Tasted: Schwarzbier 1.0

Ah, the elusive black bear, I mean, beer.  This style, while little known, possibly due to John Q. Public's beer knowledge being severely dumbed down by Big Brewing, is a charismatic blend of soft chocolate, toffee, and coffee notes backed by the cleanliness of a lager yeast.  Having few choices to sample this style, I was lead by an example produced by my favorite brewery in the whole wide world (yes, I went there), Iron Hill Brewery of Newark, DE.  Their Schwarzbier was the best tasting dark lager I have ever had.  It was so tasty, it even impressed by very choosy wife.  Thus was the inspiration to make such a style.  After a brainstorming session with Brewmaster Mike, we came up with something we both thought appropriate.  I must applaud his gutsy use of the San Fransisco Lager yeast as it proved mightily tasty as well as the distinct lack of roasted barley in accordance with the style guidelines.  The resulting beverage suited the palates of many and has now been deemed, at least in my eyes, as a repeatable recipe/style at MSB.

Aroma:  7
Appearance:  10
Style:  8
Bitterness:  4
Maltiness:  6
Mouthfeel:  4
Head:  6
Balance:  5

These marks earn the Schwarzbier a 46 out of 55 and a rating of 84%.  The Schwarzbier is impressive in its vastly cavernous blackness.  Like a black hole of bitter chocolate and toffee this beverage sucks you in and reduces your taste buds to singularities.  The smooth caramel and bakers chocolate flavors roll off your tongue in a clean, refined bitterness that quenches as it fulfills.  Again and again you return to be bombarded with flavor by this robust dark liquid.  Being a malt-forward beer, I was afraid I wouldn't enjoy the Schwarzbier; however, it surprised me by being bitter enough to overcome the cloying sweetness I had expected.  The only changes I think I would make to this beer would be an attempt to balance it out a bit more.  As I have stated in the past, I enjoy a more bitter than sweet beer.  To suit my tastes more appropriately, I would probably add a bit more hops and maybe some simple sugars to thin out the body a bit.

Style: Schwarzbier
Recipe: Schwarzbier

Tasted: English Bitter 1.0

Alright, so I used the scoring metric.  Let's hope these results make sense.  When trying the first few beers and scoring them appropriately, my methodology was to look, smell, and taste the beers, in that order.  So, here are the results.

Aroma:  8
Appearance:  8
Style:  8
Bitterness:  5
Maltiness:  7
Mouthfeel:  6
Head:  4
Balance:  4

These marks earn the English Bitter a total score of 44 out of 55.  This gives it a rating, in my book, of 80%.

I really think this beer is very close to the style and I think the results show it.  The first experience one has with this beer, besides its stunning golden color, is the distinct aroma of grain.  Its a brewer's beer, as its aromatics are reminiscent of a heap of malted barley, particularly the ever present English favorite, Marris Otter.  I think that scent brings one into the beer and allows the auxiliary flavors to present themselves accordingly.  A short sip and one is embraced by the smooth balance of the simple malts and subtle hints of English alpha acids.  The gentle current of golden liquid moves about one's mouth in a ever so slightly heavier manner than water giving the drinker a sense of refreshment and encouragement to proceed.  Being a simple session beer, the English Bitter suggests "have another" as one realizes the sparse foam rings lining the glass.

My only complaints are possibly the over presence of malt in the flavor profile, the slightly heavier mouthfeel, and the under-achieving head retention.  Future versions of this may see a reduction of grain in the grain bill to counter the over-maltiness and a slightly lower mash temperature to create a thinner mounthfeel to encourage drinkability.

Recipe: Session Bitter