Black Noddy Lager
Buckbean Brewing Company

Black Noddy LagerBlack Noddy Lager
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From:
Buckbean Brewing Company
 
Nevada, United States
Style:
Schwarzbier
ABV:
5.2%
Score:
77
Avg:
3.31 | pDev: 19.94%
Reviews:
76
Ratings:
87
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 14, 2022
Added:
Jul 13, 2008
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by djeucalyptus:
Photo of djeucalyptus
Reviewed by djeucalyptus from Oregon

3.4/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
pours a nice dark brown, near black, with caramel highlights. a fair half-finger head fizzles away and leaves good webby lacing.

aroma is malt forward with caramel notes. grassy, woody, sweet and roasty.

taste is malty and smooth, with a good bit of citrusy hop bitterness. almost a touch funky... citrusy astringency... extreme roast? or just acrid? not sure... but it's subtle, and is quite possibly just the heavy roastiness.

mouth is decent with ample, if not a touch strong, carbonation. smooth, a hint of hop slickness lingers... along with a tart astringency that seems a touch out of place.

all in all, an interesting schwarz. not one I'd necessarily want more of, nor one I would buy again, but I'm certainly glad I gave it a shot. not the worst drinking brew I've had.
Dec 27, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.2/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
Oh man, time to break out an old review. So like, back in the day, cans weren't ubiquitous in craft beer. These guys were a novelty. And if you thought cans was a novelty, holy moly, you should have seen some of their hop selections. Like every discount hop variety you could ever think of that no one else was using because they were bunk as shit.

Anyhoo, yeah, schwarzbier, Northern Nevada, 2009, you are here. Pours a dark brown but of a lighter viscosity relative to the SRM. Thicky head, off white, beige, 2/3". Aroma of earthen malt tones. Light roasty nuttiness to it, has those oktoberfest vibes in a schwarz. Obligatory Spaceballs! reference here.

Taste takes on the brown malt vibes with a twist of dark fruit bitterness. Its like RIS found a way to get all up in the schwarzbier. But it isn't a massive influx of anything, it comes off like a mild brown ale more than anything at the end of the day.
Sep 14, 2022
 
Rated: 2.5 by grumpygerman from Alabama

Dec 02, 2012
Photo of chinchill
Reviewed by chinchill from South Carolina

2.12/5  rDev -36%
look: 3 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
1 pint can served in a Unibroue snifter. Near black with orange-brown highlights at the edges and a small,delicate head. Smells fruity but not in a very attractive way. The fruity, sour and flowery taste is a bit like there is some saison in with a black lager. Something may be wrong here, and not just a departure from style, so I’ll try to re-rate this down the road.
Nov 17, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by mmilyko from Nevada

Sep 14, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by t0rin0 from California

Sep 09, 2012
 
Rated: 2.75 by PintOHops from California

May 12, 2012
 
Rated: 2.75 by JosiahS from California

May 12, 2012
 
Rated: 3.25 by HopsJunkiedotcom from Florida

Apr 11, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by shelby415 from Oregon

Feb 12, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by stampfler07 from Colorado

Feb 04, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Cinderbike from Nevada

Feb 01, 2012
Photo of thekevlarkid
Reviewed by thekevlarkid from Maryland

1.94/5  rDev -41.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
Out of a can this beer was dark brown/black color with two dingers of foamy, tan-colored head (black and tan anyone…). The retention was good and it left clumps of lacing. The aroma was… tainted. I smelled roasted malt and nuts but also a certain sourness that always alerts me to a beer gone bad. The flavors confirmed my suspicion; the beer was exposed to a foreign yeast or tainted somehow by oxygen because I tasted mostly the sourness of wild yeast with notes of roasted malt, licorice and nuts lingering behind that. The mouthfeel was overly frothy, the body medium and the carbonation too high. Not sure exactly what went wrong here, but I know it wasn’t right.
Jan 15, 2012
Photo of daliandragon
Reviewed by daliandragon from Maryland

4.05/5  rDev +22.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
I like sixteen ounce cans, or tall boys, and almost always pick up a sample of ones I haven't seen before, especially if I can snag a single. I'm not sure precisely why, I just do. Black Noddy pours a mostly jet black with little head. There are tiny glimmers of brown at the top and bottom but I'm content to call this "black". Nose is interesting, with roasted malt and a slight hint of dark fruit.

For me, a schwarzbier must have a smooth body and finish above all else, and this one does. The flavors are solid yet unspectacular but it glides down silk and easy, which is worth big points. Chocolate and licorice flavors help along the roasted and toasted. While not mind blowing, his is an extremely serviceable black lager. I can see this as a spring seasonal but would be happy to bang it back more or less year round.
Jan 04, 2012
 
Rated: 1 by mhaugo from California

Dec 05, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by jh1982 from Nevada

Nov 14, 2011
Photo of Naugros
Reviewed by Naugros from New Jersey

3.89/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I poured this into my Aventinus glass because...well...I have one and I like any opportunity to use it. This is a schwarzbier, after all.

The head wasn't all that tall on this but it had decent retention and left nice lacing. "Black" Noddy is not accurate though. It's a "Dark Brown Noddy" if you ask me, but unless you pour into something with a narrow stem, like an Aventinus glass, you may not notice. In which case it will be close to black...as it is in the bowl of the Aventinus glass.

I immediately get some roasty chocolate and tropical fruit in the nose...didn't expect that wafting up from my Aventinus glass. There is also what appears a nutty element to this. A really wonderful collaboration of odors that lend their enjoyment to my nostrils.

If only the taste delivered what the wonderful odors coming from my Aventinus glass promised. So much of your taste comes from your sense of smell, but this just doesn't transfer. It tastes really thin despite having a medium body and that's because it's a bit thin on taste. I'm going to let it sit in the Aventinus glass a while and warm up and see if the flavors wake up. And yes, as I suspected, the chill on the beer killed some of the flavor. After warming, there is some nice roasted maltiness, but the chocolate is mostly mitigated...and very little fruit. However, the warming up did bring out some nice floral hops. It's still not as tasty as the smell would lead you to believe.

It does have a medium body that drives toward creaminess if allowed to warm up a bit. Do not drink this cold...treat it like a porter and you will be rewarded. There's a slight sourness that leaves some tingle on the tongue. Not sure where that would have come from.

It's still not worthy of the Aventinus glass but, if you hadn't noticed, I really like my Aventinus glass.
Oct 04, 2011
Photo of merc7186
Reviewed by merc7186 from New York

3.68/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
I had this beer poured from a can into a pint glass.

The beer poured great a very black color to it, a tan colored one finger head and great lacing on the glass. The beer has a very strong coffee smell up front but then you get a roasted malt and slight caramel finish on it. The taste is similar to the smell with heavy coffee up front but there is also a great nutty blend in it that gets followed up by the roasted malt and caramel flavor. The mouthfeel is okay with a bitter coffee flavor that lingers around, somewhat dry and slghtly bitter. Overall, ths was a decent black lager, a little too powerful with the coffee flavor but decent none the less.
Aug 20, 2011
Photo of ChugginOil
Reviewed by ChugginOil from Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A dark rusty mahogany color that has an inch of tan head. There is a decent amount of rostiness in the nose. Some lager yeast and coffee linger in the background. The taste is alright. Some roastiness and leather make for a nice taste that finishes with a wheat taste that lingers. A bit of tobacco as well. Ample carbonation, with a light-medium mouthfeel that is pretty enjoyable. Overall, this is a decent lager that has some tasty qualities. However, most of the characteristics are mellow and fairly subtle. Some more boldness would do this brew some good.
Aug 20, 2011
Photo of UCLABrewN84
Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California

2.84/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
Pours a murky dark brown with a huge 3 inch tan head that settles to a small cap. A nice latticework of lace forms on the glass on the drink down. Smell is of roasted malt and some nutty aromas. Taste is of roasted malt, nuts, and a sour flavor. It almost reminds me of the Old English Porter from New Glarus (but not as well done). Unfortunately, the mouthfeel is a bit flat with a creamy mouthfeel. There is also a puckering quality to the sourness in the beer. Overall, this is a pretty average beer all around. I am not too sure if the sourness is supposed to be here but it kind of ruins it for me.
Aug 18, 2011
Black Noddy Lager from Buckbean Brewing Company
Beer rating: 77 out of 100 with 87 ratings