Pioneer Black River Red

Draft at OF. Filtered red-brown color. Solid off-white head. Mellow sweet amber-lager aroma. Mellow and creamy, with some orange-vanilla amber malt nuances. Medium bodied, quite drinkable. Doesn’t really capture much of the Oktoberfest flavor, certainly more of an Amber Lager. Quite smooth, with a very pleasant Lagfer yeast mouthfeel.

Courtesy of Skyview. Dark copper color with a medium head. Aroma started light caramel, and quickly vanished completely. Thick body and chewy, yet somehow almost flavorless, malt. Caramel sweetness.

Amber body with a thin but lasting beige head. Sweet aroma of caramel, bread, and just a touch of hops. The palate is a bit thin, but very smooth. Fairly well-balanced flavor starts in with the caramel sweetness. In the middle is a flavor almost like tea which is followed by a hint of hoppy bitterness. The finish is sweet again with a hint of brown sugar. This is a good beer, but not as full-flavored as some other Oktoberfests.

Thick reddish copper with next to no head. Aroma of caramel, nuts, sweet malt and brown sugar. Taste of sweet malt and not much else. Some nut bitterness, some cloying properties but mostly bland and ho-hum from first to the last drop.

10/29/2008: Pioneer Black River Red smells and tastes sweet and malty with a distinct roasted and caramelized corn on the cob quality. The flavor has some additional caramel notes and it has an earthy, tea-like attribute in middle followed by a dry, mildly bitter finish (floral with a drop or two of mild citrus). It has a hazy, deep reddish-honey color and a small, foamy beige head. This beer also has a medium body that is clean and smooth on the palate. I like this particular Marzen-style example because it has character, noteable maltiness and caramelized flavors, and a balanced finish.

12 fl. oz. (355 ml) twist-off bottle sent to my by buckybeer. Thanks Mark! Rating #68 for this beer...

Poured from the bottle into a pint glass. Pour produced a cloudy, tea-colored body, topped by a small, tan head of foam. Aroma has strong caramel notes. Flavor is bittersweet, crisp, with a bitter finish and aftertaste. Some caramel notes to the palate, but overwhelmed by the hops profile, not in keeping with the Marzen style.

Thanks to hopdog for the bottle. Pours a deep ruby amber with a medium bubbly/creamy off white head that left some lacing. Aroma of caramel, toffee, bready and grainy malt, nuts and some dark fruits. Flavor of doughy/grainy malts, caramel, nuts, toffee and some noble hop flavor.

Pours a light brownish colour with a red hue, small off white head, with subtle carmel undertones, touch of coffee, roasted malts and acidic, semi sweet flavor. finishes, drier with a decent amount of (saaz perhaps?) hops.