Moonlight Death and Taxes Black

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

Draft @ Toronado. Pours a dark, chocolate-brown color; medium-brown head with decent retention and patchy, fine-bubbled lacing. Generous aroma of nougat, lightly roasted malts, and toasted marshmallow; nicely dry, chocolatey. Medium mouthfeel: chewy nougat and dark malts, plenty of chocolate, along with some toasted marshmallow / caramel / sweetness, following the nose; nicely toasty mid-palate and in the finish: lots of chewy chocolate and nougat; dry.

On tap @ Lanesplitter in Berkeley poured a translucent dark brown nearly black with a small lingering tan head. Aromas of roasted malt, coffee anbd bakers cocoa. Palate was medium bodied and smooth. Flavors ofcoffe, bakers cocoa and roasted malt with a smooth lingering roasty bitter finish.

Tap @ Hamilton’s. Black body, minimal ring of white foam crowning glass. Smells of espresso beans and coffee. Taste is more bitter than sweet with a comfortable hop force. Coffee, roasted dark and lovely, gently wrapped in mocha.

porter, porter, porter - but brewed as a lager. This is an interesting little beer. lot’s of roast, lot’s of dark fruit and a nice hop flavour in the finish. not like any schwarzbier i have tried before but dam good. Toronado...

Tap at Toronado. Pretty damn good for a lager. Thought it was a stout at first. Very easy drinking, very tasty.

Draught at The Red, Santa Cruz. Pours a dark coffee black with a big pillowy brown head that has excellent retention. Roasty and slightly sweet aroma with dark chocolate dust evident. Pretty roasty and dry, but still retains enough malt sweetness to smooth out the black malt. Just enough bitterness, but stays smooth and clean. Light to medium bodied with an almost creamy feel. I’m floored by the richness and balance of the flavors in this one, and I had no idea that it was only 4.2%. This would make and excellent session beer; the roasty chocolate flavors are so well balanced that you just want more and more.

On tap @ Toronado SF. Black color with a sparse thin tan head. Pumpernickel and light roast aroma, slight lactose. Nice even mild roast on the taste, finishes which a little residual roast and not much bitterness. A well executed schwarz.

On Tap at Barley and Hops Tavern. Pours a faintly translucent black with a small tan head. Coffee and bread dominate the head, and lager crispness, faint vanilla, and non-overpowering espresso dominate the flavor. Schwarzbier with a bit more complexity; unique and lovely.