BREWtality - Espresso Black Bier - Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

glid02

Georgia

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

Bottle shared by Grant - thanks!

Pours black with a one-finger light brown head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of robust espresso with dark malts serving as a backbone. Also present are hints of roasted malts.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Smooth roasted malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by even smoother coffee flavors. The roastiness subsides midway through the sip, allowing the coffee flavors to shine even more and allowing room for hints of dark chocolate. The chocolate fades out quickly allowing dark malts and coffee to carry through to a moderately bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is very good. It's got a smooth thickness with soft carbonation.

Drinkability is also very good. I had no problems finishing my glass and could easily have a few more.

Overall I really enjoyed this beer, it's one of the better coffee showcase beers out there as the other flavors augment rather than overpower. Well worth a shot.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2010 00:50:05 | More by glid02

nickd717

California

4.43/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bomber thanks to akbeerfiend on BA, shared at a tasting of many, many accomplished tickers.

Pours pretty black in color with a one-finger light tan head and good lacing.

The aroma has lots of awesome espresso, roast, and dark chocolate.

The flavor is really dominated by coffee. A nice sweetness to it with dark chocolate.

Slick mouthfeel with fairly light body.

Awesome for the style. Would like to have tried this fresh, but am impressed with this even with a year or more on it.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2010 21:19:52 | More by nickd717

DefenCorps

Oregon

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

nickd717 (RIP) shared this. Thanks, Tick!

Pouring black with a dense brown head with good retention and lacing, this is one good looking beer. The nose is wonderful - chocolate, roast and coffee, all excellently balanced. The coffee has a lot of depth to it with a nice richness. This translates to the palate as well, with the blend of chocolate, coffee and roast being quite harmonious. Quite unlike any other schwarzbier I've had, but still very good.Again, I can't stress enough how much depth there was to the coffee flavor. Rich, creamy with moderate bitterness and a nice dark chocolate finish, this beer is quite excellent. Medium in body with moderate carbonation, this is far out of the norm for the style, but an enjoyable beer, one that I drank multiple pours of.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2010 23:18:57 | More by DefenCorps

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

tpd975

Florida

4.4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Huge thanks to timmcd64. You are the man!

A: Pours a rich deep flat black hue with a nice creamy tan head.

S: Wonderful rich espresso nose. Notes of bold roast, and bakers chocolate.

T: Wow coffee, er espresso to the max. Wonderful earthy espresso. No real acid though which makes this one ultra enjoyable. Lots of smooth chocolate, and a touch of creamy caramel. Light waves of vanilla and a perfect roastiness. Beneath all there espresso is a nice sweetness that really pulls this one together.

M: On the thinner side of full, wonderful carbonation, with a smooth slick mouth feel.

D: Great, this is a wonderful coffee beer. One that the coffee beer lovers MUST seek out!!!

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2009 03:47:32 | More by tpd975

brewandbbq

New Hampshire

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

22oz bottle from the fridge.

Pours opaque black with a two inch head of tan. A reluctant settling revealed a placid, oily surface and a few dots of lacing.

Aromatics lead of with pungent espresso, rich dark chocolate, and roasted malt. A hint of vanilla and plenty of crushed oreos follow through.

Full bodied with an oily, slick mouthfeel.

Rich espresso, cocoa bits, and a boozy char start the palate. Brownie batter laced with black coffee beans and vanilla step forward.

Finishes with lingering espresso roast, warming alcohol, and a smooth char-bite.

Exceptionally rounded for still being a bit young (considering the cellarability of this type of beer and the massive coffee component).
No acridity is found and the alcohol is just big enough to keep the beer a bit boozy.

Tasty stuff.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2009 19:10:55 | More by brewandbbq

ccrida

Oregon

4.43/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bomber strait from Jerermiah's private stash, for which I owe him a huge thanks! Poured into their tall pils glass, Brewtality is a dark brown tinged black with an off-white head that leaves scattered lace.

Smell is huge espresso and toffee, a touch of alcohol vapors. Robust and very enjoyable.

Taste is fantastic, wow. Loads of chocolate and caramel, with plenty espresso as well. Super rich, but smooth, with the alcohol fairly well hidden in the taste.

Mouthfeel is MSBC's typical super creaminess. A bit on the sticky, viscous side, but on the lighter side for the size.

Drinkability is very good, a great coffee beer. Split with my dad, we savored ever drop. My first strong dark larger, a true hybrid, with both great vision and execution. Really happy I got to try this, thanks again Jeremiah!

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2009 08:19:15 | More by ccrida

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

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

JohnGalt1

Idaho

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

22 received from the great trader from the north... AkBelgianBeast... Super cool Frank!! Poured into my shaped SA glass... some sort of snifter would have probably been a better idea.... I didn't look at the ABV before pouring, and just assumed a Schwarzbier with Coffee additions.

Fairly aggressive pour produced only about 1/2" of deep dark brown head... no cap... no lacing... no retention.. The EtOH and oils in the beans are probably keeping it down... The brew is pretty much all black... only hints of deep red/dark walnut show when the bottom of the glass is held to a bright light.

The nose is almost certainly the most "coffee forward" beer that I can remember... It's been a long time since I've had a straight espresso shot... but this smells like a super fresh cup with some dark DME thrown in to sweeten it up.

Flavor is not exactly what I was expecting ... a slightly less amount of coffee is present on the palate.. replaced by a little bit of dark maltiness that shows some minor fruitiness... Plenty of malty sweetness helps push the waves of flavor and makes it meld more than I was expecting. Very light carbonation and the residual sugars are making this a fairly thick yet smooth brew... I like it.... quite a bit... I'm glad I got to try it fairly fresh, because I would expect the coffee to die back a fair amount relatively quickly... No perceived alcohol at all.

I have no real complaints at all... Carbonation could probably be dialed up a notch... but all and all.. they knock the "coffee" beer genre out of the park.

Thanks again Frank... I am very much looking forward to trying the other brews in the cellar.

4/4.5/4/4/4

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2009 06:04:36 | More by JohnGalt1

gford217

Georgia

4.4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Big thanks to Ira for this bomber, poured into a tulip.

This one comes out of the bottles dark brown but looks pretty close to black in the glass. The head is big and tan, receding fairly quickly and leaving decent lacing.

The aroma is massive with the roasted espresso dominating from start to finish. There are hints of sweet malts in the background, but honestly it's all about the espresso.

The taste dials back the espresso just a bit. It's still there but there is a lot more sweetness than the aroma would suggest. Plenty of sweet malts forming a backbone with some chocolate sweetness and even a bit of molasses in the finish balancing the espresso bitterness.

The mouthfeel is on the fuller side of things for the style and thick on the palate with soft carbonation just coating the mouth completely.

Honestly, this one really blew me away, though my love of coffee in beer probably contributed a good bit. It's certainly the most original and probably the best schwarzbier I've had. Just another great beer from Midnight Sun and I'm really excited about the new series.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2009 02:23:42 | More by gford217

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