Xingu

Brewed by FEMSA Cerveja Brasil
Style: Schwarzbier
Jacareí (SP), Brazil

Pours thick black with a small, brown, rocky head that disappears almost instantly. Aroma is very light but shows caramel and a little dark fruit. Flavor is quite surprisingly tart, with a lot of sugary sweetness; some caramel; finish is just barely bitter. Mouthfeel is somewhere between silky and overcarbonated; surprisingly "un-sticky" for such a sugary-tasting beer. Not unpleasant, but not very good.

12 oz. bottle, pours with almost no carbonation let alone any head. Looks almost like a dark wine, but thinner with no coating of glass. Palate is surprisingly well carbonated and really melts in your mouth - quite a nice effect. Aroma is predominately grape juice, wtf? Lots of molasses too. Flavor has a nice mild sweetness that swells up and leaves the taste buds atingle. Not much on the bitter side, so it’s a pretty approachable beer and a little unusual. Overall, delicious, but comes up short in many respects.

Aroma is rich, malty with some hop hints and a touch of molasses, also a little smokiness, almost like a stout or porter. Color is deep opaque sable. Flavor is malty with a sweet undertone and a little smokiness, but more like a dark ale than a stout, and a hint of hop bitterness. Very smooth and satisfying.

Bottle. Murky brown pour with a light tan head. Light aromas of malt and dark fruits. Thin bodied and almost under attenuated tasting.

Bottle. Small brown and quickly disappearing head. Pitch black body. Sweet, weak and sugary caramel aroma. Heavily carbonated caramel and coffee flavor. The carbonation is very dominant and almost killing the flavor.

purchased at puget sound wine cellar in port orchard, washington. pour is opaque with a small khaki head. smell is faint, brown sugar, cocoa, roasted nuts. taste is strange, fizzy on the tongue, almost a cola taste to it, thick, leaves the back of the mouth sticky, bit bitter, slightly sweet, some chocolate in the background. again, this is an unusual brew...

Bottle. Garnet/black beer with a brownish head. Sweet caramel aroma. Sweet caramel, brown sugar flavor. Medium body. Lingering sweetness and strange spice.

Just not my style, I guess. Right up there with those lesser stouts from Finland and Poland. There are too many excellent opaque beers (ale or lager) to waste time with this one.