Schilling Rennsteig Schwarzbier

Hoppy Boston

I typically hate writing negative articles, anyone who regularly reads my posts can tell that I spend lots of time talking about beers I enjoy and very rarely write about beers that are mediocre or poor. If I don't like the beer from a brewery I will just not buy it or write about it. One exception I try to make is when I can use the blog as a forum to call out a brewery/brewer/owner for bad behavior. If the last year has proven anything it's that there are too many crappy people working in beer and it's hard to stay informed about the issues with different breweries. Unfortunately, even under optimal circumstances, an occasional brewery can get lumped into something they had nothing to do with. I used a review of a collaboration beer from Threes Brewing and Schilling (that happened to be in my fridge at the time) to call out an idiotic, misinformation-heavy COVID-related twitter rant by the head of Threes Brewing. Obviously Schilling had nothing to do with this, the collaboration was brewed long before the twitter rant, and I hate to think that anything about the situation or my article reflected negatively on them. I thought an excellent solution was to follow-up with another review of an excellent beer from Schilling, this time one they brewed on their own. A perfect choice was Rennsteig, a German style schwarzbier available on a rotating basis on draft and in 16 oz cans.

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Schilling RennsteigHoppy Boston

Schilling Rennsteig pours pitch black with a solid off-white head. The aroma features a blast of rich roasted malt. These malts lead the flavor too, notes of caramel, milk chocolate and brown sugar. A mild dose of herbal and floral hops round out the flavor and add a bit of balance. Rennsteig is light and easy-drinking, not too strong at 5.4% ABV. The finish is crisp and clean with just a little lingering malt flavor. This is an excellent dark lager, I am glad that Schilling brews this themselves and I can keep buying and enjoying it! Hoppy Boston score: 4.5/5.

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Hoppy Boston is a website and series of social media accounts that highlights the great craft beer being produced in New England. Articles include beer reviews, brewery profiles, industry news and notes, and much more.

Boston, MA
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