Stortebeker Schwarz bier

https://www.stoertebeker.com/

Brewed by Störtebeker Braumanufaktur
Style: Schwarzbier/Black beer
Stralsund, Germany

Störtebeker Braumanufaktur is a German Brewery, founded in 1827, situated in the small city of Stralsund, near the Baltic coast.

Originally called Stralsunder, they changed their name in 2011 to Störtebeker Braumanufaktur in homage to the German pirate Klaus Störtebeker, whose name apparently means “empty the mug with one gulp” in Low Saxon, easy known Klaus’ favourite hobby then!

Review: 0.5l Bottle of Stortebeker Schwarz bier: ABV : 5%

A “Schwarzbier”, or Black beer, uses lager yeasts to ferment (as opposed to ale for a porter) and traditionally starts with an initial hint of roastedness, is light tasting, and has a clean finish, while a porter or stout for example is thicker and a lot more bitter in the taste. All this is important to know before trying these kind of beers least you be disappointed!

Lovely looking bottle, logo of a ship, really well done and stands out.

As expected got a striking black colour on pour, but also interestingly some shades of dark red. Got a porter style tan head, which was large and very creamy. Head maintains well. Some nice lacing. Not a bad looking beer.

Lovely initial smell, was really pleasant, of roasted malts, some fruits and sweet coffee. Also got some dark chocolate on the nose. A nice balance of rustic smells. Good start.

On taste is very similar to porter, and very, very smooth. No real feel of the alcohol, at least initially. Nearly too smooth for my liking as I do like to feel some alcohol now and again, especially in a slow burner like this. No bitterness.

Safe, nothing extraordinary.
Black chocolate found. Tastes light. Nice though all the same. Caramel taste apparent as well.
Nice large mouthfuls. It is a nice beer to drink and I did enjoy drinking it.

Strong in the end, after the two bottles. Good and can do the business, but not going to set the world alight in terms of prominent tastes as it is a little thin, but if it just added a bit more it could be a stand out beer as it does lack a little depth or flavour, a pity.

I see they won the best black beer in Europe, a “European Beer Star” in 2010 and 2011. Frankly, that is taking the phiss a little, lol!