On tap at Growler & Gill, deviously offbeat hybridized one-off utilizes lightly brined squid-inked smoke peach adjunct to casually affect its doppelbock-like maple sugaring, brown ale-like chestnut/hazelnut snag and dark lagered fig-dried black malt dryness. Needs more pronounced squid-inked peach intensity.
Generic dark lager contrasts dry corn-husked astringency and lightly pungent herbal hops against pasty wheat-riced cereal malts before zesty lemon spritz gets phenol. Meager banana, orange and white grape undertones slide below.
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On tap at Ambulance, ‘traditional easy drinking’ dark lager retains mild toffee sugaring for dewy fungi soiling and toasted grain crisping.
Stylishly washed-out canned version of weary dunkel. Dry sherry, sour chocolate and barren nuttiness flicker above toasted grain base.
On tap at Ambulance, hybridized black lager combines black-malted dark chocolate roast with dankly resinous hop char. Minor soy, cocoa and day-old coffee illusions drift off. Serve to schwarzbier fans.
Old fashioned dark lager parades dark-roast chocolate malts across black rye breading, mossy peat dewiness and dried fig swig, recalling English-styled ESB with its underlying earthen brown tea bittering. Tertiary toffee, pecan and burnt toast reminders waver.
Decisive medium-bodied dark lager brings sweet tobacco-roasted carafa malting to smoky Blackstrap molasses bittering, dry hop-charred singe and cocoa-dried coffee slumber. Cola, hazelnut and walnut illusions swim alongside rice-browned mocha-like splendor in the midst.
‘Luscious’ chocolate-roasted märzen lager aged over ‘gobs of cocoa nibs and vanilla beans’ imparts milk chocolate sweetness above Octoberfest-related dark roasted barley malting and leafy Noble hop astringency. Splendid dried cocoa finish may benefit from richer vanilla influence.
Unspecific German-styled dunkel lager allows phenol hop astringency to drag down chocolate-caramel malting and brown-sugared winter spicing. Toasted nuttiness adds some depth as wavered red and orange fruiting dissipates.
Sweet Czech dark lager brings caramel-burnt toffee, brown chocolate, molasses cake and creme brulee niceties to the front above light hop toasting. Honeyed pumpernickel breading and tobacco-leafed crisping sit way below mocha attributes.
Before America’s microbrew revolution swept the nation, this original Czech-based Budweiser product would rate higher. But competition’s thru the roof so its mild dark-roasted mocha malting and pleasant toasted hop bittering seem complacent by today’s standards. Dusty cocoa-powdered dark chocolate chalking, distant brown-sugared molasses sapping and slight chestnut-praline conflux pick up minor charcoal acridity for musty Old World moderation.
Somewhat dull dark lager at least betters most nebulously drab schwarzbiers. Dark chocolate, toffee and cocoa tones get coarsened a tad by astringent light-roasted hop murk. Pecan, marzipan and burgundy illusions tease the soft mocha surface. FYI: go to elpedalero.com for coolest collection of Latin American beer labels.
