Spessart Räuberchen Dunkel
Brewery: Spessart
Town: Kreuzwertheim
Style: Dunkel/Schwarzbier 5%
Color: chestnut
Head: off-white, creamy
Nose: malty, roasty
Body: medium
Palate: malty, roasty, some integrated butter
Finish: lingering, semi-dry, bittersweet
Served: on tap at the Tauber Kette Hotel/Zorbas Restaurant in Wertheim
Impression: Great looking Schwarzbier though lighter in color than is typical. Took ages to pour but perfectly done. Kudos once again for offering a dark beer on tap in an area where people don’t particularly drink them. Again there’s a Czech feel to this and it’s totally different than the more in the Munich direction of the Martinsbräu Dunkel I drank and enjoyed last night. It’s quite rounded and the roast is secondary. The underlying hops dry it out nicely in the bittersweet finish. The second one has less of the buttery element. On their website and on pictures of bottles, it’s called a Dunkel. Could be the name Schwarzer Specht was controversial but would say more in the Schwarzbier direction or really a dark Czech beer. They seem proud of selling the Spessart beers and should definitely be supported for it.
I was born less than 100 meters from this Brewery. Back then it was called Lutz Brewery. They changed their name in 1975, I forget the reason. I’ve been living in NY since 1965 but I go visit once in a while.
There’s another good Brewery a few miles north in Marktheidenfeld on the Main River called Martinsbräu they sponsor a 10 day Beer Festival every August. It’s definitely worth checking out.
If you click on the link to the brewery in the beer review, you’ll see my review of the brewery. I also reviewed the restaurant in Wertheim where I had it on tap. I was at Martinsbräu the day before and have reviews of it (and many more breweries) on my site. A very interesting area for sure.