Soir
The Drowned Lands

 

Look: It pours dark brown with a brown head. Head retention is very good.

Smell: It has a combination of coffee and roast. There is also a touch of smokiness.

Taste: It roast flavors with some coffee elements. There are some sweet qualities in the flavor as well with a slight herbal note.

Feel: It has a medium light body with a dry finish.

Overall: It has good flavors and certainly matches a typical schwarzbier. It's easy drinking as well.

 

 

 

 

Pours deep brown, brief, cola-like 1" tan head, little retention or lacing. Nose is charred barrel, roasted malt, molasses, floral hop. Taste is balanced, with mild malt sweetness supporting with brightish hop notes. Finish is on the dry side with mild tannins and earth. Mouthfeel has some chew, but carbonation is crisp. Would prefer it a bit drier than it is, but still very pleasant.

A: The beer is nearly black in color - faint traces of dark brown are visible near the edge of the glass when it is held up to a bright light. It poured with a short off white head that quickly died down, leaving a narrow collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of dark malts and coffee are present along with notes of sourness from the oak foeder aging.
T: The taste follows the smell and a bit of sour, vinegar-like flavors stand out in front of notes of chocolate, coffee and dark malt flavors.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The oak foeder aging adds an interesting twist to this schwartzbier, making it very unique.

Serving type: can

Wonderful blackish brown pour with a finger of light brown foam. Smells of strong of roasted malt, char and cocoa, with accenting smoke, toasted caramel and herbal hops. Taste has big char and earth, but slowly adds the caramel, cocoa, vanilla, roasted malt, raisin, prune, tobacco, brown bread, slight wood root and a kiss of bbq sauce. Feel is medium bodied, starts malty and gets more yeast through the sip, dries out too with some elevation on the palate. Going to have to try more of these drowned lands because this was really well done

 

Big creamy cocoa with the mildest roast coffee flavor. Fairly drinkable, but I'd like a little more depth. Balanced finish. Still a great lager, I'd have another.

Decanted from an 16 oz (473 ml) can into a custom Captain Lawrence muffin top, pint glass; no production information.
A: Pours a hazy, brown to dark brown color with a one finger, mocha head, slightly more than retention, and amorphous swaths of lacing.
S: Tangy side of tart. Aromas of black coffee, honey, toast/cookie, earth, and walnut, but mostly roasty.
T: Semidry. Black coffee, brown sugar, and rich, loamy earth. Bitterness solid and out front, but finish is lightly sweet and malty with a slightly bitter aftertaste.
M: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Drinks very smoothly.
O: Tasty. Easy drinking.

Beautiful wood-like ebony body, topped with a tan head. Excellent head production and good retention.

Really fantastic aroma, with notes of bread, toffee, cola, pepper, and dark fruit. The double-oak approach doesn't add a ton to the nose, although you can pick up just a touch.

The oak definitely plays into the flavor, though, adding a complexity to the malt-driven profile that is wonderful. Chocolate, coffee, cola, raisin, dark bread, toffee, caramel. The hops don't really stand out; relatively low bitterness, but still balanced.

Crisp and lively, a bit oily. Exceptional drinkability. An absolutely delicious beer!

Deep mahogany in hue. Sandy head pushes about 2 fingers high and quickly recedes to a thin ring. Light lacing.
Nose is a nuanced yet firm mix of roast, oak, tobacco, coffee, light smoke, and a taming herbal note.
Taste leads with a balance of roast and fruity coffee. Lightly charred oak, tobacco, peppery rye, wisps of smoke, and a peaty note follow. Finish hints at a deep dark rye bread.
Mouthfeel is on the light side, carbonation is moderate and really holds it all together. Goes down smooth, but it really pays to make this one last. As it warms the complexity really picks up.
Overall a fantastic take on style.
Thanks MacMalt

 

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like roasted malt, smoke, oak, and herbal hop character.

This is really good stuff - Drowned Lands seems to have a handle on this sort of stuff. There's a great roasty and spicy malt character to it, with some light hop character, a hint of oak, some coffee, and dark chocolate.

This is medium bodied and very crisp, with a fantastic drinkability.

Black lagers are always some of the most satisfying, refreshing, and excellent beers for my palate. This continues that feeling for me.

 

Reviewed two days after can release. Poured into a pilsener glass. It pours a dark cola color with a full finger of fluffy, light khaki head and a full sheen of creamy lacing. It smells of roasty, oaky malt with whiffs of citrus, anise, and caramel. The unique flavoring from the Foerder fermentation is immediately evident. As it opens there is an oaky, slightly sour taste. But underlying it is a rich blend of chocolate cake, slightly-burnt coffee, and notes of vanilla/caramel. These flavors develop nicely as the beer warms in the glass. There is also a slight spicy charred bitterness throughout. These flavors blend seamlessly. The mouth feel is lite, crisp, and refreshing with pleasant carbonation, and the 5% ABV adds to its drinkability. Overall, Soir is exactly what I'd hoped for: a first rate Black Lager that benefits from Drowned Lands adept use of Foerder fermentation. If you enjoy a Schwarzbier, then you should seek out Soir.