Czech Dark Lager
Half Acre Beer Company

16oz can, dated 10.26.2023, poured into a 16oz tumbler glass. Enjoyed on 11.21.2023, reviewed from Tasting Journal.

The beer pours a dark cola brown color, fairly clear with ruby and garnet hues, a fizzy bone colored head, good retention and lacing. The aroma is nice, toasted dark grain, brown sugar, toffee, licorice, herbal black tea, leather and mineral water. The flavors are good, hearty dark grain, toasted bread crust, leather, herbal tea, pine, toffee, and mineral water. The mouthfeel is good, coating, lively, super smooth medium body with an easy creamy finish.

Verdict: A nice CDL that at times feels a bit heavy and clunky, but still a solid representation of the style.

Medium black body with brown edging, big beige foam head, crowns of lacing. Smells of earth, leather, flakes of char, and raisin. Taste is much the same but dark grains replace most of raisin. Feel is dry, smooth and well balanced, but not super deep for the style with the textures. One of the better CDLs I have had in a while!

 

It's dark, but not richly dark. like stouts and porters. Still, it's close to the black coffee brown in color those bring. If contrasting this with the ale versions, this has a much more modest head, which is less tinted. There's a malty barley aspect to the aroma, but it doesn't carry the roasted bite of the aforementioned styles. But, at least there is something to smell, something earthy, if not noticeably hoppy. To taste, this is what is expected, plus. Let's get the negative out of the way by admitting this has the body of an ordinary lager. So, it's not as full-bodied as were it a stout or porter. But, once passed that, it's pretty good. Obviously, some roasting had to occur for this to earn its color. Somehow, the cold fermentation knocks down some of the roasted barley/barley malt bitterness. That may be a big positive for some. If that's disappointing, just limit your dark beers to stouts and porters. Remember, this is a lager; albeit, a dark one and it's very good. There's even some stratified glass lacing, even if its head doesn't last. Czech Dark Lager doesn't seem to be a popular category, but if they're this good, let's hope for more.

 

Canned 10/26/23; drank 11/28/23 @ the Yarchives.

Semi-opaque brown/purple appearance.

A rough pour yielded a HUGE tan head; thick, frothy tree-rung lacing remained.

Root beer & mild chocolate notes in the nose.

Medium thick, creamy mouthfeel. Root beer & mild chocolate flavors; cream notes on the finish.

Simple but enjoyable; I'd have another.