Brews and Blues Beer and Smokin’ Blues

Samuel Adams Black Lager

Here's another sampling from the assorted six of Samuel Adams Brewmaster's Collection that I picked up at a local convenient store this past week.  After trying the Schwarz up at the Olde Hickory Tap Room recently, the Black Lager beers are some that I'll probably taste as the chances appear.  As I read the material on the Samuel Adams website about this beer, it sorta echoed what I had said before when I wrote about another dark beer.  From the website:

When one sees a beer with a darker complexion these days, more often than not it's a Porter or a Stout.  However looks ccan be deceiving.  There exists a style older than both and generally less well known; the Schwarzbier, which literally translated is "Black Beer."  Unlike its dark cousins which both hail from Britain and are highly hopped ales, Schwarzbier comes from Germany, is lightly hopped and is fermented using a bottom fermenting lager yeast.  Samuel Adams Black Lager is brewed in the tradition of the latter.  A medium bodied beer brewed using several different roasts of malt to give the end product a smooth body and depth of malt character that has to be tasted to be believed. 

4.9% ABV

My sampling of Olde Hickory Brewery's Schwarz was my first taste of a black lager, and I was quite impressed with it.  Like the Samuel Adams commentary mentions, I expected something different from the look.  It's not often that I pick up a dark beer that doesn't have a hop bite behind the rich malts, but the Schwarzbier is a pleasant surprise in that aspect.  This beer is also one that seems to come to life at 55 degrees rather than chilled directly from the fridge...

The final sample from this assortment will be the Honey Porter.  We already covered the Irish Red, which reminds me... I made another batch of the Beer Waffles this afternoon using the Irish Red and they were delicious :)  I'm still planning to make the beer waffles with a fruit beer, but after some of the delicious porters and stouts I have tasted lately, I might just break the mold and do some dark beer waffles.  The waffles might not look like we would expect, but I'm confident that they will taste great :)