La Sombre Madre
Mother Earth Brew Co.

a simple but effective dark lager, not quite german, not quite czech, but solid, drinkable, and a nice offering from their pilot system, which has been kicked into high gear lately, tons of new options when i was in recently. this is light enough to be drinkable all the time. the color is short of black, deep brown with reddish edges, nicely refined looking, puffy off white head on top. its also low on bitterness despite having the roasted grain depth, really good malt layers in aroma and flavor here from black tea to molasses to dark toast, even a woodiness, but its neither heavy nor sugary, so it stays easy. additionally, the hops are low, the ferment is clean, and this does have quite a bit of the signature longer cooler lagered crispness which makes it a hard glass to set down. trace dark chocolate, smoke, raisin, and tobacco, some european character to the grain but subtle overall, and a just about medium body, smooth in feel. pleasant drinker, warms up well, and more than anything its great to see some new stuff from these guys! this is one of their better lagers ive had in a long time, and would make a fine addition to the everyday lineup i reckon, if they wanted to go that route with it. not really neatly in one dark lager style space, but i think that gives it mass appeal...