If a soft drinks company launched a schwarzbier it would taste something like this. Sweet, bland, industrial. There’s nothing awful about this but it’s so utterly devoid of character that it’s almost offensive. Cola-black in colour with a short head. The aroma is so muted that you could be sniffing a diluted sample. There are some sweet dark malts and faint licorice but it’s a strain to draw them out. Hard, fizzy mouthfeel. In fact, the carbonation is so sharp that you can taste it. Sweet milky chocolate and little else. (33cl bottle from Petersham Liquor Mart. BB Jan 09)

Very dark brown with a light brown head. Malty aroma with some liquorice. Or black toffee. Bland taste, slightly malty, but without much else except a lot of fizz. Not great.

Bottle. Black, light brown colored head. Coffee and roasted malt, thin body. Dry, roasted after taste.

Bottled. Dark brown coloured with a reddish shine. Coffee and cocoa in the aroma. Sweet cocoa and coffee flavour with bready malt notes. Very metallic. Light to medium bodied.

33 cL bottle. Pours deep brown with a red hue and a diminished chocolate brown head. Slight chocolate malty aroma with a mild sweetness. Flavour holds a slight dry chocolate and grainy flavour. Ends medium dry.