Fort Collins The Kidd Lager (Schwarzbier)

Brewed by Fort Collins Brewery
Style: Schwarzbier
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Dark pour with brown head. Nose of smoke and heavy roast. Flavor has a decent hit of smoke up front then fades to a light roast with hints of semi-sweet chocolate. Medium body with just a touch of sweetness on the finish.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a very dark brown with a moderate, fairly dense tan head that lasted through the first quarter of the glass and left very little lace. Pleasant aroma of smoke with just a little bit of roasted malt. The flavor is very similar. The smokiness is mild and not overpowering, and is very nice. Beyond the smoke, there is not much else going on with this beer. Still, an enjoyable brew.

Bottle, Pours nice and dark, aroma is of chocolate malts, it not bad easy to drink has some nice light chocolate flavors, it was enjoyable.

Another wonderful suprises! Clear near black pour with good brown head. It was like a nice chocolatey version of the z lager. Got even more enjoyable as it warmed.

Bottle from Warehouse Bev in Cleveland. Pours a nice opaque black, very slight red tinge if held up to the light. Tan head is slight but sticks around. Nose is mellow: some caramel, some roast but not a ton. Light body leads into mellow caramel and chocolate malt flavors. Finish is only slightly sweet, with a touch of roast bittering it out. Pretty good, I could see this being a great session beer if I could get it fresh.

Bottle from D&J Liquor in St. Louis, MO. Pours pretty black with not much head. Aroma of dark roasted malt, but not harsh or burnt. Medium body with frothy carbonation. Flavor is dark near toast malt, with something like coffee and oatmeal. Maybe a touch of milk chocolate. Seems a bit of a rauchbier. There’s a lot of flavor, a clean, though smoky, palate, and a finish that is smooth, but bitter enough to avoid yucky sweetness. It’s a really decent schwarzbier. Better than that.

As I pour this into my 25cl tulip glass I get a full, roasted aroma. The head forms an initially three finger thick, slightly brown, tan color that recedes at a medium pace. The beer is an opaque black color that shows a stunningly, brilliantly clear, rich ruby hue when held up to the light. Roasted notes take on flavors of deeply browned bread crust, black coffee, burnt grain flavors and a soft, but substantial salty smokiness; this last made me look at the bottle & yep there is some smoke malt in the grain bill. I really like the extra depth that the smoked malt adds to the aroma.

Fairly light bodied with a touch of sweetness to it that is accentuated by the fact that it is a bit cold. Warming the beer helps a bit, including a boost to the body which seemed a bit thin before. The finish has a touch of chalkiness to it in addition to a thin smoke note that isn’t nearly as lush and appetizing as it is in the aroma. A significant roast character provides lost of burnt flavors, a touch of acidity, some astringent burnt grain husk flavors. A touch of fruitiness seems to be here at times, though it is very subtle, but most reminds me of burnt cherries. The roast grain here definitely supplies a bit of bitterness to the finish.

This has a great aroma to it, but unfortunately the flavor doesn’t quite live up to the promise of the nose. Not bad, but the aroma got me expecting something that was quite tasty.

12 oz bottle courtesy of Butters Light roast and chocolate malt aroma with touch of graininess and smoke. Clear very dark with ruby highlights. Smokey, grainy, nice chocolate and roast malt flavors, noble hops, with dry slightly bitter grain finish.Light body and mouthfeel. Absolutely excellent.