Dot Matrix
Equal Parts Brewing

RB transfer

 

I had this beer on-tap at the brewery in kind of a stemmed Pilsner type glass.

Appearance:  super dark, nearly-black body, with a finger of frothy tan foam atop.  Pretty indeed.

Smell:  sweet and a little bit yeasty with a subtle chocolatey character. Quite nice.

Taste:  caramel and toffee notes of sweet malt, but with a sort of dry finish that works really well. I like it.

Mouthfeel:  medium body with a decent carbonation and creaminess.

Overall:  a solid and tasty schwarzbier, if just a little bit on the sweet side.

 

Poured from a can into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a medium brown color with a small head of tan colored foam. The head has a rather good level of retention, fading slowly over time and leaving foamy rings on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is quite heavy of a roasted malt and thick grainy brown bread smell. Along with these aromas comes a decent showing of brown sugar and caramel as well as some cola and nut smells. Other aromas of a light earth and coffee smell are there as well, adding a touch of bitterness to the otherwise sweet and roasty smell.
Taste – The taste starts out with a rather heavy roasted and toasted malt flavor that is paired with flavors of coffee and char. There is a little bit of sweetness upfront, being much less then one would anticipate from the nose, mainly of a caramel and molasses flavor. The sweet rapidly fades as more roasty malt piles in, adding even more toasty and grainy maltiness to the flavor. The coffee also bitters a bit more all while some grass and earthiness come to the tongue, in the end leaving one with a roasty and malty taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The feel is a bit heavier on the palate for a 5.2 % lager with a carbonation level that is rather average. For the dark and roasty tastes of the brew the thicker feel is actually quite nice, and makes for a nice slower sipping, lower abv brew.
Overall – A rather nice and roasty, slightly more malty, and not overly sweet dark lager. Rather pleasant and one to try if the opportunity arises.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured black with a big head that slowly dropped to a sheen with smooth lacing.

Very nice roasty and toasty flavors, while still light and refreshing the way I think lagers should be.

Definitely recommend this one, and look for more from Equal Parts Brewing.

No review, this can lingered around in my beer fridge since Easter and late one nite needed to knock it out. Repeat buy will review then.

Looks like cola or weak black coffee, brown to reddish and mostly clear. Medium tan head. The smell is of roasted malts but not burnt or harsh, quite nice but a little subtle. The taste is of roasted malt, slight toffee, very light dried fruits that provide a very slight sweetness. It has a roasted/toasted quality but nothing overpowering. Tons of lightly toasted malt flavor with no harsh bitterness. The finish is still medium light with a dry finish. I think it’s outstanding. I hope I find more next time I go shopping.

 

 

This is an excellent dark lager and it also has sentimental value for me because I enjoyed it on a glorious Saturday afternoon sitting quietly with my buddy Ralphie the pit bull. We had just finished visiting with an old hockey friend and we were quite content with life!

I had it on tap poured into a plastic cup. Even with this barbarous container the beer had an excellent head and nice curtain lacing. Beautiful dark brown with beige head and lacing.

Dark roasted malt smell and taste. Slightly herbal and earthy. A bit of birch flavor I think. I believe this is available in can near me. I may need to go and buy some.

pours a coffee dark brown body with red outer tinges and produces a pillowy burnt cream frothy foam head with moderately high retention that leaves a moderate amount of thick, sticky lacing as it slowly settles to a defined halo around a murky cap

the aroma is fresh herbal and earthy tea-leaf-like hop, burnt caramel roasted coffee bean malt, a faint scent of lemon, and molasses. it's clean and charred, somehow all at once.

taste somewhat just follows the nose. the malt is dry, roasted, and clean. the hop brings a bit of earthy and herbal tea leaf dirtiness. caramel and citrus lemon tinges hit on the wings. light essence of dark chocolate in the mix, though it's far from obvious. has a root-like sweetness tang that could flirt with black licorice, but shies from spiciness

mouthfeel is moderate carbonation and a medium light body, going smooth and somewhat watery at times, with a dry finish and a roasted bittersweet with earthy and herbal hop lingering aftertaste.

overall:
while this makes for one murky lager styled brew, it is highly enjoyable and totally works. this may be my favorite scharzbier, with a great complicated-to-easy mix

 

A: Pours a dark brown, nearly black color. Some ruby around the edges. A dense khaki/beige head rises to over two fingers. Good retention and spotty lace left behind.
S: Roast, chocolate, and coffee. Bitter char, earthy tea like hops. The roast is huge here, which is not bad, but doesn't have the elegance and balance I look for in most any lager.
T: Again, big roast, chocolate and coffee. Char, and bitterness from the roast and a little bit of hoppy bitterness in there as well. Dry burnt toast and roasted bitterness lingers. The hoppy character almost balances, but again the roast is just to much for me.
M/O: A medium body with good carbonation. Very clean, and finishes super dry. Like burnt toast dry. Easy enough to drink, but I'm not particularly looking to come back for more.

A good stab at a darker lager, if it doesn't exactly hold up perfectly for me. The roast is basically at a stout level, which might not be the worst thing if it didn't have a dry toast finish. I'm not necessarily sure they were going for a Schwarzbier here either, its just labeled as "Black Lager" but I guess this fits best. Anyway, glad I tried it and the 4 pack won't go to waist. Good on them for attempting this, even if it didn't turn out to be my particular jam.