, black beer, is a dark lager that originated in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It has an opaque, black colour with hints of chocolate or coffee flavours, and is generally around 5% ABV. It is similar to

stout Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout. The first known use of the word ''stout'' for beer, in a document dated 1677 found in the Egerton Manuscript ...

in that it is made from roasted malt, which gives it its dark colour.

Characteristics

Schwarzbiers are made using a

cool fermentation Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

method, which classes them as lager, though historically

warm fermentation Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

was used. The

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

content usually ranges from 4.4% to 5.4%. They get their dark colour from the use of particularly dark

malt Malt is germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as " malting". The grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. Malted grain is used to make beer, wh ...

s or roast malt extract in brewing. The malt, in turn, gets its colour during the

roasting Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization ...

procedure. Its flavour may vary between bitter and slightly sweet.

History

The roots of Schwarzbier lie in

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

and

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

. The oldest known black beer is ''

Braunschweiger Mumme Brunswick Mum (german: Braunschweiger Mumme, lat, Mumma Brunsvicensium or ''Mumia'', french: Mom de Bronsvic), was originally an alcoholic beer from Brunswick in Germany, which ranged from weak to strong depending on the brewing method. One of ...

'', ("Brunswick Mum") brewed since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

(the first documented mention is from 1390 in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

. The earliest documented mention in Thuringia is of

Köstritzer The Köstritzer brewery is one of the oldest producers of Schwarzbier (black beer) in Germany. It is in Bad Köstritz, close to Gera in Thuringia. History The brewery was first mentioned in inheritance tax documents as "Köstritzer Inheritanc ...

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

from 1543, a brewery which later started producing Schwarzbier and still produces it today. Present-day East Germany has many unique varieties of this style from regional breweries.

Examples

Modern Schwarzbiers include

Samuel Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and ...

Black Lager, New Belgium 1554 Black Lager, and Xingu Black. Dark Czech lagers range from dark to black beers (Czech ''tmavé'' and ''černé'').

References

The Beer Thrillers - An Educational Beer Blog
{{Authority control German beer styles