Off Color Scurry
Honey beer with molasses and oats
Just cause it’s dark and German doesn’t mean it’s an alt. Based on the obscure Kottbusser style of beer, this surprisingly dry beer retains all the aroma and nuance of honey (from bees) and molasses (not from bees) creating a perception of sweetness through cool, controlled fermentation. Because we’re sweet enough damn it.
Grain Bill: Pils, Dark Munich, Chocolate Malt, Wheat Malt, Flaked Oats
Hops: Northern Brewer, Hallertau Hersbrucker, Strisselspalt
Adjunct: Honey, Molasses
13.5 Plato
Just cause it’s dark and German doesn’t mean it’s an alt. Based on the obscure Kottbusser style of beer, this surprisingly dry beer retains all the aroma and nuance of honey (from bees) and molasses (not from bees) creating a perception of sweetness through cool, controlled fermentation. Because we’re sweet enough damn it.
Grain Bill: Pils, Dark Munich, Chocolate Malt, Wheat Malt, Flaked Oats
Hops: Northern Brewer, Hallertau Hersbrucker, Strisselspalt
Adjunct: Honey, Molasses
13.5 Plato
3.3
292 reviews
Chicago, United States
Community reviews
Bottled. Pours dark color. Has a malty taste. Has a sweet oats taste. Sticky malaise taste. Ends with a sweet honey taste. Interesting beer.
Bottle as part of beer pairing at Luksus.
Pours brown.
Balanced brew with a taste of malt sweetness and some chocolate.
Brown pour. Big khaki head. Plenty of lacing. Metallic mineral nose. Taste is molasses and honey.
Dark brown with a smallish brown head. Aromas of darker malts, earth and bit of herbal hops. Fairly light flavors, with some toasted to light roasted malts, some light fruit and simple sugar sweetness. A simple dunkel. 12/14
Very dark brown with almost no head. Roasted grain and caramel aroma. Taste is more of that, plus some sweetness. Surprisingly dry, with a roasted grain aftertaste. Palate is quite light and it seems like it either needs more body or more carbonation. Not bad, but certain not something I want to try again.
Shared at the StlBrews meeting from 12oz brown bottle into a nonic half-pint glass. Thanks for sharing, Tim. It poured a mostly-clear reddish brown colour with sudsy off-white head, thin but persistent, some lace. Super tasty nut-brown kinda ale to begin with, plus added layers of honey, oats, molasses. Bready, nutty, chocolately, floral, fruity, minty, woodsy, peppery, grassy, smooth and creamy. Love, love, love this hop combo: Northern Brewer, Hersbrucker, Strisselspalt. Light-medium body, moderate carbonation, great bittersweet aftertaste. Extremely tasty, can’t wait to get more next time in Chicago.
Bottle at home. Dark brown pour, red highlights, minimal head. Aroma is dark chocolate, honey, molasses, oatmeal, pumpkin pie spices. Medium bodied, fully roasted flavor profile, with coffee, molasses, cocoa, honey, cola. Moderate sweetness. Tasty and satisfying.
12oz bottle. Brown pour with a smaller sized off white head. Chocolate, caramel, with some earthiness.
Bottle picked up in Chicago by my lovely wife. Dark reddish brown with minimal beige head. Roasty and nutty aroma. Sweet up front with a nutty finish. Not bad.
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Dark with red highlights. Aroma is roasty, has some toast and some mellow citrus. The flavor is lighter than the aroma leads on, with some nice caramel and honey notes, slight spice and citrus, molasses, bit of oats and medium roast coffee. Nice
Bottle to pint glass. Pour is a clear ruby brown with a finger of beige head and ok lacing. Aroma is oats, honey, molasses, and sweet cream. Flavor is honey, oats, and malts. Mouthfeel is thin and feels like there is something missing overall. Ok beer.
From tap at Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2014. Dark brown color with off white head. Malty aroma, light roasted, caramel, bread, light chocolate, fruity, honey. Sweet and biter taste. Light to medium oily body with soft carbonation
Poured from a 12 ounce bottle. Pours with a huge amount of carbonation. The aroma is ashy and very subtle. The flavor is similar, not much going on. Excessively dry finish. I am certain that there is an infection in this bottle. Bland. Footbalmed.
Dark mahogany pour with a beige head. Aroma is nutty, toast, molasses, and cereal. Taste is cola, nuts, amd cereal. Fizzy carbonation. Interesting.
12 ounce bottle. Pours a dark brown color with red highlights. Large foamy burlap colored head slow disappears to leave a small bubbly cap. Sweet roasted malt nose. Notes of birch beer and faint molasses. Tangy sweet dark malts with more dark sugars fairly light. . Slightly spicy, like mace or cardamom. Finish has some residual dryness from the honey. Despite the oats, the body remains light. Interesting and tasty. Damn good "Kottbusser".
Dark transparent brown color with small light brown head. Aroma is very nice, berries and grapes, with cocoa malts and sweetness. Flavor is very roasty, slight cocoa, with nut brown ale flavors and chocolate. Complex and balanced. Really interesting beer
Pours reddish brown with a huge foamy head. In fact, the head is most of the glass. I sense an issue here. Smells of molasses, light smokiness, and earthy malts. Usually a combination I am very partial to. In this case, however, the beer itself is somewhat thin, and way overcarbonated. Think molasses soda with double the carbonation of normal soda. The flavor is not at unpleasant, but the bubbles are, and likely not planned. I’d like to try a fresher bottle.
Thinking this was an altbier, but ah, yeah, somewhat close eh, but what’s a "kossbusser", lol, ha, don’t look at me despite my German background, I’m lost.
This is based only on observations, and will revisit as I learn more about whatever the hell "kossbussers" are.
So, yeah, poured into a stange, here’s the rest, (don’t even know if I did it right tonight), (maybe pissed that the Eagles lost to the d-bag cowfuckin’ girls).
The appearance was a dark brown color ranging close to a black color with a one finger white to off white foamy head that dissipated within a quick minute. Lacing, uh...yeah, not there.
The smell, wow, uh...there’s a whole lot going on - slight smokey to meatiness with a semi-thick sweet honey to somewhat thin molasses thing goin’ on.
The taste was mainly sweet with a slight smokey to honey underneath rolling into a light dried molasses flavor. There’s no aftertaste and a slight quick dry finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium. Carbonation runs really light, and I don’t mind that as it leads to a sweet sticky sort of feel slyly clinging to my tongue.
Overall, uh...well, I liked it for me, but like I said earlier, I have no clue what a "kossbusser" is supposed to be. I looked at it as an altbier and yeah, way better than a Long Trail Ale or an Alaskan Amber, so I almost don’t even think its fair to compare. Just drink it, if you see it and don’t compare to anything else on the American market.
Pours up a deep reddish brown with a thick foamy tan head. Aroma is malt, oat, and light molasses. Taste is sweet with honey and light molasses. It gets a somewhat smoky earthy malt backbone, and a oat flavor. Very carbonated, almost to a fault. Its like a very fizzy seltzer water gone crazy. It’s ok, but not something I would get again.
3 finger dense off white head , dark brown pour. Sweet and malty with not apparent hops.
My first Kottbusser. Hooray! Dark red, huge foamy head. Smells like molasses, with a touch of honey. Very toasty, roasty flavors, with a lot molasses and toasty. Very rich, very dry.
Black in the glass with a quickly dissipating light bubble head. Lightly molasses and malty on the nose with the distinct hit of what might almost seem a porter thanks to the chocolate malts.
Thickly filled in the palate but curiously dry with a high effervescence that rolls the oaty character through quickly.
An interesting brew, but probably not a go-to unless you need something clean finishing that's also got interesting flavor.
12 oz pour from room temp bottle while camping in Minnesota. Molasses color and opaque with intense carbonation. Bottle fizzed over when opened. Lots and lots of carbonation. Nose is light-- oats, a little sweetness (maybe from the honey?), a little light woody smell. Taste is great. Lots of oats, honey, and molasses, but nicely balanced. Dry, yet sweet. Thin, yet smooth. Really interesting beer, and unlike anything I’ve had beer.
Great packaging as well. The bottle art is pretty, and the information about the beer is detailed.
From a bottle this is a very dark beer with a pillowy alabaster head. Label on the bottle is quite interesting in composition. Mild laid back aroma of malt, possibly some cola and chocolate as well. Starts off with a mild stout attitude. Mild co2. Yes, quite different even tho it is stoutish but its not in yer face. Leaves a warming sensation down the gullet. Unique flavors hiding in the background leaves me a bit nervous. Couldn’t drink a bunch of this but, ok for a one timer because its a unique experience.
Bottle at home. Brown pour big beige head. Nose is soft fruit and cola. Tastes of cola, caramel, molasses, earthy bitters, cocoa, slight honey. Light palate. More subtle than expected.
12 oz. Unclouded, deep mahogany with a lasting film of bubbles. Nose is whole grain toast, light berry and oat. Tastes of dark bread, toasted nut, dry grass and a long finish of cocoa and honey. Near-medium body has a good balance but a little too much fizz.
12oz bottle, poured into a snifter. The aroma starts sweet with a sharp berry, but it fades quickly, revealing earthy dark fruit, and wood notes with a rich molasses, chocolate. honey note and a hint of baked rye bread and grape jelly late. It pours a dark, deep caramel color with a thin soap white head that?s unstable and fizzy, leaving only trace retention and no lace. The taste is a slightly north of medium bitter and a complimentary medium syrup sweet. The texture is slightly chewy, but not thick, with a slick feel and fizzy carbonation. The medium full body is like a molasses cookie with chocolate chips and raisins. It finishes with a zip of rye, chocolate and molasses that leaves a moderate, chocolate syrup aftertaste with hints of bread crust and a light earthiness.
Dark pour. I’m not picking up on a lot of aroma, just something roasted, maybe coffee but I’m not sure. It tastes of watery malt, I think there is some honey and maybe some cherry. It really isn’t unpleasant, but also isn’t inspiring. The label is great, one of my favorites.
12 oz bottle with a thin layer of sediment on the bottom (mostly added in the pour) served in a Belgian snifter.
Unexceptional appearance: dark brown body with a rather average, semi-durable, head.
It’s not bold but the spicy aroma is unusual, fairly complex and intriguing. Good dark bread base with plenty of dark fruit.
Flavor: moderately strong, lightly spicy, and bready, with hints of dark honey and molasses.
Feel: near medium body with prickly carbonation that seems too high.