Cimmerian
Commonwealth Brewing Company

 

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like dark breadiness, dark fruit, roasted malt, and some nuttiness.

This has a much bigger and creamier taste than the ABV would suggest, which shows some careful and well-tuned brewing practices. It's super creamy, with a rich roasty, nutty, and bready malt character, some very, very light fruitiness, and a touch of hop character.

This is medium bodied, crisp, creamy, and very drinkable.

I can always get down with a tasty dark lager, and this very much hit the spot for me.

 

 

 

Big thanks to Craig for the can!

One thing for sure, this is a beautiful looking beer. The deep brown body borders black until held to light, when a magnificent garnet and walnut presence makes this shine. A smooth tan foam rises well and falls slowly into a ring leaving faint traces of lace.

Simple aromas just as it should be, but well established. Heavily toasted white bread crusts and dark chocolate.

Flavor mirrors that aroma with just a splash off coffee grinds and a nutty, earthy finish.

Kind of funny... At first, this seemed a bit too rich. More ale like. But then, as the glass got less full, I noticed it seemed lighter, more crisp, and very drinkable. Great balance favoring a roast influenced bitterness. A bubbly and burpy carbonation.

A great dark lager. Wether it be "Czech" style or Schwarzbier doesn't matter. This one is a cold weather session beer at its finest.

Cheers.

On tap:
The body of this tempts you to look through it, and with some effort and the aid of a hefe glass, I almost can. It appears that the dark brown color of the beer is the preventing this more than haze or cloudiness.

A swirl boosts the medium-thick head and releases a nice dark bread (Pumpernickel) aroma. There’s a hint of rye, even, to boost the impression, though I feel that might be a trick from the hops (presumedly Saaz, given the brewer’s listing as a Czech Dark Lager).

Taste has the bread a little more tame on the bite, a mellow Pumpernickel reminiscent of the von Trapp Dunker I love so much. A medium-light feel, there’s dark bread, light toast followed by earthy bitterness with a hint of bite, then a very lightly burnt caramel bitterness to turn things slightly bitter overall.

I’d love to give this another go, but I think it’s along the lines of aforementioned vT Dunkel and New Belgium 1554. It seems a little heavier and has a tad less of a floral/fruity lager profile, but is quite tasty to me.