Common Nightjar 13˚
Attic Brewing Co.

 

 

Poured into a dimple stein/mug: color is dark brown, head light tan and presents 1/4 inch thick and dissipates quickly to nothing, no lacing on glass sides.

Smell is light roast, nutty, light caramel, toast, clean hop grassiness.

Taste follows with light roast, caramel, toast, nuttiness, light coffee note, light fruited note, bready sweetness, and then finishes with grassy and herbal hop notes.

Mouthfeel is moderate carbonation, moderate sweetness, low bitterness but drying finish.

Overall an excellent dark lager - full malt flavor, light hoping but keeps sweetness in check, lingering feel with light dryness.

my first from this brewery, and its fantastic, a great morning beer too, as czech dark lager pretty much always is. i was stoked to see this one. really sharp packaging on the can too, appealing right away. pretty pour too, quite dark, darker than many, the darkest brown with just some mahogany edges in the light, and an awesome inch and a half of tan head thick as espresso crema and lasting, just looks so appealing, frothy and churned up and well refined. the nose on this is roasty and strong to me, coffee notes, dry and european on the yeast side, obviously a lager strain, kind of bready but cooler, stone and mineral character is here, light brown sugar, wood, and tobacco, nice complexity. the flavor is smooth and balanced and deep, fresh ground coffee beans, chocolate malt, autumnal earthiness, subtle cola or root beer or something, bran muffin and dark bread, and the lager yeast is unifying and distinctive the whole way. great balance and proportions, lighter to drink than it looks, dry but not too quick, nicely carbonated, and sort of hearty but also crushable at the same time. its deep and complex, cohesive, nicely malty while also being dry, and infinitely satisfying. old school and super well executed. i will definitely be on the hunt for more from these guys!

Attic Brewing Co. "Common Nightjar 13˚"
16 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating

Notes via stream of consciousness: From Wikipedia: "Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae /ˌkæprɪˈmʌldʒɪdiː/ and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk tale that they sucked the milk from goats (the Latin for goatsucker is caprimulgus), or bugeaters,[1] their primary source of food being insects."

It's poured a very dark brown that appears black in the full glass. When raised to the light you can see that it's clear and there are some beautiful crimson, orange, and gold highlights at the base. The head is a short cap of creamy khaki colored foam. The aroma is chocolatey over toasted and sweetish multi-grain bread with a hint of caramel. The flavor follows with the chocolate remaining dominant but with the other malt components revealing themselves more fully, and an additional subtle note of roastiness. There's a light bit of apple from the yeast, and a very subtle spicy and grassy note from the Saaz hops. It's superbly balanced by a moderate to median bitterness and it finishes mainly dry with a drop of residual maltiness, some delicate spiciness, and the suggestion of black licorice lingering shortly. In the mouth it's medium bodied on the lower end and gently crisp-then-smooth. That soft carbonation comes at a price though as the head retention is limited. It does leave some spots and splashes of lacing behind though which is nice. I've been to the Czech Republic and I can attest that this is exactly the kind of dark beer that you'll find there. It's well formulated and well brewed, and worthy of attention.
Review #8,643