Tonight I had the sumptuous delight of opening and tasting a bottle of the Schönram Obergäriges Starkbier. "Obergäriges Starkbier" is, for the non-German speaker, an Imperial Stout. And oh!, how Imperial, and oh!, how stout!
The Schoenram brewery is located in southeastern Bayern, in Oberbayern, almost on the Austrian border. It has been operating since 2006, and is one of the modern generation of "micro-breweries" that have sprung up all over the beer drinking world in the past 15 years.
The Obergäriges Starkbier is, according to the advertising people, supposed to look like this:
When I take a photo of it, on top of a porcelain cooking dish, next to my 1970's styled kitchen wall-tiles, it looks like this:
The beer is tar-black. Deep, dark and probably quite naughty. It reminds me of a double espresso, but not nearly as tiny. At 9.5% this is truly a Starkbier. Smashing a 330ml of this is similar to downing half a bottle of wine... so.. tread carefully.
The nose of this beer is a delight. Rich and malty. Zingy hoppy hops. It is a punch in the face of willful wonderment. The flavours are, quite surprisingly very tangy (like a freshly brewed milk-free coffee) at first, followed closely behind by a deep and rich maltiness. The combination of the zingy flavours and the light carbonation creates a sparkle as it rolls down the throat, after which comes a creamy salve.
I cannot speak highly enough of this treat. It is as good as any Stout I have ever had. On Sesame Street, they would refer to this beer as "nom, nom, nom". I confidently grant this beer a 7 out of 7. Full marks.
The Schoenram brewery is located in southeastern Bayern, in Oberbayern, almost on the Austrian border. It has been operating since 2006, and is one of the modern generation of "micro-breweries" that have sprung up all over the beer drinking world in the past 15 years.
The Obergäriges Starkbier is, according to the advertising people, supposed to look like this:
When I take a photo of it, on top of a porcelain cooking dish, next to my 1970's styled kitchen wall-tiles, it looks like this:
The beer is tar-black. Deep, dark and probably quite naughty. It reminds me of a double espresso, but not nearly as tiny. At 9.5% this is truly a Starkbier. Smashing a 330ml of this is similar to downing half a bottle of wine... so.. tread carefully.
The nose of this beer is a delight. Rich and malty. Zingy hoppy hops. It is a punch in the face of willful wonderment. The flavours are, quite surprisingly very tangy (like a freshly brewed milk-free coffee) at first, followed closely behind by a deep and rich maltiness. The combination of the zingy flavours and the light carbonation creates a sparkle as it rolls down the throat, after which comes a creamy salve.
I cannot speak highly enough of this treat. It is as good as any Stout I have ever had. On Sesame Street, they would refer to this beer as "nom, nom, nom". I confidently grant this beer a 7 out of 7. Full marks.
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