Black River Red
Pioneer Brewing Company

 

Clear light copper color, pretty good sized creamy white head. Slight dairy creaminess in the nose, along with carmel sweetness, and a little bit of doughiness. Taste is also slightly sweet, kind of creamy and malty, but is rather thin and undercarbonated. These pioneer beers are all rather underwhelming, so far.

A slightly corny smell upon opening. Pours a good brownish red beer with a firm head. Dark roast, caramel and a touch of cocoa flavor aided by prickly bubbles. Hops add note of orange and clove. Maybe a little average for the style, but a nice discovery from a small brewery.

This beer had a small sized tan head that was smooth and creamy with fine-medium sized bubbles that fully dissipated. The body was cloudy with carbonation and the hue was copper. The nose consisted of malt, hops and some notes of caramel. The flavor of this beer was sweet and the mouthfeel was smooth, thin-watery texture and light bodied. The lacing was fair.

Light reddish brown color, medium head. A medium bodied red ale. Slightly roasted malts, nicely sweet. Mild hops although somewhat spicy. Nice balance, good taste. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

12 oz bottle. Clear copper in color. Fizzy, rocky, white head. Head faded very quickly. Slight carmel malt smell upfront. Not much else, some faint flowerly hop presence. Not much else. Taste was much the same, nice sweet carmel malt taste to start. Just a hint of bitterness. Slight bitter and slick aftertaste. Lacks any real body. Very thin. Watered down finish. The initial taste is fine, then the beer just falls apart. Not sure what style this actually is. Not really a marzen, or vienna or oktoberfest as it is listed. More of a hybrid dark lager with carmel malt taste. Very muddled and uninspiring. I would take to a Leine's Red or Killians as much as this one.

The pour is a clear dark amber with a modest in size head, frothy in texture and the lace quite thin but adequate to coat the glass. Malt dominates the nose, with a hint of floral and a pleasant touch of butterscotch. The start rich in malt and slightly sweet, the top middling in feel. Nice hop spicy finish with the carbonation moderate and the aftertaste dry and lingering, drinkable or better yet an average beer, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Clear reddish - amber hue, topped by an off white head w/ decent retention. Sparse lace is left. Toasty Munich upfront in aroma, followed by a combination of fruitiness and sweet caramel malt. Lackluster aromawise. The flavor is dominated by lightly toasted malt, w/ a somewhat one dimensional fruitiness secondary. Buttery notes are present at a trace. Sweetness is of a mundane medium crystal malt nature. Lightly bodied, w/ a thin mouthfeel for style. Finishes intially dry and bready, but sweetness reemerges and briefly lingers. If considered a Marzen, this is most uinmpressive and insipid. Black River seems better suited to the American style its name implies.

Hardly any smell, faintly like wet weeds, amber red color, fair carbonation, head does not last. Starts with a sweet taste but then goes to a good mix of hops and malt. Medium bodied.

Nice red color, but with basically no head. Very malty upfront, not much in the way of smell. Fairly smooth with hops kicking in a little late. Well balanced, but not exciting. Upon my first few sips I thought I would love this beer, and then it kind of lost it mid-way though the glass.

Red amber lager with decent head that lasts, spicey hop nose that is too strong for a Marzen, but fine for American amber lager; malty sweetness lacking more complex caramel undertones of German Marzens. Average but satisfying amber lager

Clear amber color. Slight head. Very, very sweet caramel malt aroma. Too sweet. Not too bad of a taste. Toasted notes seem to be the biggest contributor. Slight graininess. Decent taste. Medium body. Goes down pretty good. Nothing distinguishable here, but nothing bad either.

I know some folks who are very high on this brewery and this beer in particular. I had a sampler of their product while in Wisconsin this past summer and would rate my experience as fair...not bad, but not worth raving about..Just saw this on the shelf here and gave it another try..looks the part...nice creamy lacy head..orangish in color..a tad cloudy though...has an odd smell and taste that is tough to identify...not one of my favorite marzen style lagers...Their chocolate stout is considerably better..