Black Diamond
Trail's End Brewing

a nice take on the style here, pretty authentic, robust on the roast and maybe with a little more body than the imports, but also super drinkable due to the low bitterness and dry finish, well refined beer here, in my top couple from our time here. nice black shine to this, short tan head on it, fizzy more than usual for the style i think, not real viscous looking or anything despite the color depth. the aroma here is cool, light wood and smoke make it kind of wintery, more subtle nutty german malts in the center, a little espresso roastiness but no bitterness or harshness at all, and its not tempered by sweeter grain which i love in these. the yeast is subtle for the style, identifiable as lager, but less german and old worldy than anticipated, which ends up being sort of a missing element in the flavor, like more german lager yeast influence would make this more complete, but at least its tidy and dry. i get mellow hints of graham cracker, dark bagel, and earthy chocolate, and there is great smoothness to this, perhaps a little more malt complexity than is traditional too, but it works real well, and this still fits squarely within the style parameters. good carbonation makes it seem lighter than it is, a little lingering roast, kind of wintery, robust and tasty overall, really well done.