Style: Schwarzbier (German for “black beer”)
Brewery: Cervejaria Sul Brasileira
Xingu (pronounced “shin-goo”) Black Beer is a Brazilian beer named after the Xingu River in the Amazon Rainforest. The recipe for this beer is inspired by old Indian beer recipes.
The website states that “Its secret lies in being a beer with a distinguished and delicious taste while at the same time being very easy to drink.”
The beer pours a pitch black color with a small dark caramel or muddy head that blends into the beer slowly. It gives off aromas of chocolate, coffee beans and burnt toast.
The first sip begins incredibly smooth with gentle malty flavor in the middle and ending with a hint of dark chocolate that’s incredibly refreshing for such a dark beer. The low alcohol content (4.7% ABV) only tickles the roof of your mouth quickly until it fades into an amazing coffee bean aftertaste. It has only the mildest hop bitterness that is almost impossible to detect unless you are searching your palate for it.
A refreshing and smooth dark beer that actually shocked me a bit (in a good way). It would pair very nicely with steak in a peppercorn sauce or maybe some mint candies for dessert.
Overall, this beer really surprised me. I was incredibly impressed with its smoothness and lack of incredibly strong flavors. This may be the darkest summer beer I’ll ever have (even though I can’t really imagine sipping on it in 90 degree heat). Its characteristics were very appealing and although it wasn’t the prettiest beer in the world, it wasn’t ugly either. A well crafted and drinkable dark beer.
Grade: 85%
