BREWtality - Espresso Black Bier - Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

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

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

tmoneyba

Ohio

4.45/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle sample at local BA gathering.

Poured a dark brown color with an average frothy brown head that was mostly lasting and produced excellent lacing. Moderate roasted malt, bread and alcohol aroma. Medium body with a dry smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium to heavy roasted dark cofee flavor with a medium to heavy bittersweet finish of moderate to long duration.

Solid standout brew and very good for style.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2009 01:54:56 | More by tmoneyba

AKBelgianBeast

Alaska

4.2/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A large Espresso Black Bier brewed by that one new guy...hahaha. Cheers Jeremiah. Had to choose a style category, so forgive me. Really not a schwarz, at least not in the traditional sense.

Pours an almost impenetrable black with some very slight ruby highlights around the edges of the glass. A light tan head rises well, but doesn't hold its retention very well and leaves minimal lacing. I poured a bit vigorously on the second pour, and got a little better retention, but Still little to no lacing.

The nose at first quaff is balls out coffee/espresso. Promising start for the style. Hard to get anything out of the nose through the espresso really.

Taste follows. Very intense espresso flavor. I tasted this one prior to the coffee addition and man, what a difference. (duh). Espresso flavors fast out of the gate. Smooth espresso flavor with a touch of noticeable sweetness through the taste. Fairly one dimensional before the finish, as this one is just a straight up espresso bomb. Doused. The finish has a slight touch of coffee bean bitterness. Defenitely not hops. The finish is fairly slick. Almost Oatmeal slick. There is more of a sweetness in this brew than most coffee doused brews, making it a bit smoother than your typical burnt coffeesque brews out there. The aftertaste is really just lingering espresso, but there is a slight dark fruit lick as the flavor fades.

Mouthfeel is pretty good, defenitely a slick beer. Glad its not too dry. Carbonation is about right, maybe ever so slightly undercarbonated, but for all intensive purposes it is where it should be, despite the retention issues. Viscosity of the brew is where it should be.

Drinkability is very solid for the abv. I wouldn't have thought this was nearly 10%, 8 maybe. The espresso slap in the face makes this one a little bit tougher to drink, but you gotta expect that if you read the damn label.

Overall defenitely a good first "signature" brew for Jeremiah. Although slightly one dimensional, that dimension is the one you want in a coffee/espresso brew...coffee. If you are a coffee beer fan, do NOT miss out on this one. A respectable kickoff to the 2009 Crew Brews, looks like yet another classic series from the crew at Midnight Sun. Excited to see what Gabe and Yukon Cornelius come up with. Anyway, a good espresso beer, and good start to the series. Get some and Chug-0-lug-0-yo coffee mug.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2009 07:43:52 | More by AKBelgianBeast

sprucetip

Alaska

4.2/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

From notes. As advertised, it is black. 1 finger mocha head, some retention, spotty lacing, active.

SMELL is of coffee, a bit boozy, malty sweetness, faint caramel, something sour, a spice that eludes me. Floral hops add depth and complexity. Bold and with legs.

TASTE coffee and a distinctive sour spice (similar to one in Anchor's Our Holiday Ale) lead and dominate. But not way out of balance. Backing caramel malty sweetness is strong, and there is a brief, sharp, bitterness in the early middle. Booze is obvious but it is pretty smooth and fairly complex.

FEEL a bit of a bite contrasts with the otherwise rich, full body and creamy texture. Strong alcohol warming detracts from otherwise luscious texture. Clean finish.

OVERALL Very unique and interesting. THe sour spice is a nice touch, whatever it is. Probably oughta be sipped, but the flavors keep the sips coming at short intervals. A good beer, worth trying if you get the chance (and you probably won't).

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2009 22:08:10 | More by sprucetip

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

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

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

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

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

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