Back Road Christmas Ale 2007

Formerly brewed at Back Road Brewery
Style: American Dark Lager
LaPorte, Indiana USA

(12oz bottle, thank BBB63) Small tan head atop brown-black body. Aroma is medium sweet, chocolate, caramel, smoke. Taste is moderately sweet, milk chocolate/caramel, light smoke. Smooth medium body, light syrup.

Pours dark brown with a light brown head. Smells and tastes of pronounced sweet fruit, some spicy elements, chocolatey, some peppery splashes, some cherry hints.

Lemmesee if I’ve got this straight. It’s called a Christmas Ale. It’s also referred to as an ale on the side of the label. We’re told it was based on Back Road’s doppelbock with an addition of Black Malt and the usage of a different yeast strain. The ABV is a hardy 7.7%. The brewer refers to it as an "Imperial Schwarzbier."
So, twenty ratings later it’s listed here as being an American Dark Lager. Something akin to a Heineken Dark.
Makes sense to me. Honestly.
Be that as it be... It pours an intensely dark brown, nearly black, body with a respectable cocoa colored head. It’s got an aroma of bittersweet chocolate with roasted malt, dark dried fruits, and a suggestion of smokle. Medium bodied. The chocolate dominates the flavor and it has an addition of anise, dark caramel, cold coffee, and a mild earthy bitterness. The finish is quite dry.
Very interesting and enjoyable beer for an American Dark Lager.

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Bottle and served in my Back Road pint glass: Near opaque with a lasting creamy tan head and very good lace. The aroma has notes of berry, plum, fig, tobacco, ashy burnt smoke malt, grassy and herbal hops, hickory wood and a hint of phenolic activity. The taste is a wonderful balance of rich sweet malts, fruity tones, and a smoky mineral finish. There is a twang of ripen fruits throughout and an almost Baltic Porter like finish. The mouth feel is sharp yet smooth, dangerously drinkable. Another winner from Chuck IMO, I like the subdued complexity found within. ENJOY!

Sampled during Cheesehead YeHA in Brookfield, Wisconsin and shared by BBB63. Pours an opaque dark reddish brown brew with a with a thick tan head that quickly dissipates to a fine film and thin tan ring, with some spotty lacing. Aroma of dark roasted malt, some dark pitted fruit, black licorice and a touch of molasses. Taste is full bodied, lightly carbonated with flavors of dark roasted black malt, some black licorice, coffee, chocolate and a touch of herbs. Finish is semi-sweet, some flowery hop character and a dark roasted malt aftertaste. Nice Christmas spiced finish was enjoyable too.

Poured an opaque brown with an beige head. The aroma is fairly smoky with a sweet roasted malt base and some soy notes. Roasted malt flavor with a sweet start and tart soy base. Mildly dry finish with a medium body.

Thanks to Mike for bringing this! After I ripped part of the glass off with the cap, this poured deep brown with a short, looser cap of tan head. The aroma found some odd summer sausage upfront, which faded almost completely when this aired out.. sweeter chocolates and caramel emerged after the sausage.. sweet and decent, but there was a touch too much smoke in here for my liking. Lots of smoked malts in the flavor department along with lesser chocolate and caramel.. a touch of darker fruit on the back along with herbal bitterness.. spices, herbs, and smoke on the finish.. the smoked malts were better balanced in the flavor than the aroma. Medium-bodied and lightly toasty on the palate with decent balance. I’d drink this again.

Thank you to Skyview for sharing this one. Black color with no head. Nice aroma of molasses. Dry malt taste. A little chalky and some salt. Not bad at all.