Schwelmer Bernstein

Brauerei Schwelm
Schwelm, Germany
Imported by: Schwelmer Beer Imports North America Inc.
Brooklyn, NY

Available: MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA, GA, FL, WI, IL, WA

The main building of Brauerei Schwelm was already a local fixture by 1701, and today is one of the oldest buildings in the area. The brewery dates from 1830.

Alcohol (wt.): 3.8
Alcohol (vol.): 4.8
Color: n/a
Bitterness: n/a
Gravity: n/a

This is a one-of-its-kind amber, a beautiful beer with enticing aromatics providing a ready invitation. A beer finely balanced between malt and hops, indeed this balance is near to perfection. It will go well in many ways: especially as a fine accompaniment to cheese, such as feta or mild cheddar. More than one is almost required; which is nice because of the half-liter flip-top bottle.
- Fred Eckhardt

The label on the handsome flip-top bottle says this beer is “one of a kind,” and I must admit I’m stumped. It’s deep gold in color, but despite its claim of bottom fermentation, it’s lightly fruity with an almost Belgian whiff of spiciness under the malt. Hops are restrained on a dry palate showing nice malt; the finish is clean and pillowy soft. What is it? Not quite a helles or Kölsch, but close to each. A nice beer for delicate seafood, that’s what it is. A new German style? What’s the world coming to?
- Garrett Oliver

Nothing to do with Elmer Bernstein the composer of film scores. The first word refers simply to the brewery’s home town, near Wuppertal, in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany, The second translates simply as “amber.” Although the latter is one of the most common descriptions in beer labeling, it is also one of the most vague. I would call this beer bronze. In so far as color predicts flavor, bronze suggests a gently caramelized malt, used with restraint. This makes for a firm, cookie-like dryness. In this instance, against a very clean background, suggesting a lager yeast Very appetizing indeed…
- Michael Jackson

Fred Eckhardt
Fred Eckhardt lives, writes about and drinks beer in Portland, OR. He is the author of The Essentials of Beer Style and Saké.

Garrett Oliver
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.

Michael Jackson
Author of Ultimate Beer, the Simon & Schuster Guide to Beer and numerous other works on drinks, Jackson has created legions of converts to fine beer.

Comments are closed here.