Beer of the Week #2: Shiner Bohemian Black Lager

From the bottle:

Don’t be afraid of the dark. Here in Shiner, Texas (pop. 2,070), we’ve been handcrafting beer since 1909. The passion of our original brewmaster, Kosmos Spoetzl, continues to inspire our efforts today. First brewed to commemorate our 97th anniversary, this Bohemian Black Lager remains true to the old-world heritage of the German and Czech Saaz and Styrian hopes, and select roasted malts, make this “Scwazbier” our darkest brew yet. PROSIT!

From my tasting notes: Shiner’s Black Lager has a rich smell, creamy taste, and thick, oaty aftertaste. There isn’t a lot of carbon in the beer once you’ve finished the head. I found it to be very smooth and lacking the bitter taste associated with most stouts or porters (probably because this is a lager). I was unable to detect any taste of hops.  The beer reminded me of Guinness but without that beer’s strong aftertaste. Black Lager’s flavors were very subtle with hints of oats and coffee. I’d recommend Shiner’s as a way to introduce darker beers (black ales, stouts,porters etc.) to drinkers.

Rating (out of five):

Author: Jonathon

Would rather be out swimming, running, or camping. Works in state government. Spent a youth reading genre-fiction; today, he is making up for it by reading large quantities of non-fiction literature. The fact that truth, in every way, is more fascinating than fiction still tickles him. View all posts by Jonathon