Ridge Tree
Half Acre Beer Company

 

 

 

Dark mahoghany brown, with a billowing head of tan foam with a pillowy texture.

Mellow roasty aroma, hint of dark chocolate. Smooth, creamy texture. Mild roast, creamy coffee and bakers chocolate. The smoothness is excellent, and sets it apart from other local CDL’s.

 

 

 

Pours dark brown with a tan head. Not a lot on the nose, just some faint dark bread. Taste is muddled - vague hints of dark bread and chocolate. Very dry, especially in the finish. Body is pretty thin. Not horrible but fairly disappointing. I won't seek this out again.

Dark ruby, almost black, roasty toasty scent, taste delivering the same roast along with a plethora of dark malt flavors, still remaining lightweight.

 

16 oz can into a Pokal.
L: SRM 34 Pours dark brown with a light rusty ruby hue, good steady carbo, a 1/4" creamy light khaki head that has very good retention, medium lacing with some thythmic banding lines.
S: Caramel malts, light roastiness, a hint of cocoa, distant brown bread.
T: Toasted malts, caramelized malts, very light char, distant dark fruit notes, lightly bitter in the finish with some pine resin, a touch of soft brown bread, a hint of cocoa.
F:Slightly cola-like brisk medium to med-light mouthfeel with a clean center and a dry finish.
O: Delicious with beautiful balance and a lovely dry finish. Gorgeous resin notes in the finish which lingers a bit. Very easy to drink. It is excellent in its style.

The description in the notes here gives rather extremely generous, imaginary flavor descriptors... My brother gave me a can of this (photo attached), and it was a solid Dunkel, but an otherwise underwhelming attempt of a 'Czech Dark Lager'... Just mute on many fronts. And I gave it a chance... (2405)

 

On tap - pours a dark amber color with anhead that recedes. Tastes somewhat bitter upfront, gradually fading into caramel sweetness at the end, carbonation is definitely throughout. Good job.

16oz can purchased off the shelf as a single for $3.50 plus tax. The beer was canned on 110724, so that means that it is just over two months old.

Look: Quite dark, but more dark brown than black in color. There was two fingers of rocky yet compact light tan head that eventually reduced to a thin, creamy layer that is holding nicely. The head has a nice cafe-au-lait look to it.

Smell: Nice malty aromas of dark bread, dark caramel, toffee, molasses, dark chocolate, and dark fruits (raisins, figs, dried blueberries). Mild coffee aroma and also nice nutty notes (walnut, chestnut, and hazelnut). Similar to the Forest & Main Dark Lager, I get an interesting grape candy aroma. The finish is earthy and a bit woody. The aroma is reminiscent of a tootsie roll; I haven't had one in many years, but the flavor is such a nostalgic childhood memory that it cannot be be forgotten.

Taste: Very tasty and very smooth, easy drinking. This beer is perfectly balanced. Up front, it's malty without being sweet, expressing notes of dates, light caramel, toffee, molasses, cacao, and coffee. The finish is dry, mildly bitter, and earthy/woody. The finish has a lingering charcoal/ashy note, which is interesting.

Feel: The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied and the beer has a bit of chewiness and a slight creaminess.

Overall: It's really good. Incredibly balanced. It's remarkable to experience a dark lager that is so clean tasting. I've had so many really delicious Czech Dark Lagers lately and I would say that this is one of the better ones. Most of the time, Half Acre can do no wrong by me. It's really cool to see them branching out more into the world of lagers with beers like this and Far Star.

 

Appearance: Pours a dark, nearly black, dark brown color with a massive tan head. SRM of 22. (4.25)

Aroma: Strong aromas of coca, dark greens, earthy, and mild roast. (4.00)

Flavor: Strong flavors of cocoa, dark, chocolate, earthy grains, and malts. Mild roast. Dry finish. (4.00)

Feel: Medium body, strong, carbonation, yeast, clean and dry. (4.25)

Compared to Drekker That's a Real Nice Ski Mask 12/24: Pours identical. Milder aromas. More dark grains and roast. Less chocolate and dark red cherry. Drier.

to Bent Paddle False Hibernation 1/25: Pours identical, milder aromas. Less cocoa. More grainy.

to Little Thistle Mist & Shadow 1/25: Pours lighter, milder head. Milder aromas. Less yeast, cocoa. More earth and smoothness. Less carbonation and more smooth.
4/25: Milder head. Milder aromas. Less dark grains, yeast, roast. More smooth cocoa, bread, and chocolate. More smooth.
12/25: Less roast. More smooth cocoa.

to Third Space Good Cheer 1/25: Pours darker, stronger aromas. More dark cocoa, fruit, sweet espresso. Less grainy and roast. Sweeter.

to Utepils Loonar Eclipse 1/25: Pours darker, identical aromas. More roast. Less earthy grains and cocoa. Slightly drier. Winner Utepils

to Modist Supra Black 2/25: Pours lighter, milder aromas. More cocoa, roast. Less white rice and saki.

to Arbeiter Nacht Rider 3/25: Pours lighter, similar head. More smooth cocoa and grains. Less dark roast.
3/26: More dark grains and earth. Less roast and dark chocolate.

to Steven's Point Midnight Black Lager 3/25: Pours lighter, milder aromas. Less dark cocoa and chocolate. More dark grains and roast. Drier.

to Modist Pretty Metal 3/25: Pours darker. Slightly less earthy grains and more roast. Similar.

to Oliphant Rusket Dark 3/25: Pours lighter, milder aromas. More dry grains and roast. Less sweet bittersweet chocolate. Cleaner.

to Fair State Black Pils 11/25: Pours lighter, similar aromas. Less bitterness. More cocoa. Similar sweetness.

to Back Channel Zero 11/25: Pours lighter, milder aromas. Less cocoa. More dark malt and roast. More cocoa. Smoother.
12/25: More brown and earth. Less roast, cocoa.

to Hofbrau Dunkel 12/25: Pours darker, stronger aromas. Less earthy and brown tobacco. More cocoa and softness.

to Kostritzer Schwarzbier 12/25: Pours identical. Stronger aromas. Less dark earthy malt. More cocoa and roast. Similar.
1/26: Pours lighter, similar aromas. More cocoa, similar roast. Smoother.

to Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel 3/26: Pours darker, similar aromas. More earthy dark malt. Less tobacco spice and sweetness. Overall similar.

to Drekker leisure Suits & Laser Beams 1/26: Pours identical. Similar aromas. More cocoa and roasted notes. Less amber and dark, earthy bread. Similar.
3/26: Pours similar. Less amber and roast. More dark earth and bread. Similar.
5/26: More earth and cocoa. Less roast and amber.

to Drekker Non-satanic black goat 1/26: Pours identical, similar aromas. Less black malt, cocoa, roast. More dark grains and earthy notes.

to Kozel Cerny 2/26: Pours lighter, more dark grains, roast. Less smooth cocoa and lactose.

Overall: A Czech Dark Lager. Dark grains, cocoa, mild roast. It's rounded, clean, and to style. Excellent. (Rating: 4.09)

Canned 11/7/24; drank 12/6/24 @ the Yarchives.

Mostly opaque brown/orange appearance.

A rough pour yielded a nice tan head; a thick curtain of frothy tree-rung lacing remained.

Caramel, autumn leaves & faint brown sugar notes in the nose.

Creamy medium mouthfeel.

Brown sugar & autumn leaf flavors.

Nice autumnal vibes here; tastes like a porter to my stunted palate but I'm sure the brewers know what they're doing. Good stuff.