Style: Munich Dunkel
ABV: 4.9%
Origin: Einbeck, Germany
My review:
Poured into a 12 oz. Pilsner glass.
Appearance: Dark brown color with a reddish hue; looks like a Dr. Pepper. Absolutly no head at all, even with an aggressive pour. Smell: Toffee, caramel, dark chocolate and a slight sour note. Taste: Initially, roasted Munich malts and semi-sweet caramel with a coffee-like bitter flavor mid-way. Aftertaste yields a hint of roasted almond flavor with a mild herbal hop finish. Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with more carbonation detected than what was visible.
Overall: I'm a little confused because this beer has the qualities of a Munich Dunkel and a Doppelbock, but nothing like other Schwarzbiers-style beers I've had before. Also, the carton was labeled "Dunkel," and the bottles were labeled "Schwarzbier." (In German, "dunkel" means dark and "schwarz" means black.) After a brief bit of research, I learned that in the US, this beer has been given the trendier "schwarzbier" label. Have we gone way too far in creating style categories and too many sub-categories to describe flavor profiles? I'm starting to think so. So, anyway, I stopped trying to analyze what style of beer it was and just enjoyed it. It's one of those beers you can sip slowly and savor, or throw back several in one sitting. Whatever style it is, it's another awesome brew from Einbecker.