Sink The Bismark Ale
Great Waters Brewing

 

 

Dark brown body, cocoa-colored head.
Aroma is mild and creamy, though notes of coffee and cocoa perk up.
Taste: nice, smooth, clean, if uncomplex. Just enough depth, though, to keep the tongue happy, medium body, neat texture.
Easy drinking, ideal session-style brew.
This was a "German black" at the pub, not a nomenclature I've encountered before. No matter, it was a nice enough ale.

On cask: Labeled as Black Ale on the board - Appears super deep dark brown with the always present cascade of fine yellowy foamed bubbles densely thickening the head from underneath creating an inch high thick ivory head which stuck around for a long, long while, lace in thick spotty sheets. Once the cascading action stops, the color seems a bit deeper then the glass from the tap. Another beauty of a glass to behold! Smell has only a touch more cocoa and sweetness to it, still a disappointment as far as aroma. Taste is milder and smoother, warmer and more rounded, softer, not quite as sharp with light roasty malts and bit more dryish chocolate and cocoa, some notes of nuttyness appear in there. Body seems close to the same as the tap, with the overall creamyness more softer with the cottony late finish of drying lasting longer. A very smooth drinker, compared to the tap, the cask did its magic and soothes it out and softens it to be much more comfortable on the palette then what I was getting from the tap. Only slight difference in taste and smell, but the feel of carbonation is what separated it. Cask is where its at with this one. Compared head to head with the tap as both were available.

On tap at the brewpub...I talked to the bartender about style, he could only tell me that they use German style dark malts, so I threw this in the Dark Ale category though it has some Munchener nutty characteristics. Its not lagered for any extended period...

Clear dark brown, fluffy tan/grey head of about 1/2 an inch. Simple punctuation mark lace. Some sense of semi-sweet chocolate to the malty smell. The sweet side dominates here, a good deal of roasty flavors mid mouth and some light citrus and chocolate at the close. A little grainy and thin. Not a bad effort at a dark Ale, has good drinkability.