Moonlight Bony Fingers Malt Liqour

Brewed by Moonlight Brewing Company
Style: Schwarzbier
Fulton, California USA

from notes: (on-tap @ Toronado) pint is jet-black, with no light comming through. unfortunately the pint is a bit too over-full, so head and lace are minimal to non-existant. nose is full and chocolatey, with rich roasty notes, and perhaps a bit of dark fruit. flavor is very rich and full, with clean chocolate flavor and a big roasty finish that dries the beer out nicely in the end. finishes suprisingly light and lively, especially given its initial impression of big, dark heaviness. hopefully I’ll see this seasonal a bit more around town. edit: had a pint today at Jupiter, where it was properly seved with a reaaly nice, dense tan head that left tons of lace. aroma seemed a bit livelier too, with maybe a lightly herbal hop note wafting above the proceedings.

Black with red hues and a frothy but smaller light tan head. Toasted chocolate malts in the arloma with coffee and caramel notes as well. Tons of coffee and chocoalte flavors. Very stout-like with a pronounced bitterness. Cream y oatmeal mouthfeel. Dry musty finish.

On tap @ Flavor Bistro.Deep mahogany with a a one finger beige head, pretty good retention. Lots of roasted malts and milk chocolate behind--not as burnt as the Death & Taxes. The flavor adds some pine hops to be noticeable, but nothing crazy. The chocolate turns dark as well. Bitterness peaks @ a 3 in the roasty, slightly burnt finish. Nice sheet of lacing as well. Light to medium body with light prickly carbonation. I like this more than D&T. Tasty!

On tap at The Red in Santa Cruz. Pitch black with a thin mocha head that leaves filmy lacing. Boozy brownie mix aroma, kinda like Southern Tier Choklat but lighter. Some red fruity esters too. Flavor is light milk chocolate sweetness that gets trampled by more bitter dark chocolate. Dry herbal hop finish complements the roastiness. Fluffy body, light but flavorful. Well-crafted beer, great for lovers of the darkest bitterest chocolates.

On tap at Monks Kettle in SF. Damn, this beer rocked! Nearly jet black in color with a lasting tan head. Aroma is nice roast, chocolate, coffee, and earth. Awesome roasted and earthy flavor with fresh coffee and rich yet bitter cocoa as well as mild hops. Body is medium and palate is smooth and a bit dry. Awesome schwarzbier, on of the best I’ve tried. Better than Death and Taxes IMO.

Tap @ Toronado. The Moonlight web site calls it a Black Strong Lager, which is similar to the Death and Taxes. Black in color with a thick foamy brown head. Deeply rich, chocolate, and burnt malts. I thought it was a porter.

On tap @ Hamiltons: color and aroma scream coffee. Flavor is dark malts and coffee. Despite the dark color and flavors, the mouthfeel is rather light. I enjoyed this brew.

Draft at O’Brien’s. Most likely the best schwarzbier I have ever had. The Aroma was actuall prett weak coming off this Black Black beer with very little head, but the flavor more than made up for it. Lots of chocolate and coffee flavors. Very roasty and burnt malts with a nice hop bite that made me think of Bitter Black Coffee. Very good.