Selway
Sockeye Grill & Brewery

maybe just a touch less dry than i want this style to be, which cuts into drinkability just a little here, but that is a minor critique of an otherwise quite good and rather authentic take on the style, not enough of these around here locally, and i was pleased to see it on their menu this weekend. more brown than black in the glass, light in color even for the style, but it holds a nice head in the pint glass and smells traditional to me, the german lager yeast is mild but still apparent, there is a light roast on this but not real deep on the grain side, and there is a softly dusty baked element to the middle malt, which also says old world to me. the flavors line up with the nose, more depth to the grain than the color indicates, and there is enough bitterness late from it, but there is also some brown sugar sweetness through much of it that the yeast fails to perfectly clean up, and to me that is something left undone, keeping this from higher scores. its still light in body, nicely carbonated, and with nice balance in the taste, pairs incredible well with their meatloaf sandwich too (but what beer doesnt?!), i just wish this was a little crisper to drink on, the rest of it is light and good enough to be a fun winter session brew. nice to see them hit the old school stuff about as well as they do the more modern ones, these guys remain one of the best in the state in my opinion. they do a lot of things with solid execution across the board.

On tap at Cole brewpub. Looks and smells like a German schwarzbier, taste is bit lighter and lacking some of the bitter roast grain bite. Props for trying this unique style.