Insulated Dark Lager by Brooklyn Brewery
Tonight I am trying a brew from a popular New York brewery. I can honestly say the more and more I try different brews, the more I come back to a particular style. To share with ya that style is dark beers, there is just something that I enjoy about them. It could be that they tend to not be overly bitter or the fact that there is a malt forward presence rather than the bitterness. This is my first brew from this brewery. Let's learn more about the brewery I am trying a brew from.
Steve Hindy and Tom Potter founded Brooklyn Brewery in 1988. Before that Steve worked as a Middle East Correspondent, which came to an end around 1984. This allowed Steve to focus on his passion for home brewing and he enlisted he neighbor, Tom, a banker at the time. Steve and Tom focused on creating Brooklyn Brewery. Why Brooklyn, you might say? "Brooklyn has been the home of immigrants, movers, artists, creative geniuses and small business idols. Over the years plenty traditions have come and gone, but the only remaining constant was beer. Some of the earliest residents from Germany, Belgium, Ireland, and other brew-centric countries have brought their passion and knowledge to our shores. Making Brooklyn one of the most productive brewing centers of the country in the 19th century." Now it makes sense to choose Brooklyn to start a brewery, I might say.
Time to look into the brew I am trying tonight. I always think it is important to learn a little about the brewery, I am trying a brew from. It could help you maybe understand their style of brew or why they picked their location. Insulated Dark Lager is a German Style Schwarzbier. In German it means Black Beer. For me this style, gives you the taste notes of a stout or porter. Then it gives you a lighter body unlike a stout, but more like a traditional lager. I always say this style is a blend between a stout and a lager. Insulated Dark Lager has an alcohol by volume or ABV of 5.6%. Brooklyn Brewery is located in Brooklyn, New York. If you look at the history behind the brewery it makes sense that this style of brew was picked and developed into one of their brews.
Appearance of Dark Lager
Let's look into the appearance and the aroma of this Insulated Dark Lager. Appearance wise this brew has a black appearance at first, but the closer you look at the beer in the light you notice the true hue. I would say it looks like a dark chocolate hue. As close as possible to black as you can get. The foam or head has a brown tint to it and lingers around for a while. The head also leaves lacing around the edge of the glass, the more you drink from it. The lacing reminds you what a stout would do around the edge of the glass. The aroma is intriguing my olfactory senses. Aroma I picked up on was a bitter coffee aroma. Or a roasted black coffee aroma is more accurate. After the roasted aroma, I notice a subtle chocolate or cocoa nibs aroma. That lead me to the spiced hop note finish. You start with a malt or roasted malt aroma and then pick up on a sudden sweet note followed by spice finish.
Time to look into the taste of this Dark Lager. After the aroma I am so ready to dive into this Insulated Dark Lager, to see what this Schwarzbier is about. I took my first sip, and that taste follows the aroma. First you notice the dark roast coffee taste in the brew. It reminds me of a bold coffee, or a black coffee. After the coffee note, I noticed a cocoa nib taste note that is subtle and not overpowering. Just enough of the cocoa nib to sweet the roast coffee note. The last taste note I picked up on was a hop bitterness note. Not one that is a smack in the face, but something that you notice at the end of your sip. I feel like it is a blend between a spice and a citrus hop note. The body of this lager is light to medium body. Considering the Lager and Stout notes in the brew it makes sense to have the light to medium body. With the way this beer finishes with a bitter hop note, I would have thought this brew was more like a Black India Pale Ale, but the beginning notes quickly squash that bitter notes after a while.
Check out this Insulated Dark Lager
Overall, I thought this was a great brew. It gave you the bitter note some are looking for, while also giving you the malt or roasted notes others are looking for. I think this did a great job representing the German Schwarzbier Style. I think the thing I enjoy the most in the dark lagers are the roasted malt notes that get balanced by a sweet note like the cocoa nibs. I understand how it sound crazy how I could enjoy this beer in the middle of the summer, but as summer goes on the nights get cooler and remind me of the winter coming. In addition, having one or two of these beers is not something that I cannot handle in the summer.
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