Flying Dog Wild Dog Dog Schwarz

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Great beer courtesy of Blue Lou. Damn! I was impressed. Not really sure what I was expecting, but this delighted the hell out of my palate. Pitch black, thick brown head. Smoke, black licorice, shoe leather on the nose. Taste is smokey, coffee like, dry and cocoa nib. I'm suprised I haven't seen this elsewhere, what a treat.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Another fine offering provided by bluesandbarbq during his massive tasting. Warmed up to exceed my expectations as I found myself wanting more once the glass was emptied. A great mixture of leather, mild smoke, roasted malt and sweet chocolates. Poured a dark brown color with a 1/2" tan cap and provide heavy lacing. Nothing over the top, rather pleasant subtleties of every thing listed above working in unison.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Another find from Belmont Party Supply, Dayton, OH. Shared with my BeerPals early afternoon 11/5/11 at the Hootenanny. Thinnish black pour with a beigy head and some lacing. Sweet and toasted malty aroma, little of the advertised smoke until it warms up a bit, a hing of coffee and a bit more cocoa. Thin but creamy mouthfeel. Taste is also roasted and lightly sweetened malts, just a smidgen of the smoke, some cocoa, smooooooooth. Nice Schwarz, especially when shared with friends.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottled. Quite much pitch black colour with a mediumsized brown foamy head. Aroma is roasted malts, mild dark fruityness, some smoked wet wooden notes as well as quite strong ashyness. Flavour is ashy, chocolaty, smoked wet wooden, quite roasted malty as well as some slight coffeeish notes. A very pleasantly balanced brew, which also shows some slight alcoholic notes as it gets warmer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Corked "champagne" bottle, as Flying Dog Schwarz Smoked Double Lager, ABV 7.8%. IBU 25. Kindly shared by gunnar. Black colour, low tan head. Moderate aroma of dark malts and smoke. Very smoky flavour, the smoke dominates a bit too much for my taste.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Almost opaque black with a rich firm tan-coloured foam. Rich aroma of roasted malts, bacon, salt and mild smoke. Full-bodied with notes of smoke, salt, toasted malts, rye and neutral yeast. Tarry finish with hints of salt, toasted malts and cookies.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Sampled August 2009
A careful pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces an almost four-finger thick, lightly browned, tan colored head. The body is a black color with a hint of brown to it, when held up to the light it shows a hint of amber around the edges but remains an opaque black hue. The aroma smells of dark, roasted malt and smoked grain. The smoke is a bit on the soft side, though readily apparent, and when combined with the roasted, bitter dark grain aromatics it seems to lose the richness that many smoked beers have. Burnt bread like aromas, a touch of charcoal, toasted whole grain bread crust notes and a touch of burnt plum are all found in the nose as well. The aroma is not overly complex, but it is fairly nice any way. I do wish the aroma had more of a rich smokiness to it as well as a bit more malt complexity (some rich caramelized sweetness might be nice).

Despite sitting in my glass for over 10 minutes this is still quite frothy, foamy and overly effervescent as it first hits my tongue; luckily some vigorously swirling released the excess carbonation. This has a rich texture to it, it is viscous and has a malt heft to it that I found lacking in the aroma; dark cocoa notes and a rich dark malt sweetness up front is offset by bitter roast (almost has a dark cocoa bitterness to it) grain, a light smoky richness and even a touch of bitter hops are found in the finish. There almost seems to be a cherry like character in the finish at times as well. This beer is actually not really sweet, it does have a rich, complex, savory malt character to it that is boosted by the soft smokiness though. The flavor is much more integrated and complexly balanced than the nose was.

The excessive carbonation can be a bit annoying at first, luckily some persistent, aggressive swirling brings this down to a reasonable level. The initial, hard carbonation accentuates a burnt, roast vegetal note (that I find in some roasted grain / malt heavy beers) that is a touch off putting, but remains fairly light and does disappear as the carbonation does. In the end this beer is quite enjoyable, I like how the light smokiness makes this a rich tasting brew (even though the aroma is a touch too flat, though still enjoyable). Definitely another solid Wild Dog beer from this brewery.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle shared by Robert at SL in a special, super duper, pre-holiday secret tasting. The pour was black, hues of brown visible around the edges, off-white to choco colored head. The aroma was smoke and chocolate, licorice noteably missing. Flavor followed, dry, smokey, chocolate, finishing with a touch of ash, again elements of licorice lacking. Mouthfeel was dry and moderate in body. A really nicely done brew, surprisingly from a brewer I don't normally dig. The smoke and schwarz combo were interesting, good attenuation still showing up. Thanks, Robert!