Brewed this beast about six weeks ago. Traditional yeast (diamomd lager) and hops (hallertau), and lagered under 13 psi - but non-traditional grain (I added a healthy amount of abbey malt in with 2-row and carafa II). All of the above is mostly leftovers from other brews or crap that was on sale. ABV ended up just north of 5%.
Bottom line: one of the top tier beers I've ever made. Possibly the best?
Flavor-wise: some hints of dark fruit on the nose mixed with malt, medium body on the draw, with a super clean finish - slighlty dry. Zero esters or roasted notes despite the dark complexion. Bitterness is there but faint. Fans of the style will find this exanplr slightly different without being off-putting.
I can't stress this enough: this is not a stout or porter. And therefore does not hit the same. The flavors are complex but light. I encourage anyone to try a Schwarzbier proper and experience a different kind of dark beer.
5 gallon yield boils down to roughly 30 dollars in ingredients, minus overhead/sunk cost. I harvested the yeast for future batches.
For the handful of us on here who brew: pressure fermenting is a game changer.
