Guinness Black Lager | Guinness Ltd.

4.08/5  rDev +32.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A nice Guinness, a bit more bubble in it.

The color is a bit more brownish than black like the Guinness draft.

The beer came from a 330 ml and a ABV of 4.5%.

I will bought this one soon again.

★ 195 characters

2.47/5  rDev -19.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Sure, why not.

Very dark but that's color, not flavor. I found it thin and rather flavorless. Oh, the stuff is in there all right, just not enough to get excited about, or even mention.

Something else for the die hard Guiness drinkers but I don't think it will convert anybody.

★ 281 characters

3/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Dark brown but light easily passes along the edges. Decent head and nice lattice like lace on the glass.

Mild aroma. If blindfolded, I think I would suspect amber ale because I get semisweet caramel malt base and nearly no hop. I also get some corn in the background.

Some burnt notes but the body is light and the flavor is not strong enough to give it a high rating. The hop is stronger in the taste than the smell, but still rather light. One positive is the balance. High carbonation level.

★ 502 characters

3.11/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Dark pour but not stout thick, you can see through it kinda. Red and brown around the edges. Aroma was even roastier than guinness stout though.

Taste was replete with sweetness, not so much roastiness or body. Its an easy drinker if people get past the color. There really isn't much going on, its kinda bland frankly, just like the stout.

★ 345 characters

2.71/5  rDev -12%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Pours a black color, with a one-finger large light-brownish head.

Smell is of roasted malts, cacao, with some caramel.

Quite watery taste. Not much too it really. The same way Guinness Extra Stout is a watered down Irish Dry Stout, this is a watered down Dark Lager. Tolerable, yet very much is the definition of boring.

★ 323 characters

3.79/5  rDev +23.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Pours a dark black color into a typical pint glass, but has an amber/reddish tint when held up to direct sunlight. Pours a tannish head with plenty of lacing. Initial taste is definitely Guinness, not quite as strong as their extra stout version but definitely smooth and drinkable. Finish is lightly malty and a little dry. Would not hesitate to drink more

★ 360 characters

2.75/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

This is the kind of thing that your in-laws purchase because they know you like beer and it's a recognizable name.

Pretty forgettable overall. Easy to drink, but I don't know why you'd have more than one.

★ 206 characters

2.44/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25

Not enough roast grain aroma or taste to carry this one. Overall mouthfeel is watery and no lasting palate. Black and more of a lager than a schwarzbier, and hardly worthy of the Guinness name.

★ 193 characters

4.21/5  rDev +36.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

Suddle coffee and fruit notes with a creamy mouthfeel, and a short finish. It has a medium carbonic bite, and low bitterness. A very nice session beer, especially if you like things on the dark side.

★ 199 characters

4.14/5  rDev +34.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Consider this a dark session beer and enjoy it. Good color, actually has flavor, easy to drink and keep working. Clearly a fairly bland product for the American market. Don't expect too much. My distributer has it at 8 bucks a twelve pack. Hard to beat.

★ 254 characters

3.05/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is not one I would get again. If I wanted a guinness, I'd get one. Or I'd get a Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. There's a little in the way of toasted malt and a slight bit of hops. Just really basic, drinkable, and not that complex.

★ 236 characters

3.18/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Better than I expected - abv's a little too for what I'm usually looking for, but this had a lightly roasty and toasty flavor, mild background sweetness, and it drank quickly and cleanly.

★ 187 characters

3.78/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75

Not a horrible black lager by any means, but nothing major about it. A great velvety texture, but little in the way of flavor. A little bit of roast to it.

★ 157 characters

3.07/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I thought Guinness stout was a little on the watery side, but this one is much thinner. Barely any roasted malts at all. A touch of that euro lager taste a la Stella Artois. Kind of lame and unremarkable. What's up with that "Cold Brewed" shit? Let's not try to be ole blue mountain Coors here.

★ 294 characters

3.74/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

At 4.5%, it's easy drinking, with a mild dark lager flavor. A good substitute for the traditional lager, when you want something just a little different.

★ 154 characters

3.44/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Really expected more from this beer. Wanted it to be awesome, turned out not bad. A little light for my taste, love the heavier stuff. Still love Guinness! Just not this...

★ 172 characters

2.43/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25

rb

Bottle from the COOP... Clear dark walnut brew, foamy light khaki head sticks around for a bit... Nose shows washed out dark malt and little else. Flavor is dry bitter maltiness with background dry toast... No hops to speak off... watery.. Won't ever buy again.

3.75/2.5/2.25/2.5/2.25

★ 289 characters

3.03/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Consumed on St. Pats day just to say I had some Guinness. Pours black as night with a finger of off white head that dissipates quickly. Overly carbonated for the style.

Aroma yields dark roasted grains, molasses, and unsweetened chocolate.

Taste is as if they took a flavorful beer and just removed all of the flavor.... Up front I get some of that sweet molases and roasted barley, but this is extremely short lived. After that initial thought of flavor, the beer converts to a light bodied, over-carbonated mess. I get some mineraliness but not nearly as much as the Guinness stout.

Overall, not something I would ever get again. I can understand the market I guess, but definitely not my cup of tea ( or beer for that matter). Also I'm not understanding the cold brewed methodology they are boasting? I would pair this with a nice Reuben sando or corned beef and cabbage ( I mean that's the only time I would ever consider a Guinness beer). it gets a 61/100.

★ 966 characters

3.78/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

I am not sure why people don't care for this beer, but I love the taste and the smooth coffee smell and flavor. While I recognize that there are better black lagers, I maintain this is an oldie but goodie.

★ 205 characters

5/5  rDev +62.3%

~~~
I know several who loved the smooth Guinness Black Lager, I am very disappointed the Black Lager has been discontinued in Colorado, we feel it wasn't on the market long enough to gain traction. At our house we will not be buying the dainty Guinness Blonde brew.

As I stated earlier we very much miss the Guinness Black Lager, with the holidays near, we are looking for a different brand to replace the Guinness Black Lager. Here in Fort Collins, Colorado I've put the word out to many of our Craft Breweries are looking for a smooth Black Euro-Lager.

★ 556 characters

4.24/5  rDev +37.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Date: 8/17/14
Other notes: Beer said to "enjoy ice-cold straight from the bottle", so that's what I did--partially. I made sure the beer was super cold, however I poured into a glass so I could see the color and get the smell better, and do a proper review.

Appearance - 3.5/5
The foamy head appears while pouring, but immediately dissipates after the beer has sat still for a few seconds. Pours a dark dark brown (some would say black). No light goes through this beer. Since the beer is so dark, you cannot see any of the carbonation rising through the beer, unless you look at the top of the beer.

Smell - 4.5/5
Malty, maybe toffee-like smell. A little bit of sweet fruity smell (raisins?). Actually the smell is quite hard to define. Being no beer expert, I have no words to put to it other than it smells similar to the Guinness Extra Stout (which I like a lot).

Taste - 4/5
Tastes similar to the Guinness Extra Stout, but is more crisp, and not as creamy as the Extra Stout. I can taste the standard lager taste if I focus on it, and I can taste the Guinness taste (i.e. the same smell as the Extra Stout) if I focus on that. In that respect, the beer really does what it claims to do on the label which is "to deliver the refreshing taste of lager with the unique character of guinness". I don't normally like lagers, but I do like the Guinness flavor and this is a lager I definitely like.

Mouthfeel - 4.5/5
As described above, the beer is quite crisp. The carbonation is present throughout the whole sip, which is nice. The beer has a fairly light body, perhaps a little watery. I love the crispness of the beer, which the Extra Stout does not have. this might be my new replacement for the Extra Stout, or at least an alternative. This is a nice crisp beer I could drink on a summer night.

Overall - 4.5/5
This beers pulls off what it claims to do quite well, which is to combine a lager with a Guinness. In terms of Guinness, this tastes much closer to the Extra Stout than the standard Draught. I was very surprised by this beer. Part of me feels like I shouldn't be rating it so high, because it's "not really a craft brew". But each beer should be judged on its own merits, regardless of what company brews it. This is a quality brew from Guinness.

★ 2,271 characters

2/5  rDev -35.1%

This beer is not a bad beer, just very bland. The appearance is dark black with an off white head. The smell is very subtle with some sweetness coming through. The taste was a bit flat. There was a bit of bitterness in the beginning but the rest was rather neutral. Also not a fan of the mouthfeel which was too thin and not enough carbonation.

★ 344 characters

2.97/5  rDev -3.6%

Singles cooler at Kessler's in Aberdeen, SD.

Appearance (4) : Cap pops off with a good hiss and pours a fine, three fingered head, beige in color. The body is a coffee brown-black with 95% opacity. Hardly any light passes through, if any at all. Licks of lace are left around the glass with a quarter-thickness ring left throughout the review.

Aroma (3.25) : Dark earth notes, some old coffee grounds, mud. Not much here for character in the aroma. A little bit of barley malt with the imagination.

Taste (2.75) : Bitter-sour clash of dark roasted malts with just a hint of roasted coffee. The roast coffee flavor dries on the palate like a coat of paint in your mouth. I'm not too happy with this one.

Mouthfeel (3) : Carbonated lager feel, with a slight creaminess from the head. Dry, putrid roast coffee on the finish that doesn't go away fast enough.

Overall (2.97) : Dump. A poorly executed dark beer. I didn't think I'd be giving this 5's, but I didn't expect it to be quite this bad either. The roast flavor is okay, but it stays too long and becomes pasty on the palate after the swallow. A good example of how to NOT brew a black lager.

★ 1,151 characters

4.95/5  rDev +60.7%

Excellent beer - Full bodied and sessionable. Everything you could ask for in a beer. -0.05/5 because some other Schwarzbiers are better, in my opinion, though this is a go-to beer for me.

★ 189 characters

4/5  rDev +29.9%

Guinness Black Lager has a pretty thick, spongy, beige head, which dies away rather quickly, a very dark brown appearance, with some brown highlights around the edges where the light hits it, and faint lacing left behind. The aroma is of mild, dark bread crust with a trace of sweetness. Taste is of dark, but not burnt, malt, sweetness, bread, and a rounding hop bitterness at the end. Mouthfeel is light to medium, and Guinness Black Lager finishes smooth and highly drinkable.

RJT

★ 486 characters