Back Road Christmas Ale 2007

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

12 oz bottle courtesy of BBB63. Pours a pitch black with a medium sized creamy light brown head. Aroma of roasted malt and bitter dark chocolate. Taste of dark sweet chocolate, roasted malts with a hint of wild berry. Another great brew from Back Road.

100th rating of an Indiana beer
12 ounce bottle served in my Back Road 10th Anniversary glass (Thanks Mike)
Pours damn near opaque brown. It develops large dark brown head that fades to a slight ring around the edge.
I get licorice, smoke, chewing tobacco, wood, and figs in the nose.
The flavor is chocolate, light smoke, dates and rasins. Like Mike mentioned, its very much like a baltic porter.
Full body. Live carbonation. Dry, roasted finish.
Easy to drink. Full of flavor. Smooth. Wonderful. Good on ya, Chuck. Merry Christmas!

12 oz bottle courtesy of BBB63 ( thanks Mike for this awesome brew ), & this was a bonus! Pours very dark, like old engine oil with a small tan head & spotty lacing. Who needs a head & lacing with a delicious brew like this. The initial flavor you experience is brown sugar, followed by molasses, caramel, mild soy & all the dark fruits. Finish is substantial enough to know your drinking a real beer, but not so oily that you feel you need to rinse your mouth out after you finish. It was indeed Christmas in March.

Bottle courtesy of tjthresh. Pours almost black with a dense, dark tan, creamy head that diminishes slowly to a thin skin, leaving behind patchy lace. The nose is of dark roasted malt, plum, light chocolate, and faint notes of licorice and alcohol. Full-bodied and creamy, with soft carbonation, the palate finishes with a roasted and lightly bitter finish. The flavor is a big roasted dark malt front with notes of plums, licorice, coffee and light chocolate transitioning to a lightly hoppy, lingering bitter finish. Big, roasty and fruity, this is by far the biggest, fullest lager that I’ve ever sampled. Quite unique and a joy to consume it’s like a "suicide" blend of flavors that I associate with several different styles, from barley wines to doppel bocks to impy stouts. I was truly impressed with this one. Thanks again for bringing this one back for me, Tom!

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!

12 oz bonus bottle from BBB63! Nose of molasses, smokiness, and chocolate; Very black with a small brown head; flavor is coffee, hop bitterness, light smokiness, and heavy dark chocolate.

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.

11-Mar-08 (12-oz bottle: Gift from BBB63, received 30-Nov-07, thanks Mike!) As expected from a beer that can humorously be described as an Imperial Schwarzbier Doppelbock Ale, this is a very complex beer, but it’s really all over the map. That could result in a convoluted, disjoint brew, but everything works harmoniously here. Core flavors of dark-roasted malts, coffee and chocolate are enhanced by tart fruits like cherries and red raspberries, molasses, soured fruit, prunes, molasses and winter spices. Chocolate and tart fruit finish strongly and are the last impression. An equally complex nose has a very fruity aroma that balances sweet and sour with molasses, strawberry-banana yogurt, chocolate, cherries. On the palate, it’s full-bodied but not heavy or cloying, and a pleasant tanginess on the tongue compensates for the mild carbonation. Dark brown and opaque except for a glimmer of translucence at the edge, and the light-brown head pours small and dissipates fully within a few minutes. Overall, a really interesting and enjoyable beer that is impossible to drink without contemplating all the nuances.