Samuel Adams Black Lager
Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Company)

A: appears opaque and cola brown, but if held to the light, it's crystal clear with deep mahogany highlights; a 1 finger finely pored tan head that receded to a moderate collar; light lacing;

S: roasted grain, molasses, pumpernickel, and a bit of milk chocolate;

T: follows the nose from start to finish; malt forward, but finishes with moderate bitterness;

M: light to medium bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: nicely done;

Reviewing this beer from memory. My thirty second brew reviewed from these guys. Like most beers from Boston Beer Company, also known as Sam Adams, this is just ok.

 

 

 

Rated this one 11 years ago in July 2012, this is from found handwritten notes.

Poured into Duvel glass.

Appearance - Black body. Light brown head. Weak, patchy stick. Decent to good retention. 4

Smell - Very musky. Lots of dry cardboard. Dry glass clippings. Faint cocoa powder. 3.5

Taste - Much sweeter than the nose let on. Well balanced. Some hop cuts through the mild chocolate sweetness. 4.5

Mouthfeel - Smooth. Almost creamy. Slight crispness. Medium bodied. 4.5

Overall - Well balanced, flavorful, no off-characters other than a lackluster yet inoffensive nose. 4.5

 

 

The pour is umber brown colored with a small khaki head of foam. The mouthfeel is light to medium. The taste is roasted malt & dark chocolate. Cheers! B

Look: Very dark red. Tan head.

Smell: Dark chocolate. Some kind of fruit. It gives me a chocolate covered cherry vibe. There's almost like a Champaign funk to it.

Taste: Again, it reminds me of chocolate covered cherries, then finishes with a beady note.

Feel: Maybe a little on the thin side.

Overall: Good but nothing special. I do wish that this was available more often, though.

Pours a dark black, almost brown color with a one finger beige head of foam. Good lacing and head retention.

Aroma is faint. Very mild notes of milk chocolate and a strange lactose like, artificial play-dough note to it.

Flavor follows the nose with slightly bitter but mostly sweet notes of chocolate with a slight yellow pear like twang. Not very bitter or malty. Borderline anemic. Doughy ... not in a good way. Has a strange raw-cookie batter artificial taste to it... really strange.

Watery. Mouthfeel is mildly bubbly and fairly thin. Sugar profile of the beer imparts some stickyness to the palate. Odd feel.

Below average for the style. Very sweet and watery for schwarzbier. There's just not much flavor here. It's sessionable at least but the aroma and flavor are lacking. Underwhelming but not terrible, just very unremarkable. I'd avoid this if you're looking for something with character, but as something to just throw back and drink with food it's passable.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle from holiday variety pack; no birth date. Pours amber black with minimal to no foam or retention. Faint notes of coffee - very faint - on the nose. Tastes of bitter chocolate and weak coffee. Very thin.

 

 

Nucleated Pilsner
Look: Clear dark brown, near black. Poured a 1.5 figure tan head which dissipated into a thin cap
Smell: heavily toasted malt, bitter chocolate and burnt black coffee
Taste: Semi-sweet chocolate, coffee, and nearly burnt toast. Finish becomes more less burnt toast and a hint of hops
Feel: light-moderate body, gentle carbonation
Overall: I never thought Id like darks beer (stouts/porters/ schwarzbier, etc) but this one I do like. Not something id buy again but if I was offered it I wouldnt turn it away

12oz bottle poured into a Perfect Pint glass. Looks like cola with some ruby highlights. Thin off white head falls to really thin covering. Fairly clear as you can see carbonation popping up. Smell is a light chocolate, coffee, roasted barleymalt. Taste starts with cocoa, black coffee, roasted malt. A bit of bitterness kicks in in the middle. Finish is dark chocolate and coffee. Feel is light bodied, lively carbonation, a bit of tongue coating as residual aftertaste lingers. Overall, this is one of Sam Adams's better beers in my opinion. The flavors really shine through here and hold their own. A great addition to the holiday pack.

Poured into a Sam Adams Perfect Pint glass. Color is a medium brown with mahogany highlights, almost like a Coca Cola, with a thin khaki colored head. The head recedes to a thin ring and single layer of tiny bubbles with no lacing. The aroma is mild, with notes of bakers chocolate and roasted coffee. The taste is mildly roasty and slightly toasty malt, with hints of caramel and coffee making it almost "porter-like". Carbonation is average.

Overall, a pretty solid beer, probably one of the better ones in this year's Beers for Cheers Variety Pack.