Rail Dog Smoked Black Lager
Thirsty Dog Brewing Company

Rail Dog Smoked Black LagerRail Dog Smoked Black Lager
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From:
Thirsty Dog Brewing Company
 
Ohio, United States
Style:
Smoked Beer
ABV:
6.7%
Score:
89
Avg:
3.99 | pDev: 9.27%
Reviews:
32
Ratings:
117
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 17, 2022
Added:
Jun 19, 2013
Wants:
  6
Gots:
  18
This lager has the most complex grain bill of any beer that we brew. In addition, we roast grains in our ovens and add our own proprietary apple smoked grain, for even more complexity. The final product is a smooth, easy drinking, lightly smoked, delicious brew. This dark, smooth, smoky lager has the most complex grain bill of any beer that we brew. Three different smoked grains along with our own hand roasted grains add to the delicious chocolatey, malty profile.

IBU's = 24, OG = 16.5° P, FG = 4.1° P

This beer celebrates our region's heritage of the railroad and the many volunteers that keep it rolling. Step back in time and enjoy the rails with us. All aboard! Arnie, an Ohio born Irish Wolfhound, loves to get out and run with the big iron dogs.
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Ratings by oberon:
Photo of oberon
Reviewed by oberon from North Carolina

4.35/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured into my Monchshof Schwarzbier glass a deep dark chocolate brown with a billowing deep beige head that spits and spews as it settles into a frothy mass,just a great pour.Dark roast and chocolate dominate the nose with light smoke unerneath,very appetizing.Wow chocolate flavors abound with big roast to keep the sweetness in check,the smoke is in the finish and lingers,I get a little brown sugar but it stays dry enough to make it very appetizing.The creamy feel is great for a lager,damn this is a top notch black lager,kudos Thirsty Dog on this one.
Mar 31, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.77 by KT3418 from Colorado

Feb 17, 2022
Photo of belgianfan25
Reviewed by belgianfan25 from Pennsylvania

4.7/5  rDev +17.8%
look: 5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Found this beer in a variety pack and was blown away. Remarkable completeness, pours extremely well into a Pilsner glass, 1/4” thick head and nearly jet black in color. Smelled a bit like copper and rye to me. The taste progresses smoothly between an early smoky flavor, then into notes of chocolate, before smoothing out completely into a faint lager taste, leaving a completely clean palette. The progression of flavor is seamless, and the feel is slightly thicker than a lager.
Oct 09, 2020
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.39/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
This beer continues yet another (!) brewery horizontal as I work to eradicate the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody. I am thinking that these must have been part of a mixed-12 pack or a case at Country Garden Six Pack (CG6P) at one point & then they decided to single them out. No matter to me! I was happy to take one of each. I usually go lowest to highest in terms of ABV, but the first one was slightly out of turn due to the previous beer also being an Oktoberfest/Märzen. Please forgive my transgression as I get things back on track!

From the Bottle: "Unleash the Flavor"; "This lager has the most complex grain bill of any beer that we brew. In addition, we roast grains in our ovens and add our own proprietary apple smoked grain, for even more complexity. The final product is a smooth, easy drinking, lightly smoked, delicious brew."; "IBU's = 24, OG = 16.5° P, FG = 4.1° P"; "Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad"; "This beer celebrates our region's heritage of the railroad and the many volunteers that keep it rolling. Step back in time and enjoy the rails with us. All aboard!"; "Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, Peninsula, Ohio www.cvsr.com"; "Arnie, an Ohio born Irish Wolfhound, loves to get out and run with the big iron dogs."

From the brewery's website: "This dark, smooth, smoky lager has the most complex grain bill of any beer that we brew. Three different smoked grains along with our own hand roasted grains add to the delicious chocolatey, malty profile."

Why did I bother to transcribe all of that? Because I am going to lobby this site to change it from its current "German Schwartzbier" to a "Smoke Beer" & I am going to need justification!

Having gotten the preliminaries out of the way, it was time to Pop! the cap & begin a slow, gentle C-Line pour into the awaiting glass. I was really heartened as it not only evinced a pseudo-cascade, forming two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-brown head with very good retention, but a very pleasant odor was wafting from it already! Mmm. Color was Very Dark Brown to Black/Opaque (SRM = > 34, < 44) with garnet highlights visible at the edges. Leaning in, the nose hit me with the scent of burning leaves in the late Fall, but it was not an overpowering smokiness. More akin to the middle of the three Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbiers - not too light as to almost be imperceptible, but not so smoky as to leave your mouth & sinuses tasting like you just smoked a box of stogies, either. This had a smoky chocolatiness unlike anything in my exbeerience. 8=O

Digression: I love smoky stuff! I remember my late-maternal PapPap turning me on to his favorite snax - sardines, smoked oysters, smoked clams & salmon, whether smoked or as salmon cakes, but I was hooked! My family was worried at first, that it might make me sick, but I still eat most of it on crackers. I have hosted Smoke 'em If You Got 'em parties where everything was smoked - beers, cheeses, the aforementioned fish & people who claimed a disdain for such things came away with a newfound appreciation for them. I wouldn't want a steady diet, but as a treat, they can't be beat.

Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but certainly big for a Lager. I was letting it roll around in my mouth & on my tongue when I decided to exhale through my nose. In doing so, I REALLY caught some heavy smoke!

I was reminded of Mondial de la Biere in Montreal 1993. Between the hotel & the nearest subway stop was a house that had recently succumbed to fire. Each morning, as I walked by, I would take a deep whiff of that charcoal smoke. Mmm. I was a firefighter for a while in the Navy & it is a Class "A" fire - one whose combustibles leave an ash that produces this kind of smell.

Boy, was I getting some pleasant smoke out of this! What a travesty to simply consider it a "German Schwarzbier"! It was accompanied by a light chocolatiness, but it was hard to define. It was neither sweet nor bitter, it just seemed to be there to add a chocolaty counterpoint to the smokiness. Finish was semi-dry to dry, leaving a light smoky-chocolaty taste behind following each sip. It left you with the knowledge that you drank a Smoke Beer without feeling like you needed to brush your teeth to be rid of a cigar-like smokiness. I absolutely want to see what remains over at CG6P if/when they reopen! YMMV.
Apr 25, 2020
 
Rated: 3.48 by Blogjackets from Ohio

Apr 05, 2020
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.21/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Appearance: Arrives coffee colored with a one finger beige head; a few strands of lacing hang around

Smell: Chocolate, roast and smoke tones

Taste: The chocolate and smoke tones interplay from start to finish, making this a rather unusual combination of flavors

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: I really enjoyed this; I would characterize it as a hybrid between a schwarzbier and a rauchbier, and it brings along the best elements of each style
Aug 14, 2018
 
Rated: 4.21 by ScottyB515 from Ohio

Jan 27, 2018
 
Rated: 4.27 by MeIquiades from Illinois

Jan 12, 2018
Photo of Eddieeight
Reviewed by Eddieeight from Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Dark brown
Smells like an old man smoking cigars in a high back leather chair next to a smoky fireplace
Taste follows the nose exactly. Sweet enough although I wish it had more smoke to it.
Mouthfeel is light and very bubbly with a dry finish
Overall a decent beer but the flavors are a little subdued where I wish they were bolder and stronger.
Sep 26, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by Maillard from Ohio

Aug 03, 2017
 
Rated: 4.08 by Trboley from Ohio

Jul 19, 2017
Photo of Tone
Reviewed by Tone from Missouri

4.1/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 1.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a dark brown color. 1/4 inch head of a tan color. Slight retention and poor lacing. Smells of smoke, sweet malt, roasted malt, alcohol, and slight piney hops. Fits the style of a Schwarzbier. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of smoke, sweet malt, strong roasted malt, alcohol, and slight piney hops. Overall, poor appearance, but good aroma, body, blend, and feel.
Jul 18, 2017
 
Rated: 3.63 by AJmon13 from Ohio

Jun 01, 2017
 
Rated: 3.65 by petrusek23 from Ohio

Apr 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by bacher468 from Pennsylvania

Dec 31, 2015
Photo of jp32
Reviewed by jp32 from Michigan

4.24/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Pours very black, darker than a lot of stouts I have seen. There is a minimal khaki colored head around the edges of my glass.

The small is slightly roasted, but very faint and very smooth. Sometimes it seems as if it has no smell at all. Other times it has a small, faint, roasted smell.

It's difficult to pick up on the smoked characteristic here. There is a little bit of it in the finish/aftertaste, but it's hard for me to pull it out anywhere else in the beer. The flavor is subtle. It has a roasted malt backbone, but I don't get a smoke flavor, and the search for one distracts me from what is otherwise a pretty darn good tasting brew.

Mouthfeel is spot-on for the style and the carbonation is perfect.

For a schwarzbier, this is probably a 5/5. Amazing for it's style. Very nice. However, because I was expecting something more "smoked", it loses a few.
Dec 17, 2015
 
Rated: 4.54 by zachthelaxer93 from South Carolina

Dec 06, 2015
 
Rated: 4.04 by SonictheBeerhog from New York

Oct 24, 2015
 
Rated: 4.1 by TheBeerdedCharmer from Pennsylvania

Oct 23, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by gregcordle from Ohio

Oct 13, 2015
Rail Dog Smoked Black Lager from Thirsty Dog Brewing Company
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 117 ratings