Beer Review - Sprecher Black Bavarian

 

A new beer review is up! 

This time, I’ll be talking about a lager from a local Milwaukee brewery. Sprecher Brewery, founded in 1985 by former Pabst Brewing supervisor Randy Sprecher, stands as Milwaukee’s original craft brewery and the first of its kind since Prohibition. 

At its inception, Sprecher focused on producing traditional European-style beers, using a fire-brewing process and locally sourced ingredients, with much of the early brewery equipment handcrafted by Randy and friends. 

The original location was in Walker’s Point, but after a canal wall collapse in 1993 made the site inaccessible, Sprecher relocated to a renovated elevator factory in Glendale, Wisconsin, where it rapidly expanded production. 

While Sprecher is renowned for premium craft beers, its fire-brewed root beer quickly became the company’s breakout product, soon outselling their beer and earning acclaim nationally. Root beer originally began as a treat for children on brewery tours but soon became iconic for its bold flavor and local honey, leading Sprecher to become a leader in craft soda as well. 

In 2020, Randy Sprecher retired and passed ownership to a team of Milwaukee investors, who have further expanded Sprecher’s distribution and product lines, keeping its commitment to local roots and fire-brewed excellence in both craft beers and sodas. 

Now, to the Black Bavarian “Schwarzbier,” reminiscent of German brewing traditions. 

The first impression is that the color of the beer lives up to the name! After tasting, my first thought is that I'm not sure I've ever described a beer as umami before, but tastes like pure soy sauce and roasted mushrooms. 

Very malty and medium-bodied. 

I like this, but it definitely hits you in the face with some funky flavor and is more of something I'd want a can of every now and then, probably in late fall or winter. This was fun to try something new and I imagine I'll buy another single in a couple months. 

This reminds me of how a different style and flavor profile can be inviting and enjoyable without needing more than one once in a while. 

Cheers to Sprecher Brewery on this one!