Sigtuna Black October

Brewed by Sigtuna Brygghus
Style: Schwarzbier
Arlandastad, Sweden

Bottled. Dark brown with pale brown head. Rye bread, slight smoke and cookie malt in aroma. Milky mouthfeel with chocolate, toast malts and rye bread in flavour. Elegant flavour profile, with tad nuts as well. Low bitterness. Really tasty and pronounced schwarzbier!

(Draught at Monk’s Sveavägen) Poured almost black and clear with medium sized and lightly brown coloured head. Aroma was roasty and chocolaty. Palate was medium bodied and dry with medium carbonation. Flavours were roastedness, burntness, hint of metallicness, bitterness, coffee and ash. Aftertaste was ashy and burnt.

500ml bottle bought at Systembolaget in Linköping. Steady, tan coloured head. Almost mahogany in body appearance with great clarity. Rich and attractive aroma of cocoa malts. Earthy malts in flavour developing into the smooth taste of chocolate, cocoa and a few hints of cinnamon spices, and ending with notes a bitter roastiness. Rounded mouth feel. Well made and a pleasure to drink (shared with Finn, Tromsø 01.12.2009).

Bottled (Systembolaget)
Dark brown color, small beige head. Cold coffee and caramel in the nose. Cold coffee, caramel and some tobacco ash in the flavor. Low bitterness.

Flaske 0,5l delt med Rune. Dyprød/svart på farge. Veldig høyt kremaktig skum med litt farge. Sterk aroma med litt ristet malt & kaffe. Deilig på smak: Kaffe & ristet malt. Langvarig ettersmak i samme gate. Minner mye om en porter. Kanskje litt uvariert - men bevares: Denne kunne jeg ha drukket mye av. KI=2

Black with a light brown head - aroma of roasted malt - tastes the same, roasted malt , hints of smoke and ash, hints of hop bitterness in the background - finish of roasted malt - nice beer

Dark brown with a rather small off-white head that settles into a fine ring of lacings. The smell is quite mild with a gently smoky and caramel-like maltiness to the fore. Notes of charred wood, chocolate and just a hint of smoked ham. A dash of floral hops raps it up. I like the smoky aromas, but all in all, the smell isn’t very impressive. The taste is actually quite boring as it is basically a milder replicate of the smell. Malts dominate with notes of dark bread, charred wood, caramel and a hint of toffee. Slightly roasty. The smoky aromas are very muted and not as prominent as in the smell. Some decent floral hop notes. Flavors are rather sweet. The finish is short and bland - a gentle bitterness mixes with some notes of malts and leafy hops. Moderate body, medium carbonation. There’s nothing in this beer that makes it interesting. The combination of smoke and chocolate in the smell is promising, but the taste don’t live up to such a promise. There’s nothing wrong with it I guess, it’s just boring. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

Dark. Low head. Sweet fragrance with a fruity nose and som sour undertones. Not so smoky, but rather fresh in its flavor, like pears, chocolate, soffee and hops of course. the bitterness is far from overwhleming, but balanced in a innovative way with fruit and alcohol.