Köstritzer Schwarzbier - Köstritzer Schwarzbierbrauerei GmbH & Co.

kiya

California

2.75/5  rDev -29.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Had this on tap at Gourmet Haus Staudt in Redwood City (CA).
Pours a pitch black color with a frothy head that dissipates to thin puddles in less than a minute.

Nose is of roasted nuts and moldy grass, i'm trying to reach for more but can't detect much else in the nose. Let the beer come up to temp and it's still hard to tell what's going in there.

It's mellow in the front with a bit of bitterness, i think this beer would benefit from a bit more hoppiness and/or sweetness. The creaminess of it combined with the buoyancy is what saves this beer. It's not very deep nor is it very interesting. A black lager should combine the best of a traditional lager with notes of nuts and a roasty finish. This does none of that.

The mouthfeel is ok, the carb is fine but borders on too strong. Overall it's lacking in almost all dimensions for me.

Serving type: on-tap

03-20-2012 20:45:02 | More by kiya

BerkeleyBeerMan

California

4.58/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Darkest black with a tan creamy 1/4 inch head with beautiful lacing.

Smell: Roasted malts present faint bouquet of nut and caramel. Distant but detectable traces of vanilla, coffee. The hops are truly German with grassy fineness and light fruit flavors.

Taste: Like a chocolate malt milkshake. More milk than chocolate. Creamy caramel malt mouth with refreshing hop backing. Faint alcohol (odd for a beer this light)

Mouthfeel: Slight dryness. On the malt side but hops come through
with a spicy and floral touch.

Overall: Delicious and extremely refreshing. A classic.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2012 07:05:42 | More by BerkeleyBeerMan

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.85/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Review from 6/2011 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a dark red-orange brown amber, one finger light tan head and slight lacing. Dark malts and light suggestion of toasted malts and dark fruit aroma. Flavor is malty, dark, sweet and faint toasted malts. Finish somewhat dry and malty. Pleasant and light to moderate flavored. Quite good for such a low ABV. Worth a revisit.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2012 22:06:29 | More by LiquidAmber

ouser31

California

3.53/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

was told it a great black beer and saw it in a 500 most wanted beers book... apperance and smeel was really good! taste was good! it was real smokey and roasty tasting to me... still a decent beer one i'll for sure have again but not what i was expecting at all...! Good Beer though!! give it a TRY!!

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2012 01:31:33 | More by ouser31

SLeffler27

New York

3.55/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Dark brown, verging on black, in a pilsner with highlights that range from chocolate brown. A two-inch, light chestnut head is creamy and quickly drops to a quarter of an inch, leaving patchy lace. Carbonation clings to the glass as well.

A strong presence of chocolate syrup followed by malt balls.

Sweet and malty with some molasses. The sweetness settles down with warmth as a roasted character develops. However, this one lacks depth.

The body is light a watery with lots of carbonation and no alcohol.

This is an easy flowing beer though the flavors are less than I had hoped for.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2012 20:35:37 | More by SLeffler27

Hoppsbabo

United Kingdom (England)

3.78/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: A pretty dark mahogany colour with a beige head which resembles the surface of the moon. Nice.

S: Roasted malt. Hint of coffee.

T: Malty. Very strong walnut flavour. Bit of coffee. Slightly porteresque. Light but slightly creamy. Nice bitterness. Fantastic lacing.

O: The Label design reflects the Teutonic drinking experience you're about to have. It's not a friendly beer but it has good form. I'm not a Schwarzbier fan but I think my rating is fair.

Serving type: bottle

02-29-2012 14:21:53 | More by Hoppsbabo

TechTriumph

Virginia

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Best before 07/21/12; Poured in a pint glass.

A - One inch of light tan fluffy, carbonated head; Very dark brown in color with a garnet glow when held to the light; Not much lacing left behind

S - Notes of very sweet caramel, wet leafy/earthy hops, fruits reminiscent of figs and raspberries, and very subtle chocolate

T - Flavors of leafy/vegetable hops, lightly sweet caramel, and slightly tart raspberry-like fruits come first; Leafy hops linger in the taste with toasted bread and subtle chocolate, caramel, and spice developing towards the end

M - Moderate carbonation; Just under medium bodied; Nice, smooth, wet mouthfeel

O - For the style of Schwarzbiers, options can be limited. However, this beer seems to be an offering that's pretty easy to find and is an all-around solid beer. The flavor isn't one that's overly complex, but it's very balanced between the mildly sweet, caramel, fruity, and hoppy flavors. With a smooth mouthfeel, low ABV, and high drinkability, this is a beer I could enjoy time and time again without losing interest in it.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2012 21:53:54 | More by TechTriumph

WYVYRN527

Minnesota

3.8/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

11.2-ounce bottle poured into a pilsener glass.

A: Serious dark brown, almost black in color with a thick tan head that quickly settles to a thin film on the surface. Sticky lace coats the glass, and carbonation is subtle.

S: Dark malt up front, with a touch of coffee and toast, with some floral hop notes on the backside.

T: Pretty much like the smell. Roasty, with some espresso and chocolate notes, along with some fruity elements. Grassy, floral hop notes dry out the finish.

Notes: Flavorful, yet light in body, and very silky on the palate. An all-around well-made Schwartzbier. Very sessionable at 4.8%. It's a balanced brew, and an easy find for this style. A dark bear that suits all seasons.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2012 05:19:38 | More by WYVYRN527

Dave128

Kentucky

3.68/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Enjoyed on tap into the kostritzer signature glass.

A - This beer certainly is a beauty. Black in color with ruby highlights. Brown head lasts quite a while even though it is a little fizzy and Lacing is excellent.

S - Smells faintly of dark malts. I pick up a little of the grassy lager yeast and smokiness from the malts. Basic but clean.

T - A lot like the smell. It is a mild beer but very clean and well executed. Starts a little caramely and sweet and finishes dry and a tad bitter with a smokey character.

M - light bodied but not watery. Carbonation is right. Head is a little fizzy. I would like to see it a little more creamy for a dark beer.

O - A clean easy drinking dark lager. Looks beautiful in the glass, but pretty mild on flavor.

Serving type: on-tap

02-16-2012 00:27:02 | More by Dave128

rarbring

Sweden

3.85/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer i black (ganz Schwarz!) a tan head, good lacing but rather small curtains.

The smell is both fruity and meaty. Raisins, burnt bread and sausages.

The taste starts with burned bread crust, dates, milk chocolate.

Medium carbonation, a fresh texture, light body, and nice smooth finish.

A fresh and nice black beer!

Serving type: on-tap

02-11-2012 19:33:50 | More by rarbring

morebeergood

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap last night at the new Lone Star Taco Bar in Allston. Served in a 0.4l Radeberger mug. Light black color, with a wonderful looking head that did not fade. Smell had hints of cocoa powder and tobacco. I liked the flavors very much. Many notes of chocolate, roasted malt, and coffee. The mouthfeel was deceptively good. It was rich and creamy at first, but the more you drank, it got smoother and smoother. A very easy beer to drink. Tons of flavor, and at under 5% abv, it's a beer that you can enjoy for a session. Great beer, and a bonus at $6 for the large mug. Need to find this on tap more often.

Serving type: on-tap

02-05-2012 20:20:01 | More by morebeergood

Murrhey

Montana

3.3/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Had on tap at Joe's in Fullerton.

A- Finger width off-white head, deep dark black body. Intimidating looking beer.

S- Roast barley and malt smells.

T- Dark and roast flavors. Not complex but definitely tasty.

M- Thicker body with a watery finish, some chewiness to it.

O- It was fairly good, all things considered. Might like to re-review it.

Serving type: on-tap

02-04-2012 22:00:03 | More by Murrhey

hiku7

California

3.63/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Aroma is slightly sweet pils malt; almost like black bread. Light roastiness and slight chocolate aroma, otherwise neutral. No hop aroma. Clean yeast.

Pours deep dark brown to black with ruby highlights. Quickly dissipating light tan head.

Flavor is light roast, complex layered caramel maltiness, but little or no aftertaste. No real hop flavor, slight hop bitterness.

Light-medium body, with a bit of viscosity early, with a smooth dry finish. Low carbonation.

True to style, easy drinking, lightly roasty black lager. Not terribly interesting, no lingering flavors. My first foray in reviewing the style.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2012 05:26:08 | More by hiku7

atomicbeer

New Mexico

3.6/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Draft pint at Bierbrunnen Ft. Lauderdale Florida. Pours a very dark brown with a thin tan head. Aroma is a mild earthy hop. Unexpected sweet and sour grass and earth hop taste backed by roasty malt. Went well with Wiener schnitzel and potato salad. Could session this one in the biergarten...

Serving type: on-tap

01-30-2012 00:41:41 | More by atomicbeer

jsprain1

Minnesota

3.63/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A- Very dark, near black color. Head is one finger and tan and lasts pretty well with some lacing sticking to the glass.
S- The aroma is quite mild with some darker malts and some earthyness and coffee.
T- Fairly mild up front with some dark bread and a hint of smokeyness. The finish has just a bit of ground coffee.
M- light-medium in the body. Carbonation is light. It's very smooth and easy drinking.
O- This is a tasty schwarz and a beer that would be good for an evening of beer drinking.

Serving type: on-tap

01-28-2012 21:23:33 | More by jsprain1

UCLABrewN84

California

3.83/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Best before 7/21/12.

Pours an opaque black with a 1/2 inch foamy dark khaki head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark malt and some dark fruits (especially grapes). Taste is of dark malt, grape-like fruits, and some mild roast flavors. A fleeting shot of bitterness after each sip. This beer has a medium body with a lower level of carbonation. Overall, this is a good schwarzbier that is easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2012 06:28:01 | More by UCLABrewN84

scott451

Ontario (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

500ml bottle BB 12.08.12. Poured into a glass mug. One finger tan head on a very dark (almost black) ruby. Moderate lacing. The head soon diminished to a thin layer which stuck around.

Mild malty smells. A very smooth taste. Very mild caramel. More complexity in the middle. Minimal hop in the finish. Pretty dry. Basically the malt profile carries it.

Medium light body with a fairly light carbonation. Overall a top shelf dark beer. Smooth and balanced, complex but well melded flavours. Unusually low ABV for such a big flavoured beer makes this eminently Sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2012 03:18:27 | More by scott451

dunit697

California

4.08/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This bier was fine, I can recognize it as dark and good, but I feel like there is better out there, I felt this one was lacking something personally. The timbre could have been more unique. I also think a bit more OH- could have made this bier taste better.

Serving type: on-tap

01-17-2012 17:24:26 | More by dunit697

tobelerone

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A black beer, obviously, with an off-white head that’s fairly small and dissipates quickly. Minimal lacing remains. The aroma is mostly gentle roastiness with traces of coffee notes and a general dark bready maltiness.

Flavor is good but mild; again the roast and coffee notes are present but are much more subdued than what you might experience in an American take on this style. Mildly sweet, faint caramel, but overall just a basic dark malt flavor.

Medium to thin bodied with lower carbonation on tap than what I’d expect from the bottled version. Somewhat dry finish, extremely easy drinking. Not super exciting but a quality, classic German lager nonetheless.

Serving type: on-tap

01-10-2012 14:28:15 | More by tobelerone

IPA35

Netherlands

4.05/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Another souvenir from Germany. Had lots of this from tap.
Never had it from the bottle though.

A nice looking beer. Very dark brown with a slightly off white head, rocky as it should be.

A mild aroma. Rather malty, bread-like with only a tiny bit of roast. Some hops as well, herbal mainland hops. No American or British hops ofcourse. More like a pilsener hoppyness.

A nice beer, very mild on the palate and very easy to drink but much more exciting than most pilseners (its only alternative on draft at your random German bar). Nice malts, a tiny bit of roast and a bit of noble hops. Simple and great.
Crisp and quite dry.

Quite a thin mouthfeel, not too thin and with good carbonation.

Overal a very good session beer.
If you go to Germany (East) and see this on tap, give it a try. A better alternative than Hasseröder or Bitburger and such.
Almost if not just as good in the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2012 18:17:44 | More by IPA35

jbonapar

Ontario (Canada)

4.4/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

One of my new favorite Styles of Beer. Although hard to find a large variety.

Pours a dark, near black but clear up to a light with a thick head. Smell is a slight toasted malt with noble hops.

Taste is wonderfull. Crisp. Crisp as heck. A bready almost maltiness takes over and melds into a sweet hoppy finish with a lingering pepper and slight molases. But think at all, but i'd say a medium/light body with a wondeful german maltiness to it.

A fantastic beer that should be tried.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2012 23:37:54 | More by jbonapar

NStLincoln

Nebraska

4.15/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Dark brown with a little light sneaking through. Tan head reduces to about a centimeter and stays there.

Some really nice roasted malt balanced with crisp German hops. A woodsy earthy feel to this nose.

Really great tasting beer. I'm no brewer, but I'd imagine it'd be pretty tough to balance a lot of dark roasty malt and keep that light and refreshing. It's like a little bite of pumpernickel bread that's quickly braced by some mild hops.

The mouthfeel is the best part of this style and the Kostritzer is on the nose. Easy drinking and probably not quite medium bodied, it's something that could be enjoyed in the Spring or Winter.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2012 23:15:27 | More by NStLincoln

korguy123

Ontario (Canada)

3.1/5  rDev -20.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A- Deep rich dark brown that is as close to brown without being black. Two finger light tan head. Lacing is slightly spotty.

S- Slight grain, there is a light chocolate and coffee. I'm getting an odd medicinal smell I can't seem to put my finger on.

T- Subtle coffee and cereal. The medicinal smell transfers over and presents itself in the form of smoke and juice (grape comes to mind)

M- Light bodied, good carbonation.

O- Definitely new style to me. The medicinal aspects to this are a little odd in my books.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2012 23:12:09 | More by korguy123

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This poured out as a deep brown color with a nice looking thick tan head on top. The lacing was decent and the retention wasn't bad either. The smell of the beer had some earthy roasted aromas with some lager yeast aromas in there too. The taste of the beer had some light chocolate notes along with a traditional lager flavor in the finish. The mouthfeel isn't too heavy or anything, the carbonation is pretty good, it's very drinkable. Overall this beer was prettygood, I would probably drink it again if the mood struck me.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 02:59:08 | More by Knapp85

industrialswill

Washington

3.58/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Dark brown, almost black with a tan head.
Smells like Heineken laced with fruitcake..or visa-versa.
Tastes quite a lot like Heineken with added punch from the heavily cooked malt.
I like it, but it is priced high enough for it to be a "one hit wonder" with me.
It's got a lot of flavor packed into a fairly low ABV package.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 00:44:44 | More by industrialswill