Black Lager
Goldfinger Brewing Company

Tried from Can from The Beer & Wine Shop on 15 May 2026 at 20:27

Aroma is sweet fruit and mild coffee/roasted/beery malts. The flavor is sweet fruit, chocolate/milk chocolate/coffee and a mildly sweet/acidic/roasted malt finish.

 

The pour is nearly black with a dark cream color and very dense head.
The taste is bready malts, cacao and caramel.
The flavors belie the feel - so much flavor that you would expect a heavy beer, but it is crisp and very easy quaffing.
OA, might have to go back and get a 4 pack, this is a great example of the style!

CANNED ON 02.16.26. Poured into a Samuel Adams Perfect Pint.

A: Very dark brown with 1-2 finger light brown head with decent retention and a few rings of lacing.

S: Cocoa, light roast malt, medium caramel, and dark bread crusts.

T: The flavor ups the aroma components each a notch or two with big blasts of cocoa, light and medium caramel, roast malt, and chocolate milk notes. Delicious.

M: Light but not watery with lush feel and easy to drink

O: Goldfinger Black Lager is an exceptional schwarzbier. Find it if you can - exemplary version of this style.

 

Look - really dark brown with slight rimming nice lacing
Smell - roasty malt with a lil grain
Taste - roasty caramel malts with a slight grain and a little sweet
Feel - medium light body with a light slightly crisp carb
Overall - fantastic black lager

Pours a dark mahogany brown and settles in the glass that color with a fluffy khaki colored head that provides ringlets of lacing and a cap on the body of the beer. Gorgeous Schwarzbier, IMHO.

The nose is filled with roasty malt aromas, and a bit of cocoas well. The taste amps up the cocoa, but this beer is all about the roasty malt flavors. World class stuff.

The mouthfeel is surprisingly clean and crisp. This is truly a pleasure to drink - if only this was a year ago-round offering, it would always be in my beer fridge.

 

Standard caveat: I tend to rate here like I do on Untappd.

Poured into a footed pilsner.

Slight roasty aroma, with a bread like aroma as well.

The malt character is bread like, like white bread.

When I first tasted It, I thought it had too much roast character. It was like drinking a porter. As it warmed up , the roast smoothed out. But the roast did remain.

It's moderately bitter. Peppery, spicy, floral hops.

Overall, it is a good schwarzbier, but I would have preferred that it had a bit more malt.

16 ounce can into a pilsner glass. Canned 1/29/24, had 4/23/24.

Pours an opaque dark brown, with a two and a half inch spongy foam head and a good amount of foamy lacing. Aromas of roasted malt, caramel, some pumpernickel bread, some chocolate, a little licorice. Had a lightly spicy aroma. Flavors of roasted malt, some caramel and chocolate, light pumpernickel bread and licorice. Has a bit of a spicy taste. Smooth, a very good lighter medium body, well carbonated.

A great example of the style. Chocolate, caramel, malt, bread. Solid all around.

Dark brown with a tan head. The aroma and taste are consistent: chocolate, roast, and a hint of coffee. Rather light in body and very easy drinking. Pretty flavorful for such a light beer.

Pours an effervescent mahogany with a thumb of tan head. Nice head retention & lacing

S: Roasty grains, some charred notes, some smokey notes late

T: Follows the nose, pretty dry, a whisper of Anise there as well up front. A little more dryness, some woody hops, & then flat out roastyness as this beer warms up, just a little chicory on the edges as well. More faint smokieness lingers as well. Finishes dry, roasty with some sweet smokiness & leafy hops; additional Baker's Chocolate bitterness too

MF: Medium body, low carbonation, no flaws here

Tons of flavor for the modest ABV; drinks great

As good a Schwarzbier as I can remember having, in forever

 

 

 

Appearance - The beer poured black with a light tan head. Carbonation was visible.

Smell - The dark malts led the way, without a hint of bitterness.

Taste - The profile was dark and earthy. It was like a dark dense bread. There were notes of char and coffee. Smooth carbonation dried out the sweetness in the finish.

Mouthfeel - The beer was medium bodied with smooth carbonation.

Overall - It was a solid version of the style.

Canned 2/6/2023

a: pours extremely dark brown, practically black. Thick, foamy 2 1/2 finger very light khaki brown head. The head slowly recedes to a thin layer covering the beer, low to moderate lacing
s: Biscuit, roasted malt, chocolate, dark bread and some coffee notes
t: More of the same. Dark bread, roasted malts and chocolate lead the charge. Dry. Minor level of bitterness
m: medium body & carbonation, some chewiness but smooth.
o: This is another excellent beer from Goldfinger. Ridiculously drinkable as well. This beer to me is as good as it gets for a lager on a cold evening.