Sagres Preta

Upon landing in Lisbon, the Bitter Wife and I checked into our hotel, showered, and she opted to nap while I went in the hunt for beer. My first bottle was a 330mL of Sagres Preta, a schwarzbier from Vialonga, Portugal’s Sagres. The 4.1% dark lager poured dark brown with amber highlights and a thinnish layer of tan head. It had a malty nose complemented with brown sugar, mocha, and copper notes. The flavour is mild, but agreeable, with roasted malt leading the charge and a metallic subtext hiding out.

The beer was not, as I’d hoped, crisp and refreshing; however, it did pair pretty well with my first custard tart of the vacation. The beer was a bit too thin to be more than merely enjoyable, with too little alcohol to warrant much revisit value. Not bad stuff, but not remarkable at all.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10.