Beer Styles

What is Schwarzbier? A bottom-fermented beer that looks dark yet drinks surprisingly light. According to the style description, it originates from Thuringia and Saxony, appears nearly black with ruby-red glints at the glass's edge, smells of bread crust and cocoa, and finishes dry. Brandenburg's most famous example is Schwarzer Abt from Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle.

How much alcohol does Schwarzbier have? According to BJCP guidelines, between 4.4 and 5.4 percent, with an original gravity of 11.4 to 12.9 degrees Plato. Original gravity refers to the sugar content of the wort before fermentation, and it determines how strong the beer becomes. This is a competition guideline, not a rule—individual beers can vary.

The difference from Stout: both are dark, but Schwarzbier is bottom-fermented and lean, while Stout is usually top-fermented and considerably more robust in its roasted bitterness. In the glass you see a black body, but what you taste is closer to a dark lager than a cup of coffee.

The second flagship beer is Lausitzer Porter from Bergquell in Löbau. Porter originated in London in the 1720s, and according to the brewery, Porter was already being brewed in Löbau by 1895. Since 1999, Bergquell has bottled it as Lausitzer Porter and sells it nationwide. The closest BJCP category is Baltic Porter, a stronger variant from the Baltic Sea region. Whether Lausitzer Porter fits precisely within that style is for each brewery to say.

Anyone who hears the word "Porter" and thinks only of England is forgetting Löbau. The brewery already offered it in 1895, and picked the tradition back up in 1999.