It’s international beer tasting or something: the other day I had a beer from India, this time it’s one from Brazil: Xingu Black Beer. I wasn’t totally sure what to expect when I opened this beer up—based on the name, something like a schwarzbier I think—but was surprised when it turned out to be much more like a darker brown ale, or a lighter porter. Overall, not bad. I don’t know that it would be my drink of choice, but worth a try.

My notes:

Appearance: Color is an inky cola brown bordering on black. A thin tan head disappeared quickly.

Smell: Roasty, light coffee? Otherwise I didn’t get much of a nose character.

Taste: Milder than expected. Sweet malt, a bit of chocolate. Hops are very mild to non-existent. Very much reminds me of a dark brown ale.

Mouthfeel: Medium, but a little thin for what I was expecting.

The beer has generally decent reviews on BeerAdvocate, scoring 82 with 85% approval. RateBeer scores it 3.19 out of 5. Like I said, it’s worth a try if you can find it.