Köstritzer Schwarzbier - Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei GmbH & Co.

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BA SCORE
88
very good
-
1,063 Ratings

THE BROS
95
world-class
-
read more »

rAvg: 3.91
pDev: 11.51%
Reviews: 712
Hads: 351

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei GmbH & Co.

Germany

Style | ABV
Schwarzbier | 4.80% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (516), on-tap (135), can (59), growler (2).

Notes:
No notes at this time.

View: Beers (4) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by JamesMN:

JamesMN

Minnesota

3.88/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Dark mahogany but looks black when not held up to the light. Semi-translucent near the bottom and edges as brown shaded light will pour through. One finger sudsy light tan head. Left a bit of lacing.

Aroma: Some sweet caramel and hints of darker malt. Slightly roasty but pretty restrained. A bit of earth as well. Very clean.

Taste: A very pleasant palate. No bells or whistles, just straight forward amber malts with a little roasted malt but not enough to add bitterness. Reminiscent of Guinness Draught in flavor but with a more definite punch to the palate due to carbonation and a bit of grassy hop presence right at the beginning. Finish is smooth and crisp with a cream flavor for a moment. 4.8% ABV sounds about right but I wouldn't have been surprised if it was even lighter than that. Almost a hybrid lager/ale.

Mouthfeel: Thin but not watery. Lots of carbonation and easy drinkability. Probably sessionable.

Final Thoughts: "Germany's No. 1 Black Lager Beer" is pretty good. Light on body and flavor but not light on enjoyability. Would I drink it again? Yes, if I'm in the mood for an import.

Serving type: can

02-03-2013 22:51:24 | More by JamesMN

More User Reviews:

KYGunner

Kentucky

3.71/5 rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Called a black lager for a reason because it's...black. Poured a nice thick and creamy head but it disappeared like it had committed a crime.

Subtle smoke over a creamy malt aroma the scent is very appealing. Maybe roasted pecan as well the scent is very subtle, which is somewhat detrimental.

Kind of Smokey, kind of ashey there is some charred malt flavor. Very clean but somewhat palate drying, this beer is certainly easy on the system. Holds some taste principles of a Rauchbier but the feel of a lager, it's a good mix.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2013 00:08:24 | More by KYGunner

chriscalo

New York

4/5 rDev +2.3%

06-17-2013 16:06:01 | More by chriscalo

TheBeeraholic

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5 rDev -10.5%

06-15-2013 18:02:06 | More by TheBeeraholic

IchLiebeBier

Virginia

3.5/5 rDev -10.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Very dark, coffee-like body; medium-sized head

Aroma: Sweet malts; lingering coffee notes

Taste: Sweet malt on the start; quickly followed by bitter grain flavors; creamy throughout; not bad overall.

Remarks: Did not score A, T, S, M at that time; disregard those scores

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 15:19:19 | More by IchLiebeBier

Paccamacca

California

3.75/5 rDev -4.1%

06-13-2013 05:14:24 | More by Paccamacca

dwren89

Virginia

3.89/5 rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: can't see because in bottle (sadly had to drink from the bottle because on a train and didn't have a glass

Aroma: malty sweetness, slight roasty quality to it

Taste: lager like crispness, roasty flavor, very little noticeable noble hopping

Mouthfeel: definitely the biggest thing that screams lager about this beer and not stout or black ale style, clean, attenuated, and crisp

Overall Impression: Nice change of pace from standard Munich helles or dunkel, the roasty flavor shines in this distinctive German lager style.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2013 21:41:43 | More by dwren89

BKBassist

New York

3.5/5 rDev -10.5%

06-10-2013 23:06:13 | More by BKBassist

shanny1981

Georgia

4/5 rDev +2.3%

06-08-2013 18:37:13 | More by shanny1981

steveh

Illinois

4.35/5 rDev +11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Found covered six-packs of this old import favorite at a local grocer. Six-pack box (and bottle label) says I have 12 days to drink these (06.18.2013) -- let's get at it!

An old favorite import from the pre Microboom® days -- haven't sampled it in a while.

A -- Inky black in color with a dense tan head that holds up well, slowly settling to a firm cap. A flash shined thru my .33L Willi Becker shows ruby highlights, but very opaque.

S -- Aroma is fresh DMS and mild roasted malt with a vague hint of caramel. Pretty light in this category.

T -- Roasted malt character with dark, baking chocolate undertones. Some mild bready notes try to balance the roasted malts with some very light hop spiciness. The finish is all roasted malt, though the bitterness in the finish and aftertaste isn't easy to dissect between hops and highly kilned malts.

M -- Smooth, soft mouthfeel with a dry finish. Light medium body.

O -- This is the king of Schwarzbier. A lager to present to the naysayers who think lagers have no character -- and at such a mild ABV too. As roasty as some Porters and Stouts, but with the clean finish that can only be the result of bottom fermentation and long, cool storage.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2013 21:03:18 | More by steveh

IdeaSpeeder

Ontario (Canada)

3.49/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Serving Type - 500ml bottle poured into a pilsner glass.

Appearance - Pours black ad night. When held up to the light light the edges of the beer show that it is in fact a dark, dark brown colour. Despite my best efforts to get a good pour, the beer poured with less than a finger of thin caramel coloured head.

Smell - Very faint smelling. What is there smells of roasted malts and some light grains. Pretty underwhelming.

Taste - Chocolate right away, followed by toasted malts and very light coffee. There are also some light grains.

Mouthfeel - Medium to high carbonation. Body is on the lighter side, making for a surprisingly crisp finish.

Overall - 3.5/5 First beer of this style, and not quite use to beers this dark being so 'light' on the palate

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2013 04:46:17 | More by IdeaSpeeder

Danobold

Texas

4.25/5 rDev +8.7%

06-06-2013 02:28:31 | More by Danobold

ClintonRalston

Indiana

3.5/5 rDev -10.5%

06-06-2013 00:05:59 | More by ClintonRalston

tadmuchowski

District of Columbia

3.5/5 rDev -10.5%

06-05-2013 16:06:54 | More by tadmuchowski

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.98/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Tap at Doner pub in Leesburg, VA.

Big creamy head fades semi slowly with nice lacing, super dark black hint of light.

Nose dark creamy malts, hint of dark malt, nice crisp lager, hint of coffee like dark,

Taste starts with toasty malts, brown light biscuit and caramel, some creaminess and slightest touch of a cocoa, then the fruity lager, crisp and a little soft, mild gassy bitterness. Finish is dry and crisp, more of the grassy bitterness, slight sticky sweet caramel malt.

Mouth is med to lighter bod, nice carb, little creamy.

Overall fairly nice, very drinkable tasty schwarzbier but missing something.

Serving type: on-tap

06-05-2013 03:17:00 | More by jlindros