Mönchshof Schwarzbier - Kulmbacher Brauerei AG

jayhawk73

Maryland

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

This beer pours a black w/ a two finger, super dense cocoa head. Major pop when the top comes off this one- like a gunshot. There's a good amount of lacing on my CBS snifter. The nose is roasted malt, nuts, and maybe some cocoa in there. Not a super strong nose, but very balanced and pleasant. The taste follows the nose profile, with a little bite hiding beyond all the malty goodness. Feel is medium, super smooth and silky. Malt dominates throughout. Overall, this is a very laid back, malty, solid brew. Definitely a good session brew that I'd have again. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2012 18:50:37 | More by jayhawk73

horshack7

Massachusetts

4.4/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

From notes:

Appearance: From a 1 pint flip top bottle. The beer is black with brown hues on top is an off white head around an inch thick.

Aroma: Figs, little notes of grapes, wild berries and even some blue berries. Wisps of pumpernickel, herbal, floral and some citrus hops.

Taste: Sweetness up front, brown bread, floral hop, smokiness with bits of woodiness. Dark berries are in the back along with touches of herbs. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied and is fairly smooth.

Notes: An amazing lager even though there are not alot of Schwarzbiers this is a remarkable treat and I will pick this one up again. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2012 21:25:57 | More by horshack7

avalon07

South Carolina

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

A: Poured from a bottle to a pilsner glass. Had a dark brown color and a clear consistency. There was an inch and a half of creamy, long-lasting head. Good lacing.

S: A very malty aroma - as you might expect - with some hops as well.

T: Tasted primarily of malt, with a strong (but not too strong) hops presence in the finish. Not a super-dynamic flavor, but very focused and true to its style.

M: A good amount of carbonation with a smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: On the whole, this isn't a beer that will totally knock your socks off, but it is very drinkable, especially if you like schwarzbiers.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2012 14:26:42 | More by avalon07

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

4.72/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A super deep brown color with flickering ruby high lights. A tan and tall and fluffy cloud of a foam topper. Great lacing and well carbonated. Aroma has a rich and velvetty feel. Lots of roasted malts and molasses in the scent. Richly malted with roasted malts and molasses. As an added bonus there is also a sutle smokiness in the taste...excellent. Has a medium feel thats quite smooth going down.
An easy drinking smooth flowing killer of a beer.
Definitely one of my favorites.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 16:11:02 | More by micromaniac129

4000qtrap

Missouri

4.13/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Source/Serving: 16.9 oz bottle

S: Tons of brown bread along with Tootsie roll. Clean, light roastiness which is reminiscent of coffee and dark croutons. Light black pepper.

T: Lots of pure and clean toasted grain, brown bread flavor and tootsie roll as found in the nose with just a brief touch of sweetness and slightly dry overall. Super smooth with an almost ethereal roastiness. You know its there but diffuse and hard to pinpoint. Middle has a touch of noble hop flavor and bitterness, but overall the hops are quite light. Light acidity add brightness and keeps things light which along with some light nuttiness and smokiness ties everything together. I really like the tootsie roll note and light smoke in this beer. Very balanced and a nice thick mouthfeel but isn't overly heavy. Finish is lean and dry and clean with a touch of coffee ground and the only place where the roastiness can really be pinpointed. Lingers with some noble hop character and tootsie roll.

Notes: A balanced, complex Schwarzbier that is very drinkable and sophisticated. Intensity of flavors is moderate for the style.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 23:35:50 | More by 4000qtrap

hreb

Washington

3.95/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

500mL fliptop served in imperial pint glass. Beer pours on the brown side of black and surprisingly clear for the style. Huge pale brown head. Aroma of a good German lager.

Flavor is quite light and refreshing; there's brisk bitterness, with just an edge of nutty, roasty goodness. Quite thin, like the lager that it is. What this beer lacks in depth of flavor it makes up for in the perfection of its ingredients and their execution.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2011 23:58:14 | More by hreb

dubinsky

California

3.95/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Flip-top bottle into a snifter.

A – The beer pours an almost completely black color with a fairly light off-white, almost grey color head. The finger head lasts for a while eventually settling, leaving some nice lacing behind.

S - Roasted malt aroma with a strong nuttiness and breadines. Slight hints of chocolate and coffee.

T – Nice roasted malts, roasted nuts and hints of chocolate. The malt sweetness is moderate. The lager yeast contributes a nice fruity character. There also appears to be a faint hard water character, similar to what I taste on Evian or LA Municipal water.

M - Medium-light body, medium-high carbonation. Very dry and crisp.

O – I confess, I bought this beer for the bottle and was really pleasantly surprised. This is a very nice tasting beer of a style that I dont normally like. This is definitely the best swartzbier that I have ever had. I will buy a few more of these, both for the bottles and for the easy drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2011 02:22:56 | More by dubinsky

Haus

Wisconsin

4.68/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sweet flip-top bomber.

Inviting brown colored beer with a nice tan to light brown colored head.

This beers aroma is mostly of grain and patent malt with hints of chocolate/charred malt and smoke.

Starts out almost dry with a strong malt flavor. Very much a heavily roasted malt beer, a bit of sweetness coming through with the ample carbonation hits your tongue. The flavors become really more pronounced once you let this one warm up.

Mouthfeel is good.

Overall a tasty beer that I will definitely drink again.

Serving type: bottle

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2011 17:24:46 | More by Haus

LtCracker20

Connecticut

4.28/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A- Pours a deep dark brown body with ruby highlights. A frothy 1-finger khaki head sits atop and shows some very nice retention an some really good lacing.

S- Roasted malts, caramel, and breadiness. Mostly caramel malts here. Pretty sweet aroma.

T- caramel malt flavor right up front, followed by a slight graininess. A very slight bitterness towards the very end.

MF- Nice moderate body beer with just a slight amount of carbonation. A very nice creamy feel to this one.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2011 05:16:20 | More by LtCracker20

treque

Mexico

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

A: the beer show a deep amber almoust brown color, it has a very nice off-white head, middle size bubbles wich resist to be dissipated, some waste left on the glass. the carb is minimum

S: with a toast, roast aroma, some sweet notes not sure if its caramel or just the malt

T:the body is medium light. it has a very noticeable toast flavour without alcohols presence, it is well balanced, nice end wich brings to the front some bitterness. very nice

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2011 00:26:58 | More by treque

Zorro

California

4.03/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice flip-top bomber.

Clear brown colored beer with a medium sized light brown colored head.

Smells mostly of grain and patent malt. Chocolate and charred malt with a little smoke.

Starts out almost dry with a strong patent malt flavor. Very much a heavily roasted malt beer, not all that much else going on here. Strong carbonation hits your tongue and gives this an almost salty flavor at the start of each sip. That being said it does taste better than the sum of all its parts.

Mouthfeel is good.

Overall a tasty beer I will drink again.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2011 01:06:04 | More by Zorro

dbaker61

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

1L can. Brew date: July 7, 2011; best by: not on can.

Appearance: Dark bown in color, dark coppery brown when backlit. Poured with 2 fingers of rocky, dense, light tan head. Very good head retention. Plenty of delicate lacing down the glass.

Smell: Roast malt with a hint of chocolate.

Taste: Very smooth roasted flavor, caramel and black malt, just a bit of subdued bitterness on the back end. This may be the smoothest schwarzbier I have ever had.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied. Just enough carbonation to be refreshing. Crisp finish.

Overall: I really like this beer. This is my new favorite schwarzbier. Quite easy to drink, lots of flavor.

Serving type: can

10-08-2011 14:04:26 | More by dbaker61

BretSikkink

Mexico

3.83/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Dark brown with a topper of tanned but thin foam. Color is rich with copper lighting and otherwise deep blackness. Nice but nothing special.

Aroma offers a hint of molasses, roasted barley, and walnut. Somewhat faint, but the roasted sweetness is enticing.

The flavor is more assertive with caramel sweet malt coming right up your nose, somewhat chocolatey and the nuttiness again. Bolder than the nose would lead on, but also somewhat watery in the finish.

Carbonation is pretty high here, and the low abv leads to a mostly modest palate impact. However, for the style it's still pretty roast-forward on the tongue, and quite an enjoyable ride.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2011 02:13:11 | More by BretSikkink

Brenden

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is a bit of an older one I'm just getting to. Notes are thorough and complete.

This beer lives up to its German name, nearly black with some brown just sneaking in at the edges. A nice billowing cap of brown head with excellent retention leaves sticky lacing in plenty.
The aroma is a little smoky, malty with a barley presence but not neglecting a little bright citrus hops shining through.
The taste is essentially the same, with notes of caramel malt mingling with darker malts offering just a bit of coffee and a barley grains presence with a hint of smoke that's just enough to round it out. This malts presence works in beautiful unison with a healthy dose of citrus hops flavor. This really is what I'd expect from an attempt at a so-called "dark pils." It's actually dryer than one might think, ending up in a nice, balanced, semi-dry territory.
This beer has a medium body, maybe on the lighter side, with more crispness than smoothness.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2011 12:49:55 | More by Brenden

Halcyondays

California

4.15/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

500 mL swing top bottle,

A: Pours a deep brown to black with a medium frothy light tan head with some thick lace.

S: Dark bread/pumpernickel with a hint of molasses and dark fruit. Sweet malt character.

T: Strong dark malt flavour with a mild roast character. Tons of dark chocolate, tasty full malt flavour.

M: Light-bodied for the most part, very clean, smooth, definitely shows its lager character.

O: A really good German made black lager here. If you want to get into schwarzbiers this would be a good place to start.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2011 03:43:16 | More by Halcyondays

CamuMahubah

Nebraska

4.2/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Didn't have a snifter so I threw a swirl of this into my Florida Gators freezer mug so I could see the color and it was a brown mahogany but think is it froze so fast that swig tasted like chocolate ice cream!

From the proper mug(as I envision the Germans drink this from ceramic steins unchilled...well the beer is slightly chilled but not he stein...)

Very nice beer...I wasn't expecting such a refreshing beer. I was expecting this to be a bit heavier but this was such session beer!

I keep tasting chocolate ice cream...dry chocolate ice cream...not cloy at all...very fantastic finish and mouthfeel...

German Beer FTW will buy again!

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2011 03:01:41 | More by CamuMahubah

secondtooth

Indiana

3.93/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Dark amber -- not truly black. Substantial tan head. Not much in the area of lace.

Nose is a mild bittersweet chocolate.

Sweet taste, with some mildly roasted malts and more of the chocolate for sure.

This one's light-bodied, and very easy to drink. An enjoyable schwarz that doesn't demand too much with complexity, but proves to be another solid German sessioner.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2011 19:18:28 | More by secondtooth

samie85

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A-Pours pitch black color with a light tan head.

S-Smoked wood and anise with a bit of chocolate and roasted malt.

T-Smoke and chocolate notes upfront with some roasted malt on the finish.

M-Rich, full-bodied, and creamy mouthfeel with a slight, crisp carbonation bite one the end.

D-A very solid, delicious beer. The best mouthfeel and flavor profile on a Schwarzbier I've had to date.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2011 02:28:57 | More by samie85

MikieV

Illinois

4.45/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours very dark, near black with a thick, pale head.

Medium roasted flavor with some smokiness. Some heife weisen flavor sneaking in, but not overwhelming, which is fine with me.

Very smooth mouth feel. Dry, very little aftertaste. Very easy to drink.Not thin, but not thick.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2011 02:16:52 | More by MikieV

jmdrpi

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

0.5L swing top bottle, with unclear bottling code on back label.

appears almost black, with ruby highlights around the edges of the glass. 1/2" of nice thick head. good head retention, and great lacing coats the glass as I drink. aroma of slightly roasted malt.

taste is a bit roasty, a bit smokey, but mild and balanced. very smooth body and almost creamy carbonation.

label says "World Classic", and it does seem to be the perfect example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2011 03:14:52 | More by jmdrpi

eric5bellies

Australia

4.08/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Drank from my Hofbrau half stein.

A - Pours adeep Mahogany colour with a nice ivory coloured head that retains well and laces

S - Nice raosted malts and a little sweet malt

T - Notes of dark chocolate up front then some nice sweetish malt and a little roast. Very nicely balanced.

M - Medium to full body complimented well with a medium carbonation.

O - Highly drinkable and recommended.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2011 06:14:26 | More by eric5bellies

jerryjeff

Tennessee

4.45/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Aroma
Very nice, getting some nice malty overtones. Chocolate, mocha possibly.

Mouthfeel Relatively low end of carbonation, nice oily feel on the palette with some creaminess.

Appearance
Poured into 20oz plastic cup as it was all I had and against the light none is making it through, completely black.

Taste
As scent hints, some chocolate and mocha I believe in there with the maltiness driving this some bitterness on the sides of the mouth but not enough presence to overshadow.

Drinkability
Rather, this is really nice. A bit of body but not so much so that it would be overly filling. Could session this easily.

Overall
Great beer, good aroma and appearance. Didn't hold a head well but could be due to plastic cup.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2011 18:39:59 | More by jerryjeff

NWer

Washington

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Generous pour into Chimay chalice. Dark appearance, some head, nice lace.
Much bolder flavor than I expected for the style. I expected light - almost lager-like but got bold chocolate with some hop bitterness.
Sour, bitter feel slightly off-putting that affected the score a little.
I nice change of pace from strong over the top IPA's and barleywines.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2011 01:35:32 | More by NWer

teromous

Virginia

3.95/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: Pitch black with a creamy tan head. The head stays up about the width of a thumb and laces excellently. In the light the glass shows a rosy black color.

S: There's a roasty smell with some oak scent. It is also metallic.

T: It tastes a little watery and not too bitter, but very smooth with chocolate hints. It's a very mellow dark malty beer. It's perfect for people who like dark beers but aren't fan of robust bold flavors.

M: The mouthfeel is great. It's very smooth and no bitterness clings to the mouth at all. It has a nice sweet aftertaste. A very pleasant drink.

D: This is incredibly drinkable. It is mellow enough that a person could have many beers without getting overwhelmed by it. I assume that because mine was a bottled import that it this would be fantastic on tap in Germany.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2011 17:31:51 | More by teromous

dasenebler

Maine

4.15/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

.5L swing-top in Germany, best before 9/14/11. "Urtypisches Schwarzbier" on the label. 4.9% ABV.

Pours a dark, dark brown with reddish highlights. A thick, creamy beige head forms atop the glass, creating a nice mound in the center and retaining at two fingers. Combined with the the textbook lacing, I must say this beer looks perfect.

The aroma is fine, with some subtle roastiness and charred wood.

Flavor is nice and dry, though full-flavored. This is a lighter dark beer, but it's far from watery. There are some stout-like flavors of highly kilned malt, and also a pleasant bittersweet chocolate finish. Well attenuated and somewhat bitter. The mouthfeel is smooth, with fine carbonation, a swift finish, and some hard-water character.

Overall this is probably the best Schwarzbier I've had, and I was very happy to find it.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2011 22:31:57 | More by dasenebler