Pioneer Black River Red

Brewed by Sand Creek Brewing Co. (Pioneer/Wisconsin Brewing Co.)
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Black River Falls, Wisconsin USA

Pours to a very nice looking amber/red body with a creamy/rocky nearly white head with nice lacing. The aroma is husky and malty. Fest-ish. The flavor is toasty, malty, festy. Very basic, very boring. Average palate. About what I expected. Letting it warm up a bit allows the flavor to improve.

Amber/red with a nice off white head. Sweet malty aroma. Theme continues with a nice sweet malt flavor. I did not find it overly sweet like some other raters. Slightest bitter hop finish. Smooth and easy to drink.

(02.18.06) Sampled at FebFest ’06, Libertyville, IL. Served from a 12 oz brown bottle. Pours clear reddish amber with a small white head and no discernable carbonation. Toasted malt nose. Medium bodied ale with caramel/toasted malt flavors. Finishes with light malt fade. No perceptible hop presence. Smooth and malty in mouth. A good drinkable malty ale.

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with hopdog, thanks Steve!) The parade of unauthentic American-made Oktoberfest beers continues with this brew, though some of the others were at least tasty and interesting. Not this one, though. It certainly looks good out of the bottle, pouring a small, but creamy and very tightly beaded off-white head that at least somewhat resembles something coming out of a nitro tap. The deep ruddy amber colored body is extremely hazy. Somewhat dry on the palate, the beer is malty, toasty, woodsy and slightly roasty, yet the beer has a moderate sweetness to it as well. I’m also picking up a mild amount of diacetyl in the finish. The nose just seems generally malty and woodsy, nothing exciting, that’s for sure. Light-medium bodied, gently carbonated, but the slick finish ruins the otherwise acceptable mouthfeel. Barely palatable and entirely forgettable.

Looks like a Märzen, but this beer gets so cloyingly sweet that it’s difficult to finish. If they perhaps used some hops, they might have succeeded in cutting this old candy taste and made it more drinkable.

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Thin texture. With some roasted malt caramel and toffee flavors upfront. A mildly bitter finish, but not enough to overcome a somewhat overly candy-like sweetness.

This beer was sampled in the fishing camp environment straight from the bottle without a proper glass. I can’t comment on the appearances too much other than through the bottle, and the aroma evaluation is limited. It appeared to be dark/black cheery red. Aroma was of slight roasted malt. The taste started out with the Oktoberfest sweetness, quickly overtaken by the toasty malt, and then cut over to the grassy hops. Not the world’s best red, but very good session wise.

Dark amber and orange body. The aroma is caramel and vanilla. There is also a light hint of fresh oranges. Nicely hopped. I love this aroma, it is similar to a big IPA with a good malt balance. The taste is caramel and relatively strong burnt toast. However, the toast is not detracting from the overall taste. There is also some fall leaves and a coppery finish. This is a winner.