Niigata Black is an English style sout out of snow country, aka Niigata, and is brewed by Niigata Beer. It is also 100% bottle conditioned so there can be sediment or stuff at the bottom if you are worried about that. Niigata Black is brewed from malt imported from New Zealand and weighs in at 4.5%.
The label designer pushed the boat out with this design.
Niigata Black Aroma and Taste
Niigata Black poured out nicely, with a thick black body and an off-white head that appeared to be on the frothy side. I don’t know why but it didn’t seem like a stout when I first looked at it, more of a schwarzbier really. Still, it certainly had the aroma of a stout with roasted malts and coffee but Niigata Black had convincing to do if it wanted me to believe it was a stout. There was a hint of smokiness to the beer, but I was not sure if that was the toast burning or this beer.
The smokiness permeated through Niigata Black without a hint of irony so luckily it wasn’t the toast’s fault. Yet the nagging feeling of schwarzbierness would just not go away. Niigata Black’s body was thin, too thin for my liking of a stout, and slid way down to easily. It’s a common note on BeerTengoku that we like our stouts black and thick, but this. No. It went down like a glass of water. It lacked a peaty richness that other stouts have.
Niigata Black One Line Review
Niigata Black is not like other stouts, in that, it isn’t I think a stout. It’s not bad, but more of a weak edition to the stout range.
Where to Buy Niigata Black
Niigata Black can be bought on the Niigata Beer online shop here. Else, you can find it at Nomono in Akihabara station. There are stores on Rakuten that sell it too.
