This beer doesn’t taste smoked. And that’s mostly because it’s not a smoked beer, but it is made by one of the most reputable brewers who happens to have a solid selection of smoky beers, so you can say that reputation had a hand in getting this into the tabernacle. But this is good beer nonetheless. It tastes a bit too bitter for what I would call ideal. But lets get down to brass tacks, I’m a bit drunk at the moment. This is like rich peoples beer. I like rich people’s things. I own some rich people’s things because they weren’t paying attention. Slight bits of bitters down in there. I like golf. I used to drive an Infinity. This beer has metallic notes in there, like iron, and not like copper. These folks have made other beers that SmokeBeerMinistry has ranked, which you can read about here, here, and here. Final score = 5.
| Brewer | Gänstaller Bräu |
| Beer Name | Schwarze 90 |
| Brewer’s Description | For a Russian Imperial weighing in at nearly 12%, Schwarze 90 has a surprisingly citrusy, grapefruity and piney nose and palate. The trademark rich, creamy Gänstaller mouthfeel is backed up with plenty of bitter roastiness in the finish. A truly unique dark crossover bottom-fermented beer, with the brewery’s typically huge but balanced flavors on display. |
| Food Pairings | Hamburgers, pub food, eat with big bites, chug beer |
| Brewer Location | Hallerndorf, Germany |
| Alcohol content by volume | 11.9% |
| IBU (International Bitterness Units) | unimportant |
| Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark) | 5 |
| Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns) | 2 |
| Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks | 2 |
| Sausage detection? Y or N | N |
| Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil) | 4.5 |
| Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high) | 5 |
Here’s my hi tech translucency tool for the color metric (SRMs for the overly informed). Science.
Ganstaller Brau’s website is not OK. But we do have the Shelton Brothers
SmokeBeerMinistry 