ finger, medium, fluffy head with very good retention. Black body with medium carbonation evident. Head slowly fades to a good, frothy wisp. Only a ring remains until the end and leaves no lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Big nose for sure. Jumps out of the glass. Dark malts and lots of roasted and burnt espresso. Pure, dark chocolate jumps out of the glass as well. The espresso and dark chocolate work really well together in the nose, blending into one. Nice licorice and molasses in there as well. Very stout like on the nose; very bold and enticing.

TASTE: Well holly shit. Lots of burnt and roasted espresso. Dark malts are still there, but the espresso and dark chocolate, meshing so well together, are just wonderful. Sweet caramel, molasses and black licorice through the middle and into the finish. Bolder and very persistent aftertaste, overloaded with sweet molasses, bitter, pure chocolate and wonderful roasted espresso, just lingers forever. This is what craft beer tastes like.

PALATE: Full body with lower levels of carbonation. Very creamy smooth on the palate, goes down smooth with a touch of heat after the swallow and finishes relatively sticky, not quite cloying. Great full, creamy feel and a great finish for the style.

OVERALL: I would like to shake this Jeremiah’s hand. When beerfiend sent me this a while back, I had never even heard of it. It sat in my parents’ basement for a year before I was finally able to open it, and holly Christmas was this ever good. I don’t know if the extra year of age improved the beer or not, but this is drinking superbly right now. Lots of big, bold, stout-like flavors that I love, with a full, creamy palate to support it. A wonderful finish on this one as well, making it surprisingly easy to drink. I polished off this bomber in record time and was checking my basement for more. Disappointed, I moved on to something much worse. Thanks again akbeerfiend. This was outstanding!

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2011 14:52:47 | More by Jeffo

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

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.13/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks a ton for the great gifts frank, we had a fun night with all of these for sure!

a wonderful dark pour yields a nice two inch head of tan that is reluctant to move anywhere as it sits on top and clings to the sides for its life. big look, almost stoutish.

aroma is huge coffee and roasted malts. you could smell this one a mile away. nice rich roasted coffee beans and a wonderfully well rounded, dark profile. flavor carried through just as well with enormous notes of coffee and peat, campfire like flavors fill in the finish and leave you looking for more.

overall a wonderful beer that straddles the lines of many styles. would not mind having another at all!

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2011 01:40:33 | More by mikesgroove

mattdev

Oregon

4.55/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a dark, almost black beer with a light brown head that dissipates quickly. Aroma- roasty, maybe black patent(?) and chocolate malt. Light sweetness on the nose. Taste- heavy chocolate, roast, and espresso (kaladi brothers!). It's almost as if you had a mocha in beer form. Heavy raw malted barley flavor. Palate- Full bodied, tons of residual sugars with a crisp, lager finish.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2011 08:34:07 | More by mattdev

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

Gobzilla

California

4.33/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a very dark brown with brown highlights that had a half finger of tan head and left some frothy lacing sticking to the glass. The aroma was filled with espresso notes chocolate malts, roastiness, vanilla beans, and slight caramel notes. Like the nose the espresso character dominated the taste long with chocolate malts, caramel, and roasty accents. It also had grinded down coffee bean and vanilla bean notes mid palate. The brew was medium in body with a fair amount of carbonation which had a sweet, chocolatey, slight astringent, roasty, creamy, and mild dry finish, it drank really good and was really tasty. It was one of my favorite from the brew crew series.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2010 19:08:27 | More by Gobzilla

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

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

Sean9689

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks, Alex!

A - Pours black, expresso-colored frothy head, leaves some spotty lacing behind.

S - Coffee...lots and lots of coffee. Black. Some roasty notes, coffee beans, burnt sugars, malts. Very nice...enjoyed sniffing this one over and over.

T - Again, coffee. More malty notes then compared to the nose but the coffee is the overwhelming winner here. Bitter finish.

M - Light, smooth (like drinking coffee), slight carbonation.

D - Yum! Got my coffee fix along with a nice malty beer. If you're into malts and coffee, this is your beer. Recommend.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2010 14:55:55 | More by Sean9689

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

MasterSki

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Another Brew Crew offering provided by akbeerfiend. Served in a Lost Abbey rastal teku.

A - Pours with a thin half-finger of tan foam that settles to a thin ring. Dark brown body that displays some transparency at the fringes.

S - Espresso, semi-sweet chocolate, molasses, raisins and dark fruits. Huge nose, and mostly intense espresso with the other flavors rounding things out. No obvious alcohol.

T - Espresso, semi-sweet chocolate, molasses, raisins and dark fruits. Tastes like it smells - not sure what else I can say here. Finishes quite bitter.

M - Medium, sticky body, with a faint hint of the 9.7% peeking through. Moderate carbonation and a slightly dry finish with some residual stickiness as well.

D - Probably not something of which I could drink a ton, but definitely quite enjoyable. Best coffee lager I've ever had, and highly flavorful albeit a touch monochromatic.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2010 15:30:27 | More by MasterSki