Steam Brew Imperial Stout

Brewed by Privatbrauerei Eichbaum
Style: Imperial Stout
Mannheim, Germany

The Eichbaum Brewery was founded way, way back in 1679 by Jean du Chaine (Chêne) from Southern Belgium, originally as a small brewpub, and while the exact location changed, its home and heart has always been in the city of Mannheim, a southern German city touching the Rhine. The name Eichbaum came from the translation of his family name, .du Chêne, which means “Oak tree”, or “Eichbaum” in German.

All was going well for many years, even centuries, until the Nazis got into power. By this stage the company had a substantial Jewish shareholdership, and due to the toxic political atmosphere in the country, they were all expelled and the company was nationalized.

WW2 resulted in the company ceasing to produce any beer at all, go figure! But after the war, the company reopened and did very well since they were the main beer supplier for the American army that was now based in Germany at that time! The after war boom in Germany, attributed to the rebuilding of the country and help from the Allies, especially in the 50’s and 60’s, all contributed as well.

Since the 70’s the brewery has changed ownership many times but nowadays it is operated as a private brewery, Eichbaum GmbH & Co KG.

Today, the brewery is one of the largest and most efficient breweries in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany. Not only is it the oldest company in Mannheim but it is also one of the most modern. State-of-the-art brewing and bottling technologies make for an annual output of 1.8 million hectolitres, resulting in more than 16 different beers produced yearly for its every widening market.

This is my second beer that I have tried from the Eichbaum Brewery, I had their Bottle of Eichbaum Maibock, which I have to say was a bit of a disappointment for me. I found it too bitter and a real struggle to drink. So I wonder how their stout will fare!

Review: 0,5l can of Steam Brew Imperial Stout: 7.5% vol.

Brewed for LIDL Germany, which shows how much the retail supermarket is trying to tap into the craft beer scene.

“Let’s oil the gears of life”, as it says on the rather cool looking can, which has a very detailed picture of a steam room and some sort of brewer extraordinaire.

Pitched black in colour as you would expect from a stout, decent sized white head, looks pretty good on pour. Some lacing, but the head does go a bit flat though. Ok as a looker, will do!

Get a lovely stouty smell on the nose, faint but nice enough to enjoy. Get the roasted malt, coffee and grain aromas all over.

Initial taste is….mmmmm, very tasty!! Coffee flavoured with a typical pleasant stouty taste, nice and soft on the tongue, very good.

For a stout, it is not as bitter or strong in the taste that it should be, its a bit light in that regards, and I really cant feel the 7.5% vol. but it is tasty enough to allay any of those fears that it might be another limp wristed stout. Good enough to enjoy and goes down the hatch very easy. Also get a lot in the can too, so happy days!

Stouty taste on the low level, 7.5% finally kicks in after the 2nd can, albeit on the low bar!

Roasted malts, coffee flavours with a bit of sugar hitting the spots. A light stout but I will forgive that since it does go down very smooth and no inoffensive tastes.

Overall, I liked it, very smooth and oh so tasty and I will definitely be trying this stout again in the near future. Nice one!