Shiner 97 Bohemian Black Lager

Brewed by Spoetzl Brewery (Gambrinus Company)
Style: Schwarzbier
Shiner, Texas USA

Dark brown beer with a small tan head. Chocolate malt aroma. A bit too thin for style and little finish. It just needs to be thicker and more flavorful.

Poured into a pint glass. Dark clear umber with mahogany highlights. Decent sized tan head that fizzles a little too quickly. Aroma is quite solid actually, lightly roasted malts and some chocolate and cream notes. Not very robust but a nice nose. Flavor is watered down coffee with a mineral finish. Like when you’re at a tasting and you just had a stout in your glass and you pour some water in there to wash the residue away and when you drink the water you’re drinking Shiner Black Lager. Pass on this one.

Bought a six bottle pack Shiner combo and gave this a try. I must admit this beer style is not my preference. Not suitable for the present state of my taste buds, plus I tried this after drinking 3 IPA’s. Needless to say I did not finish this beer. Will pass.

Pours dark brown with a weak, fizzy, tan head. A slight aroma of caramel and toasted malt. For a brief moment a nice toasted flavor appears immediately after sipping but this is quickly replaced with a wateriness that lasts until the end. Thin body and a non-existent finish. One could easily forget having tasted this beer seconds afterward. Weak.

Bottle and served in standard pint glass: Deep maple brown with a fizzy somewhat fading head leaving spotty lace. The aroma has notes of caramel, walnuts, charred malts, some grassy hops, metal and mineral water, and a hint of coffee. The taste is really a letdown, some sweet malt and dark fruit but short and has an artificial component. There is a dash of bitterness towards the finish. The mouth feel is thin and watery. They need to contact Sprecher or New Belgian and find out how to brew a flavorful Schwarzbier.

Deep reddish black pour from a 12 oz bottle. Aroma of toasted malt with overtones of wet newsprint. Flavor is hit and miss - some nice dark roasted grains and coffee tastes, but the underlying sour vegetal flavor offsets much of the goodness. Very thin and fizzy palate and mouthfeel. Well - points for character. Better this than some tastless swill. Better a tasty brew than this, though.

I really expected to find this beer ranked in a higher percentile... I thoroughly enjoyed this smooth, creamy Schwarzbier after a day of stressful car trouble. One thing though... it is lacking a bit in the flavor/mouthfeel department. I was expecting something a little smokier and more bitter.