Tmavě Pivo
Lucky Envelope Brewing

i have not had nearly enough beers from lucky envelope, and will make a point to check them out next time i am in seattle, this one was particularly impressive, and to score it on the traditional side pull was extra rad, although wrongly listed (i think) where i had it as an ale, this is a czech dark lager from what i can tell. gorgeous pour from this dispense method, creamy airy tan headed, deep chestnut to brown colored body, lace and retention are both lovely, and this looks light and alive for being a darker brew. freshness is evident right away, but so is maturity. its fresh in the sense it doesnt have any of the oxidized thinness many of the imports have in this style, but has maturity in the sense that its well lagered, seems dry and crisp for having as much malt character as it does, really appealing. light roast, dry cocoa, tobacco, and minerals, trace smoke and raisin too, and a well deployed old world lager yeast strain, super authentic. the flavor is right there too, nutty and roasty right away but neither bitter nor sweet, dark bread, minerals, the yeast as robust as the grain profile, super well integrated and mellow to drink on, off dry but it goes down quick and easy, tastes clean and fast on the finish, and is wintery and satisfying without being too hearty. the side pull makes the texture amazing, super fluffy and light and active, delicious. i love the yeast this has on it, and i think the technical quality of it is excellent overall. a new favorite in my limited experience with these guys and their beer. i wish more americn breweries would give this style this level of attention...

Dark brown that shows as much more garnet when held up to the light. Like a deep mahogany/cherry. I just listed three different colours. Oh well. Very crisp and clear appearance. Good two fingers of rocky beige/cream coloured head that slowly dissipates and leaves a wonderful trail of lacing down the side of the glass.

Nose is lightly roasted grains with a good lager-y undercurrent. Mildly sweet though I'm having a tough time pinning down just from what realm the sweetness originates. Clean.

Flavour offers moderate roast with a light fruitiness that never really commits to the sweet side of things, instead staying in a bitter and dried stage. Like prunes instead of plums. I get a decent amount of char in the back end and some dark coffee, but again with a light fruity aspect to it. Towards the very tail end I get a swell of citrus bitterness that lingers through to the finish. Finish builds to a pretty pronounced bitter aftertaste. Body is a bit thin. Carbonation is fine (as a descriptor, not a judgement... though it's also fine in terms of my assessment). Finish is dry and bitter.

I'll admit I don't really know the CDL style overly well, so I'm not super sure how true to form this is. Alls I know in the end is that I enjoy it though it doesn't blow me away. One of those ones where I feel like my overall impression is better than the final score I gave it, but I don't really feel like any individual component warrants up-shifting to get there.

 

Poured from 16oz can into my BeerAdvocate teku. Canned 11/9/22, this was a collaboration with Weathered Souls, Bottleworks, Evan Rail and Annie Johnson.

Appearance: dark, dark brown which shows a deep, rich ruby hue when held up to the light; there's no haze to this beer at all. Head is a thick finger of frothy tan foam which has decent retention. Nice!

Smell: a bit of sweetness and a good level of roast, with a nice hint of hops coming through. A good example of the style.

Taste: roasty, caramelly, and just a little bit sweet. Bitterness is good, although there's not much hop flavor (not that comes through the roast, anyway). I like this beer.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good carbonation and a good creaminess.

Overall: this is a very drinkable beer to me. I might say it's just a *touch* on the sweet side for me, but still, very quaffable.