Beer of the Weekend #1,097: Salute Your Schwarz

The beer last weekend took me back to the wild and crazy shows produced by Nickelodeon in the early nineties: Salute Your Schwarz, brewed by the Confluence Brewing Company of Des Moines, Iowa.



Serving type: 16-ounce can. “CANNED SEP/12/24” is printed on the bottom.

Appearance: Poured into a pilsner glass. The color is very dark brown, almost like Pepsi or Coke. A finger and change of dense, light tan, bubbly, buttery head dissipates slowly.

Smell: Nice and toasted! Toasted malt, caramel, toasted nuts, brown sugar, molasses, and light cocoa.

Taste: Light, smooth, and toasted. The flavor does not have as much punch as the aroma but just about everything is there: toasted malt, caramel, toasted nuts, brown sugar, molasses, and chocolate. It has a lightly-burnt-toast/campfire element, which tingles the taste buds and leaves a lasting bitterness after each sip.

Fun facts about Salute Your Schwarz

• Style: Schwarzbier.

• Price: $11.99 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.

• Alcohol content: 5.5 percent ABV.

• Salute Your Schwarz is a nod to the Nickelodeon sitcom Salute Your Shorts. It’s the reason why I bought the four-pack.



Included on the can is this rendition of the show’s theme song:

We brew, we clean,
We can, and bottle.
Keg days are never skipped.
But the things that last forever
Are our dear friendships.
Classic German Schwarzbier,
we hold you in our hearts.
And when we think about you,
We hope we never part!

…

Think Schwarzbier,
Speak Schwarzbier,
Live Schwarzbier,
Yeah!

• According to the description, Salute Your Schwarz was “designed by Des Moines Southsider Randy Daniels” for the 2020 IBU Open.

The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.