Beer O’ The Week: April 28
Land with Xingu for a South American treat
Wamp’s Wisdom
Xingu Black Beer is 5 percent alcohol and brewed by Cervejaria Cacador in Brazil. It pours a dense black with a malty aroma and little head. Persistent lacing follows the beer down the glass.
Aroma is sweet like cherries. Flavor is rich, sweet and nutty with cocoa and molasses making a brief appearance. It finishes silky and clean. This is a tasty black beer that from a South American country more accustomed to pilsners since German immigration in the 19th century.
Xingu Black Beer could be paired with dinner or dessert. It would go as nicely with a shepherd’s pie as it would a mincemeat pie.
Rating: 4 caps
Rico’s Reaction
Not only was it my first Brazilian beer, but it was also fun to say (and probably mispronounce): Xingu, Xingu, Xingu!
Xingu Black Beer lives up to its name. In a glass, it’s as black and impervious to light as a deep space singularity. It’s as black as my heart, as black as my soul, as black as my dirty mind … OK, well maybe not that black.
The beer was extremely smooth. So smooth I often wasn’t sure if I was tasting anything at all — though that might partly have been due to burned out taste buds from an overzealously seasoned batch of my cilantro lime chicken soup. I certainly liked what did come through, even surprisingly, a possible hint of prune. Normally, that would leave me gagging, but with Xingu it worked, coming across like a touch of less-sweet Dr. Pepper. All in all, it was as gentle and refreshing a dark beer as I’ve had the opportunity to imbibe.
If you’re looking to try something Brazilian that doesn’t involve waxing a landing strip near your naughty bits, Xingu Black Beer gets a nice big recommendation as a South American treat.
Rating: 4 caps
Rating System
One Cap: Put it back in the horse!
Two Caps: Consume only if the other choice is Tijuana tap water or Coors Light.
Three Caps: Acceptable without standing out. The Tito Jackson of beer, if you will.
Four Caps: Nice beer that rises above most but may not deliver enough to be considered great.
Five Caps: Truly great beer that delivers on all counts. A credit to its style. Could only be better if served by scantily clad concubines.
Six Caps: Any five cap beer served by scantily clad concubines.
