Dark Lager Tasting (May 13-15)

So, I bought a 6pack and am drinking one now. It's pretty darned impressive. Thanks for the heads up!

Edit: I uploaded a picture of the can...

 

Looks this weekend will be one of celebration!

 

Home from work. Time to crack open a beer. Might as well post it here.

Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager.



Pours amber with a 1/2" light tan head, which slowly fades. Light lacing.
Aroma of caramel malt, a light roastiness, bread, hay.
Tastes caramel, light roast malt, bread.
Thin body with moderate carbonation. Dry finish.
One of the better Lagers I've had recently.

I'm sure if this is the wrong place to post, one of the mods will give me the boot.

 

Czech it out – Dark Angel

I am a fan of many dark lager beer styles but my favorite is the Czech Dark Lager style. For those who are unfamiliar with the Czech Dark Lager style they come in varying levels of strength (i.e., ABV) which are distinguished by numbers (i.e., degrees Plato of the original gravity) or words:

“Basically, the Czechs describe their beers by color and strength. First, let’s learn our colors:

• Pale = Světlé
• Semi-dark (Amber) = Polotmavý
• Dark = Tmavý (or Tmavé)
• Black = Černý

When it comes to beer strength, what we would typically associate with alcohol (ABV) strength, the Czechs instead describe the original gravity of the wort used to brew the beer. They have words for this but more commonly I have seen numbers in degrees Plato to describe the beers strength. In order of lower to higher strength:

• 10° or Výčepní
• 12° or Ležák
• 14° or Speciál (or Speziál)”

If you want to try out your Czech lessons, a mid-strength Czech Dark Lager would be Tmavý Ležák.

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Czech_Beers

There are some craft breweries near me which brew Czech Dark Lagers but it is an infrequent brand and typically only available on tap. When it comes to drinking these beers at home, I drink my homebrewed Tmavý Ležák.

You will see in the photo below that there is a label for the Tmavý Ležák bottle, the story behind this label:

My wife and I stayed in the Anděl neighborhood during our 2019 visit to Prague; Anděl is Czech for Angel.

My wife went online somewhere and created a label for this beer ‘branding’ this beer as Dark Angel.

Served in a dimpled mug (like they do in Prague/Czech Republic)

Appearance:

A dark chestnut brown color with a reddish hue. A tan head with excellent head retention as the beer is consumed.

Aroma:

A subtle but quite noticeable aroma of toasted dark bread and a hint of cocoa.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with a pleasing combination of subtle chocolate and toasted dark bread. There is also a subtle but noticeable flavor of Coca-Cola in the background. A low/moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

There is a soft/creamy mouthfeel with an off-dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is very good – excellent.

I look forward in the near future to experience more of these sorts of beers from my local craft breweries served by the plethora of Luke side-pull faucets that are now installed in their tasting rooms. Hopefully canned products as well.

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH

 

Not to be nitpicky, but isn't that technically a British style mug?

https://www.casketbeer.com/home/2020/11/21/not-all-mugs-are-created-equal

Regardless, as always, love the label design, and the beer ain't too shabby lookin' either.

 

https://www.beerwanderers.com/2020/06/landbier/
I have in stock a 750ml can of Waldmann Franconian Landbier (Saint Paul , MN) for the tasting later tonight or this weekend.
A light duty dunkel. Anybody familiar with style?

 

As your linked article mentions, Landbier is not a beer style per se.

Landbier translates to Country Beer and it can be a variety of beer styles (e.g., some dark in color, some more of an amber color, etc.).

New Glarus Brewing has a brand Two Women which they categorize as Classic Country Lager:

https://newglarusbrewing.com/beers/ourbeers/beer/two-women

I look forward to reading your post about the Waldmann beer.

Cheers!

 

Interesting story. I formulated a recipe & brewed my own black lager when the Natalie Portman film "Black Swan" was playing in theaters so, that's what I named it. Unfortunately, I don't have your wife's computer skills to create a label for it.

 

Von Trapp Dunkel.



Copper with a 1 1/4" thick, foamy cream-colored head, which lasts. Heavy lacing
Aroma of roast malt, caramel, slight coffee, wood, earthy.
Tastes follows nose: Roast malt, caramel, coffee, woody, earthy, nuts.
Medium body, lively carbonation.
A very good Dark Lager.

Enjoying this with a Montecristo White Series cigar.

 

A Collaboratively formulated Schwarzbier

There is an interesting backstory to this beer from 2020:

“Tribute Collaboration

To celebrate Carol Stoudt and the storied history that is Stoudts Brewing Company, Sly Fox recently collaborated with the Adamstown brewery on a special tribute beer.

“We teamed up with the original beer rebels at Stoudts to create a beer that bucks current trends and pays homage to the rich history of craft lagers in southeast PA spearheaded by Carol and her brewing family,” offers Tim Ohst, Sly Fox Brewing Company Director of Brewery Operations. “What’s more punk rock than a black lager in a simply labeled sixteen ounce can?”

Stoudts and Sly Fox drew upon years of lagering experience to develop the collaborative beer, a schwarzbier simply called Black Lager. Pouring a brilliant jet black thanks to additions of Midnight Wheat and de-husked roasted malts, this lager is balanced and crisp with an incredibly clean finish. These sessionable pounders come emblazoned with graphics paying homage to the punk spirit of yore.”

https://www.slyfoxbeer.com/news/bla...-fond-farewell-to-brewing-legend-carol-stoudt

To the best of my recollection my first craft beer (it was called microbrewed beer back then) was a Stoudts beer in the late 1980’s.

The beer I will be discussing is now solely brewed by Sly Fox and it was a draft pint that I enjoyed at the Malvern Taproom a couple of days ago when I got together to meet up with some friends. This get together was organized by my buddy Phil and you can see him below modeling with my draft pint of Sly Fox Black Lager.

Served in the Sly Fox pint shaker glass:

Appearance:

A very dark brown, approaching black with a khaki colored head.

Aroma:

Mostly a dark chocolate aroma but there is some toasted dark bread and just a hint of roast (e.g., coffee-like).

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with noticeable dark chocolate flavor but accompanied by toasty dark bread with just a kiss of roast. There is a low/moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. There is absolutely no harshness or astringency here. An off-dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is very good! I very much enjoyed the flavor profile and mouthfeel of this beer.

A plus of this beer is what is not there. I have experienced in some craft brewed Schwarzbiers the brewers go too high on the roast aspect on these beers with the additional downside of some harshness on the mouthfeel. As with other beer styles the motto of “less is more” is beneficial here. This beer has high drinkability (or süffig as the Germans would express it).

Cheers to Sly Fox for continuing to produce this collaboratively formulated beer!

@rotsaruch @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @RobH

 

Puts Dark Floor Malted Barley into practice with an alpha kick, owing to the enhanced acids of Zuper Saaz: A time-honored taking that tailors the classic, noble hop, lineage –

• Dispense: Sidepull
• Consumed: May 12th, 2022
• Posted: May 13th, 2022 (Adhering Benchmarks)

Malt ball-points the olfaction with rich casting agents, for browning/maillard reactions, as an abated kick aids. A sweet git-go that’s concentrated on Heath by English toffee, while working crispbreads on the encumbering caramel. Concertedly, a slight backing on candied – dark – fruit that’s caked against a Gilliam Stick trait: cola. The movement is earthy with a cool minerality, as a roasted flair befriends an outside nuttiness. Thereafter, a suspended capacity on spice that gets a provisioned increment to range clove, in front of the caraway & tarragon additions, while showjumping licorice

The gustation backs that roasted – sweet – malt narrative, while peddling the dark floral characteristics of Zuper Saaz. The continuation is bready and middles on Cramique, as Goetze's get addressed with Riesen. In cooperation, a soft perception on steeped coffee, by cold water, amongst a strained extraction. There’s an ambling gist for Black Sapote over toasted grains, while a singed degree wards smoke on mission figs. In turn, those MI grown hops manifest the outgrowths with a more pronounced bite per alpha, and emphasize a dry (herbal) cultivation through a backwoods walkabout

A creamy rich composition with a smooth heftiness, as yeast gets attributed to the clarity of crisp suds. One that resonates & deviates from porter tribunals, given a silky/chewy interior to the clean – sharp – appeasements = “a dry, easy drinking Czech Style Dark Lager”



…Lukr citations attributable to the rounder – softer – creamier texture with gridlocked (charged) aromas, while maintaining a bright, clean constituent to bevvy: Varitace

 

What was the beer?

 

I'm pretty embarrassed to admit I drank the entirety of my 6 pack already. Prost is a brewery that has had its ups and downs, but when they are on point they are as good as Bierstadt.

 

It was listed at the end of the post: "Varitace".

Cheers!

P.S. It took me a 'couple of tries' to figure it out.

 

A quality operation that did not misfire = Didn’t leave empty-handed

 

When bad names happen to good beers
Heist Brewing Dunkel Houser, M.D.


I've never had a lager from Heist. I love their NEIPA's so I gave this one a shot when I saw a fresh can in one of the stores here. Despite the name.
Great looking beer, clear reddish copper with a stubborn fine tan head.
Strong malt aroma.
Brown bread, light cocoa, dark fruit hop flavors.
Great lasting carbonation and depth of flavor. I would enjoy drinking several of these, but at $3.50 apiece that would add up.

Easily the equal of OMB Dunkel, to my surprise. Getting it fresh makes a difference I'm sure.

 

You say this is your friend Phil...could it actually be Jack???

 

Fresh is best!