Fort Collins The Kidd Lager (Schwarzbier)

Brewed by Fort Collins Brewery
Style: Schwarzbier
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

The appearance ... by God, the darkest lager I ever did see! Clear dark brown like a glass of root beer, with a foamy head to match. What the heck! [Turns out it’s not truly a lager but rather a schwarzbier - Ed.] The aroma appears to contain an all-malt grain bill, but sweetish in the lager sense. There is a brown-ale-like brown sugar aroma too. Hops are barely there. The taste is heavily roasted malts, and they come as a surprise. Major mocha/coffee bean taste. Minor pilsnery hop. Amberish malts also come through. Smoky but mild BBQish flavor like a rauchbier. Mild dark chocolate. Unexpected and full of flavor. The feel is light-bodied like a watery lager but with a little dryness at the swallow. A challenging, dark, roasted, smoky lager. Pretty nice and unexpected, although I do wish the label would be a little more specific.

Poured thinner than I expected. Brown with a light tan head. Not much lacing. The aroma is light campfire, chocolate and maybe some roasted meat. The flavor is a nice blend of campfire, roasted malts and chocolate. Easy drinking and a great beer to pair with bbq.

Pours a deep amber brown color with a small head. Plenty of chocolate and coffee in the nose complimented by hints of raisins and smoke, not so complimented by chalkboard. The flavor is smoky but in a smoky coffee sort of way, with some chocolate, some slight beef jerky, and some chalk. A little less chalk and this would be wonderful.

Wow - what a surprise this one was. From a 12 oz bottle this poured a deep brown with a thin tan head. Aroma of smoke, wood, coffee and chocolate. The flavor had a really smokey, coffee taste to it - with notes of wood, caramel, and chocolate as the follow up. I liked this one a lot more than I expected to if I am being completely honest...very drinkable and with the reasonable ABV you can drink a few of these in a sitting easily.

Bought, drank it, had it amongst a somewhat crazy party and don’t remember the specifics besides the numbers I wrote down....oh boy...

Pours clear amber with mahogany highlights flickering under a soft khaki head. As his head flees the scene of the crime, a bit of aggravation produces a respectable network of lace. Lifting my glass, I dip my nose into his liquid depths. Gentle esters of sweet smoke, maple, brown sugar, pumpernickel bread, and chocolate-covered black cherries mingle and mix in the crowd. Not bad; far less painful than I was expecting. A bit more enthusiastic about his prospects, I draw deep for my first quaff. Light, smoked, and crunchy with brown sugar and maple crunchies. His darker, meatier side is warm pumpernickel bread mingling with maple and chocolate covered cherries. His start and finish are short lived; The Kidd focuses the main brunt of his attack squarely in the middle of his palate, and mine. As my brew approaches the perfect room temperature, gentle esters of freshly brewed coffee and wood make a subtle showing. His permanent underlay of sweet smoke gives way to crunchy red apples for a pleasantly brisk snap to his palate. A simple black lager, to be sure, but I must say that overall, The Kidd Lager from Fort Collins put on a good show, escaping the unforgiving clutches of my inner critic.

Even when I run into bad beer, I still enjoy the adventure, thrill, and joys brought on by the wide world of beer. If all of life was a boring guarantee, I’d have to find a way to shoot myself out into space because there’d be nothing worth my time here on Earth. If by some reason you don’t know who Billy The Kidd is, shame on you. Stop reading my review and use Wikipedia to your advantage. As for The Kidd Lager from Fort Collins, a job well done.

Nice roasted beer. The roasted flavor really comes through. Dark color. Earthy mouthfeel.

12 oz bottle purchased as part of a mix a six at Lukas in Overland Park, Kansas. Pour is deep brown and ruby with a nice full 2 inch tan head. Falls slowly with nice lacing. Aroma of charred toasted malt and some vegetal spiciness - almost green pepper. Also some milky cocoa. Taste is the cocoa - expressed with some toffee caramel, along with the (mildly) burnt charred malt from the nose and some of the earthy vegetal spice as well. Palate is thin, slick with above average carbonation. Finish is crisp and clean with some nice lingering char. Nicely drinkable beer.