Craftsman Smoked Black Lager

Brewed by Craftsman Brewing Co.
Style: Smoked
Pasadena, California USA

(fathers office, santa monica, ca) proof positive that a dark beer can be light and refreshing. i dont need to get into how much lacing it has, or how specific the color is...just know this...this is a smooth drinking lager with a ton of flavor. a nice session beer IMO.

Good malty lager, very charred and smoky in the finish. Light and refershing but has a sweet maltiness that sticks to the palate in the aftertaste. Distinct smokey aroma. Definitely a brewery worth checking out more.

Dark brown with a nice thick head. Light smoke, some chocolate in the hearty nose. Firm and smokey taste with chocolate, big toastiness. Very robust, but rounded character.

nice color dark brown almost black with a roasty aroma and a nice waft of smoke.mouth feel is medium and the taste is roast and smoke but neither overwhelm one another.very balanced and an easy drink.

Sampled at Father’s Office, April 2007
A dry, roasted aroma greets my nose as does a touch of salty smoke. The beer has a black body with a creamy, light brown colored head that leaves a well defined lacing pattern as I work my way through this pint. There is also a touch of burnt acidity in the aroma, though all in all the aroma is quite light.

The beer is quite dry, yet a hint of smoke seems to add some subtle sweetness. There is a touch of burnt acidity in the finish, while the overall sensation of this beer is quite smooth. The finish reminds me of a standard strength, dark roasted cup of joe, but there is that touch of smoke flavor to make things interesting. The smoke is so smooth and so well integrated; definitely not peat smoked malt, probably beech wood, but it is a bit too subtle for me to tell. This beer has quite a light mouthfeel to it, there is some fullness, but this is not in any way heavy feeling.

The burnt malt notes and smoke really interact in a way I would not have guessed; in some ways they seem to cancel each other out. This makes for a very smooth, integrated, strangely non-descript, yet still fully flavored drinking experience. I can’t decide if this beer needs more flavor, or if it has hit a perfect balance of flavors. Ultimately this is quite good tasting, and it may inspire me to brew one of my own.

(Draft: Lucky Baldwins in Pasadena, CA) A nice, flavorful but very easy drinking Schwartzbier, fairly sweet and toasty, lightly roasty, and very gently smoky in the finish. I don’t even think this beer is really "smoked" per se, but just has a slight smoky character. Not hoppy at all, of course, but the roast does contribute a light, lingering bitterness for nice balance. Malty, lightly roasty nose has a lagerish nature, but duh, of course it would. Medium bodied, and with the sweetness kept in check, this is smooth on the palate and something I could easily drink a few pints of. Pours dark and ruddy brown, only slightly translucent. The tall, tan head gradually settles to a thin layer, but always maintains a wide ring, and leaves a fairly dense curtain of lace on the glass. Overall, it’s a well-crafted Schwarzbier, very tasty and enjoyable. I would order this again without hesitation.

Pours with a dark brown body topped by a medium thick head with a good amount of lacing. The aroma is slightly sweet, malty and caramelly with a slight roastiness. The flavor is a little weak but very similar to the aroma. Medium bodied and smooth.

Black with a fizzy white head. Faint chocolate and smoke aroma. Sweet malty caramel and chocolate taste. Decent.