It's a black beer – but it's not a stout or a porter. It's a…Steinlager?
One of New Zealand's most famous and successful beers is taking a trip to the dark side with a limited edition black lager to mark its 60th anniversary.
Housed in a distinctive black bottle instead of its traditional green, Steinlager Black is a limited edition, though Lion is watching carefully to see if there is enough demand to keep the new brew brewing.
But what does it taste like? Black lagers are rare in New Zealand, although more common in Europe. Traditional black lagers typically have coffee or chocolate notes from the darker malts, not dissimilar to dark ales like stouts or porters, but without the heaviness.
Lion's Innovation Director, Rochelle Weaver says the new beer is intriguing and will surprise people with its light body: "It's quite different. When you pour it into the glass, it is jet black and you'd expect it to be heavy and taste like a dark ale. But it still tastes like a lager - dry and crisp.
"We wanted to play with people's senses, and challenge the expectation of what a dark beer can taste like. It's been dry hopped with Green Bullet hops, which are the hop we use in Steinlager Classic. So you're reminded of Steinlager Classic, accompanied by some subtle darker malt notes."
The colour black is ingrained in Steinlager's history and reflects their long-term sponsorship of the All Blacks: "In many ways it's our national colour, certainly in terms of our sports teams. It felt like a natural fit for Steinlager and was a way for us to stand proud on our birthday – while staying true to our lager roots."
Steinlager – originally called Steinecker – was born following the infamous 1958 Black Budget. Among other measures, the government of the day equalised excise so that local and imported beers would be identically priced. Lion took this as a challenge to brew a local beer to compete directly with European imports, and so began the line of Steinlager beers that has recently included Steinlager Pure, Tokyo Dry and now Black.
"That same philosophy, that attitude of rising to a challenge, still exists and that's why we thought we'd push the boundaries on lager for the 60th,"Weaver says.
Steinlager Black is also set to tap into evolving consumer trends. Craft beer is stimulating the overall beer market and beer drinkers are more interested than ever in exploring new styles.
"We think it's a beer that will appeal to Steinlager Classic fans and anyone who's interested in trying something a little different. It's a limited release but we may look at bringing it back – and we've already had trouble keeping up with demand."