Dark Lager Tasting (May 13-15)

Forgotten Star: Gold Medal Winning Schwarzbier | ABV: 5.2% IBU: 30 Fridley, MN
VS
Arbeiter: NACHT RIDER, abv 4.9% | 23 IBU | Contains Wheat, Minneapolis, MN

Head to head from 750ml crowlers bought at the taprooms earlier this week.

Look: very close almost the same body, but Arbeiter looks better because of the head which leaves massive amounts of lacing.

Smell: Very close, no winner. But Forgotten star smelled more roastey, sharper and bitter. Arbeiter smelled more sweet, smooth and like chocolate.

Taste: Somewhat follows the nose.
Forgotten has a little more roast more bitter, with a hint of dark fruit and a micro hint of licorice on the finish.
Both have some caramel and a hint of dark bread
Arbeiter: is smoother, sweeter and has more chocolate, and finished drier, with a slighty dry chocolate finish.
Taste winner? None, it just depends what your in the mood for or what you like.

Feel: Very close, I think Forgotten had a creamier slightly thicker mouth feel

Both are good beers, no clear cut winner. But I will have to give Forgotten the win in the end and only because of a flavor profile preference.

https://arbeiterbrewing.com/beer/
https://untappd.com/b/forgotten-star-brewing-schwarzbier-black-lager/4672167
https://untappd.com/b/arbeiter-brewing-company-nacht-rider/4103163

 

My last Dark Lager is another US beer. How about The Bruery Ruekeller Dunkel?

At about two months old, pretty fresh. Looks great with a big creamy head.
Strong malty aroma
There is a nice bitter zing, and the beer is well balanced between dark malt and hops. I'd like to drink it by the liter, but would run out of cash fast.
The ratings on BA are exuberant. I gave it a 4.18 which was one of the lowest.
I enjoyed this tasting. Great flavors owing to the freshness of the US dark lagers.

 

A Ghost Post!



I may have missed it within this weekend’s tasting but I did not see anybody discuss Great Raft Reasonably Corrupt beer which is a Schwarzbier. Below is something I posted way back in 2018 about a side-by-side tasting I conducted in a craft beer bar in East Texas (Jefferson):

“During a recent visit to East Texas (Jefferson, Texas) I was in a bar that had both Shiner Bohemian Black Lager (bottles) and Great Raft's Reasonably Corrupt (draft) so I did a side-by-side tasting of these two beers. As you detailed above the Shiner beer was 'smoother' and less roasty but the Great Raft was a little bit bolder overall with a notable roast aspect. I enjoy drinking both of these beers but at that specific beer drinking experience I had a preference for Great Raft's Reasonably Corrupt. In all fairness I typically prefer draft vs. bottle/can so that aspect may have been in play as well.”

Unfortunately, I did not think to take a photo of this drinking experience within the bar.

We still some time left in this tasting and maybe this will get somebody who has some Great Raft Reasonably Corrupt beer on hand to discuss their thoughts about this beer. Or the Shiner beer for that matter.

Cheers!

 

Your comments piqued my curiosity. Modelo Negra previously listed rice rather than corn as an adjunct, but now they use "non malted cereals" (source).

 

I'm just making a wild guess, but in terms of marketing saying non-malted Cereals, probably sounds better than flaked torrefied (baked?) maize. I'm not sure what process is used to incorporate the adjunct corn into Modelo Especial and Corona Extra, but I do pick up a different flavor/character in those beers than say Coors Banquet, but I'm not doing a comparison here.

 

I have no specific knowledge of the Modelo brewery configuration but it is a large brewery and in all likelihood brews with raw adjunct (e.g., corn grits for the situation of corn) conducting a cereal cook/American double mash.

Depending on how a specific large brewery is setup they could be configured to brew with either rice or corn and depending upon commodity pricing select one vs. the other; since the verbiage of "non malted cereals" would cover either case (rice, corn) perhaps this is why they detailed it in this manner.

Cheers!

 

Ayinger Altbairsch Dunkel. This beer is great, nice bready and toasted malt flavor with a touch of caramel, but we'll balanced, not too sweet. Smooth mouthfeel. The date code is L1021 which I just googled and looks like probably means 021st day of 2021. If this beer was really brewed about 17 months ago, its held up extremely well.

 

Samuel Adams Coffee Bock.



Sweet coffee on the nose.
Taste is malty sweet, coffee, and subtle notes of the Utopias Barrel. A truly delicious beer!

I need to go buy more of this!

Cheers!

 

Goldfinger/Niteglow/Sugar Creek Malt Co. Czech-Style Dark Lager. The description from Goldfinger:
Much like the resurrection of our own Downers Grove brewery whose roots are from a bygone era in brewing in Europe, Sugar Creek resurrected a previously defunct barley that was once popular before WWII. Fortuitously, this type of barley thrives in climates very similar to the climate of Sugar Creek’s Indiana farm, allowing Caleb to grow a crop from a few hundred grams to enough to supply only 8 breweries across the country. We are honored to have been selected as one of these breweries and to be the only one to use this malt in a dark lager.

Soft water, triple decocted, Czech Saaz hopped, naturally carbonated, and lagered for over two months. This beer is only 4.3% abv, extremely delicate and light, but presents wonderful roasted malt and spicy hop character.
__________________________________________________________________________
Pours a dark brown color with a ruby red hue that produces a two-finger dense tan head that dissipates slowly, leaving some nice glass lacing behind.

Aroma is dark brown bread, some caramel, some toasted malt, slight nuttiness, some black pepper, grass.

Taste brings much of what the aroma indicated. Dark brown bread, some rye bread, toasted malt, cocoa powder, coffee bean, some caramel, slight nuttiness, some grassy, black peppery spice hop character. Nice depth of malt character for only 4.3% thanks to the triple decoction.

Light medium body. Ample carbonation, soft, dry, clean.

This is an outstanding Czech dark lager that delivers on drinkability and complexity. Wouldn't expect anything less from Goldfinger.
4.21/5 rDev -2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

 

Looking forward to catching up with the thread later tonight (four pages, great success!), but wanted to check in with my final Dark Lager selection.

Brauerei Heller-Trum / Schlenkerla - Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock



Full review in the New Beer Sunday #899 thread.

I rated this quite high, higher than my previous favorite Rauchbier by Dovetail (4.75 overall vs. 4.5 overall). Everything comes together well, aromas and flavor are very bold and enjoyable, really love the mouthfeel. This is truly a World Class beer.

Really enjoyed the three beers this weekend, each one topping the previous. Have a new top Rauchbier, though still love my Dovetail.

Wanted to thank everyone for their wonderful reviews, and Frank for hosting yet another excellent tasting event!

Prost!

 

At West Side Brewery drinking the Rauchbier.

The smoke is bold but not overbearing and it has a subtle sweetness to it. I love that beer!
Prost from Cincinnati!

 

Would y'all consider this to be a dark lager?
This 1 has got me excited for Oktoberfest season.

 

No date, but assuming the beer is quite fresh. Poured from a tall-boy can into my Moonlight shaped pint glass.

Clear bole body with a creamy almond cap. Rich fine lacing; superior retention.

Malt forward aromatics, rich, full, and toasty. Hints of coffee, chocolate, and loam. Faint hazelnuts. Clean and inviting.

Flavor follows the nose closely with rising intensity. Gentle palate entry with some brown bread notes and hints of German rye, caraway, and maybe some treacle. Low clean bitterness with a hint of forest floor and petrichor. Fairly dry, linear finish.

Soft, medium-full body with excellent carbonation. No astringency or heat. Extremely drink-able.

Masterfully crafted, respecting and in some ways transcending the stylistic traditions that inspired it.

(4.48)

 

Not much time (heading out with supplies to fix a roof leak and septic problem in Trumble Colorado.) Had to stop by for some Dunkel goodness at Bier Werks in Woodland Park Colorado to reinforce my courage!

 

I’m starting this afternoon with a Czech-style Dark Lager from Minnesota brewer Utepils. They are one of the top lager brewers in the state, so I am really looking forward to this one. The only caveat is that this is a winter seasonal for them, so the beer is 22 weeks from the canning date stamped on the bottom of the can. I applaud them for dating their beer (unlike the OEC beer I had yesterday).

Utepils Looner Eclipse
ABV: 5.1%
IBU: 42

Moderately strong aroma starts with dark bread, dark malts, dark chocolate, hints of dark fruit.

Appearance is dark (I’ve now used that word 5 times in less than 20 words… what are the synonyms of “dark”? Opening the Thesaurus …) with a backlight revealing clear deep ruby with ample carbonation. The head is ¾ inch off-white with adequate retention and no lacing as it recedes.

The flavor starts with the caliginous bread and then toasty malts. Subtle chocolate (emphasis on subtle) complemented by tenebrous fruits. Quite nice. The middle almost gives a bit of bitterness, but it is actually more of the toasted/roasted malts reminiscent of a porter-like flavor. The finish is nicely balanced with an overall dry effect. The aftertaste has the toasted stygian bread and fruity hops lingering in my mouth. (OK. I’ll close the thesaurus now…)

The mouth feel is smooth and the body is moderate-thin, resulting in great drinkability. Decent carbonation adds to the feel.

Overall, an excellent dark lager. The overall package is (as I stated above) almost porter-like.

L: 4.0 | S: 4.25 | T: 4.25 | F: 4.0 | O: 4.35 | Rating: 4.21

 

Like the beers I contributed here the past two days, this one is also a leftover from the Lagerfest from last fall. However, not a Dunkel this time - I'm entering a Smoked Lager from Wolf's Ridge Brewing in Columbus, Ohio. I've heard so much good stuff about this brewery, and I pass thru Columbus usually once a year, so now I know I've got to stop there.

Per the can, the beer's name, Buchenrauch, literally means beech smoke. I usually only like beers in this style if the smoke is a modest amount, but I'll put the smokiness of this beer into a moderate category, and hot damn, I love it! Maybe it's the beechwood smoke instead of smoke from other woods that were in other beers that I've had, or maybe it's just the smoke in combination with the other ingredients that the brewery uses, but they got it right!

I detect a little bit of sweetness from some source, and maybe it's that taste which makes this beer different. The good thing with this smoke is that it's NOT bacon. (The worst smoked beer that I've ever had was liquid bacon, which I did not like, but I can't recall the beer's name.)

Anyway, well done, Wolf's Ridge. I'll be looking for this one when I pass thru Columbus in the future.

 

I’ve only had a few Schwarzbiers only due to availability, but good style that I’ve enjoyed. This was the only one I could find and I’ve never had it so perfect right? Except for its two weeks from its death date, but so be it. Nice malt base, very smooth cocoa, cola, roastiness, a slight astringency prob due to age, but enjoyable and would drink again - thanks to @FBarber for hosting