Loonar Eclipse
Utepils Brewing Co.

12oz can. Poured out a dark, dark brown color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It left sudsy lacing. It smelled of roasted malt, coffee, chocolate and toffee. Nice roasted coffee taste with toasted caramel and toffee.

Appearance: Arrives a dark brown color with a one finger khaki head that leaves speckles of lacing

Smell: Toasted brown bread with hints of caramel and dark fruit

Taste: Toasted brown bread forward with some caramel and dark fruit adding sweetness; there are some citrusy hop flavors emerging, after the swallow with some tea and earthy tones in the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: I loke a good Czech dark lager and this is an excellent example of the style

I think very highly of this beer and the whole operation in general. Being on the site of the former Glenwood-Inglewood Artesian Spring Water processing plant gives them access to some of the best water around.

The owners are real nice people and the place always has some fun and unique event going on. A real local treasure I feel.

A - Dark opaque body, black with reddish brown highlights, maybe a touch of purple, an off white head, small bubble lacing.

S - Very quiet nose of roasted malts, a bit of hop spice, mostly white pepper, with a honey sweetness highlight.

T - Opens with dark fruit, red grapes and plum, with a bit of toasted bread through the middle, and tannic grape skin bitterness in the finish.

M - Moderate weight and decent carbonation, a scrubbing dryness in the close.

O - A lovely brew, delivering up a nice mélange of fruit, bread, and bitterness. I think I'll look for this one again.

16oz can into a dimple mug.
L: Pours dark brown w a fizzy and slightly cola-like khaki head, very fine steady carbo bubbles, essentially no lacing.
S: Roasted caramel malts, toasted brown bread, raisins, dark fruits.
T: Gently charred caramelized malts, under ripe dark fruits, background lime & grapefruit zests, cocoa, a trace of coffee, lightly robust, berries, a hint of black tea, lightly sweet, leafy, has a bittersweet long linger that is mildly tart.
F: Gently brisk & wet med-bodied feel w a broad middle and a semi-drying med-long finish.
O: Simple crushable and excellent tasting. Smacking good. The dark fruitiness and dry finish are brilliant. It is excellent in its style.

 

Appearance: Pours a dark brown, nearly black, color with a strong tan head. SRM of 22-23.

Aroma: Moderate aromas of dark malt, dark grains and some light yeast. (4.00)

Flavor: Moderate flavors of black bread malts, dark grains, cocoa and some roast within. Faint floral notes. Finishes with dry, black bread flavors. (4.00)

Feel: Medium-bodied, strong carbonation, somewhat prickly and abrasive. (4.25)

Compared to Utepils Muni Franconian Landbier 1/14/2023: Pours darker, milder aromas. More cocoa and roast. Less earthy grains and yeast. Less floral. Lighter, cleaner.
3/2023: Pours darker, milder head. Milder aromas. More cocoa, dark roast. Less bread, yeast, grains, peanut butter. Lighter and cleaner.

Compared to The Brewing Projekt Dusk Beast 2/4/2023: Pours similar, larger head. Milder aromas. More bread and yeast. Less roasted cocoa notes.

Compared to Badger State SKI-BRW 2/2023: Pours darker, stronger head. More dark grains and cocoa roast. Less brown bread and earthy, floral hops. Similar body.

Compared to Fair State Eleven Degrees 2/2023: Pours lighter, stronger head. Milder aromas. More yeast, grains. Less roasty cocoa, chocolate, bitterness. Less bready and less flavor overall. Winner: Fair State

Compared to 3 Sheeps Lightweight 3/2023: Pours similar, lighter, milder head. Milder aromas. More bready. Less dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted grains. Cleaner and dryer.

Compared to BlackStack Spare Parts 12/2023: Pours lighter, larger head. Milder aromas. More grains, yeast, earth. Less chocolate and dark roast. Smoother and less bitter.

Compared to Phase Three P3 Czech Dark 1/2024: Pours similar, milder head. More earthy, yeasty, bread malts. Less bittersweet cocoa and roast. Dryer and cleaner.

to Bent Paddle False Hibernation 1/25: Pours similar, milder aromas. Less cocoa, fudge. Moreearthy grains and yeast. More clean and grainy. Winner: Bent Paddle.

to Third Space Good Cheer 1/25: Pours darker. Stronger aromas. Less caramel/brown sugar. More dark cocoa, grains. Similar.

to Half Acre Ridge Tree 1/25: Pours lighter, identical aromas. Less roast. More earthy grains and cocoa. Slightly sweeter. Winner Utepils

to Little Thislte Mist & Shadow 3/25: Pours identical, milder aromas. More smooth cocoa and bread. Less grainy and roast. Winner: Utepils

Overall: A decent dark Czech lager here. Nice black bread malt with a light cocoa and roast. Faint floral notes. Clean and dry. Dark, mild, and bready. Subtle, mild, and not overpowering. (Rating: 3.98)

Pours clear dark brown with reddish tint. Thick tan cap leaves modest lacing. Aroma is dark roasted malt, peat, and a touch of smoke. Flavor follows the nose malty with little hop presence. Feel is medium bodied with decent carbonation. Overall, nice enough, this brewery has never been a favorite of mine, but my brother frequents it regularly, so I bought this four pack to share with him.

16-oz can into Guinness mug

A - deep brown/black body with ruby highlights under 2 fingers of light tan

S - roast malts, dark fruits, maybe a hint of chocolate

T - roast malts, touch of bitter chocolate, dark fruits

M - smooth medium/light body, medium/high carbonation

O - not bad

Nice change, my first dark lager. i would have it again, after dinner beer was great. Bit of caramel, toffee, biscuity and not sweet.

I’m starting this afternoon with a Czech-style Dark Lager from Minnesota brewer Utepils. They are one of the top lager brewers in the state, so I am really looking forward to this one. The only caveat is that this is a winter seasonal for them, so the beer is 22 weeks from the canning date stamped on the bottom of the can. I applaud them for dating their beer (unlike the OEC beer I had yesterday).

Moderately strong aroma starts with dark bread, dark malts, dark chocolate, hints of dark fruit.

Appearance is dark (I’ve now used that word 5 times in less than 20 words… what are the synonyms of “dark”? Opening the Thesaurus …) with a backlight revealing clear deep ruby with ample carbonation. The head is ¾ inch off-white with adequate retention and no lacing as it recedes.

The flavor starts with the caliginous bread and then toasty malts. Subtle chocolate (emphasis on subtle) complemented by tenebrous fruits. Quite nice. The middle almost gives a bit of bitterness, but it is actually more of the toasted/roasted malts reminiscent of a porter-like flavor. The finish is nicely balanced with an overall dry effect. The aftertaste has the toasted stygian bread and fruity hops lingering in my mouth. (OK. I’ll close the thesaurus now…)

The mouth feel is smooth and the body is moderate-thin, resulting in great drinkability. Decent carbonation adds to the feel.

Overall, an excellent dark lager. The overall package is (as I stated above) almost porter-like.

16oz can

Deep dark brown, almost black. Smells delicious, dark chocolate, roast, fruity hops. Most of the scent comes through, and in that order. More bitter/hoppy than I expected. Too thick, I'd appreciate it being a little thinner and more sessionable

It's basically a darker and roasty-er Negra Modelo at twice the price

From a 16oz can:

Appearance: Clear dark brown, good head.

Smell: Mild roasted malt aroma.

Taste: Roasted malt, breadiness, semi-bitter finish, maybe a little mineral note? Light feel.

Overall: The dark lager from the mix pack. It's in that middle ground between schwarzbiers and porters/stouts where it's not that roasty in flavor but not as weak as an amber. It's pretty good, kind of a weird tasting finish that I thought was kind of mineral.

 

 

I think this is just the beer Utepils released as a limited in 2018 called Moment. I liked it then and I still really prefer a beer like this instead of juice bombs that are dominating shelves. A little bit of roast, rather dry, and a lot of hops in the finish. Does not seem like the water was very soft though. Getting some mineral qualities. Very easy drinking dark beer.

16oz can. Stamped canning date is '10/27/20'. Formally only a tap room available beer.
Clear, dark brown colored body. Beige head turns into a solid, small bubble cap. Leaves behind short strings of lacing.
Aroma is darker chocolate bread. Small intrusion of dark fruit.
Taste is chocolate bread like the smell. Hops provide a floral, dark fruit vibe. Very tasty at the back of the throat. No sourness or bitterness. The aftertaste continues with the dark roasted chocolate malt.
Thicker than average mouth feel, quite smooth. Very good carbonation.
Sessionable, with a flavor that doesn't drop off as the beer warms. Lots of roasty grains and floral hops. Totally smooth.