Black Lager
It's Saturday so time to talk about beer. This week I'm reviewing two black lagers. These beers were quite a bit different despite being of the same style of beer. In taste not only in can. Let's take a look.
Bon Fire Black Lager
Brewery: Perth Brewery
Origin: Perth ON Canada
Style: Black Lager
Abv: 5.1%
IBU: 24
Marketing: Bright orange, red, and black color scheme to mimick fire (I'm assuming given the name). Bon Fire image (obviously).
Long story-like blurb on the back and additional beer info listed. The can is okay. It stood out on a shelf, so it did its job well.
Color: The beer poured a dark rich opaque chestnut color with an almost plum purple hue to it. The head was frothy and thick and tan color. It stuck around for a decent amount of time, which is always a plus.
Nose: A very sweet malty aroma. Fruity notes and maybe some very subtle smokiness in the background.
Taste: Very predominantly sweet in the taste department, sickly really (in my opinion). Not a lot of bitterness at all to balance it either. Malt forward for sure, with no noticeable hoppy notes. Fruity, with plum, dark grapes and dark fruit flavors coming through. I didn't get any roasted notes, which was surprising to me given the style of beer.
Texture: Nice carbonation over a silky mouthfeel. Medium bodied.
Impression: An unexpected beer but way too sweet for me. I liked the pleasant fruity smell of it but I would have liked some bitterness to balance out the sweet taste. For my personal preferences I would have likes some roasted notes as well. It's not a bad beer, just not my style. I probably won't buy it again.
I drank this one while BBQ-ing. It seemed fitting to me because of the fire element. In a way a BBQ is sort of like a bon Fire. Okay that might be a stretch but you get what I'm saying.
Schwarzbier: The Black Lager
Brewery: Silversmith Brewing Co
Origin: Niagara on the Lake, ON Canada
Style: Black Lager
Abv: 5.0%
IBU: 28
This is a re-visit for me. I reviewed this beer before, probably around this time last year so I won't do just another repeat of the same review. I will say that I generally like all of the Beers coming out of this brewery. This is a decent beer and I definitely preferred it one over the previous one above. It wasn't as sweet as the other and had a good amount of bitterness to balance it out. It had more roasted notes than fruity ones too, which I prefer.
These dark lagers are a bit of an enigma to me sometimes. They look like a Stout beer but drink a lot different. They often have similar roasted notes but are much more subtle and not as pronounced as a stout. I also find them to be not as smooth and a little more bubbly in the mouth.
I drank this beer on the balcony after spending the day painting the exterior of our house. It was a I little reward if you will.
For me it was a good beer I will continue to leave it on my list of decent beers to revisit every now and again.
Thanks for the support!
That second one looks like a fine reward after a bit of painting. The first, I agree I don't like much sweetness in my beers and it has to be appropriately balanced
I like malty beers that do often tend to be slightly more on the sweet side, but it can go too far very quickly. The first one was way too far lol. Balance is key.
Totally man. I live done chocolatey stouts and porters but not the ones that go overboard on the sweetness
Man, I just yesterday messaged my dad to buy a local release of a black lager! (I am visiting my fiance a 1000km away from the brewery haha). What coincidence. I also had a black cider yesterday, something I don't usually drink because as you say sweetness and beer are not necessarily a good thing!
I am so interested in tasting these black lagers, as they are quite strange like you say. Looks like a stout but nothing close to it.
Great review, and what a great reward at the end! Enjoy and happy BeerSaturday!
Black cider, interesting. I don't think I've ever tried one before. 1000k away, wow. Hopefully your dad can pick some up for you. Enjoy your time with you fiance!
Thank you so much, I will! The black cider was enjoyable, but I much prefer a stout or an IPA to ciders or any sweeter beer. Thanks and enjoy a cold one!
Happy beer saturday to you! Man those rockets during BBQ time sounds like the perfect weekend to me. Ive seen these Silversmith brewing cans around here as well. Should pick them up and give them a try as you are so enthusiastic about them!
Happy Beersaturday! You should definitely give Silversmith a try if you're able to. Most beers that they produce are quite good - at least here locally they are.
Cheers 🍻
I think I only love the beer cans this time😁😁
I’m always scared of black beers because they always taste bitter
Cheers! Given the description, I would have preferred the second one.
Please, vote for the Ecency Proposal.
The second one was a lot better, so good choice 👍
The black lager beer is the one I cherish most. Am salivating over here now and wish to have one probably this weekend
They are a great style of beer 🍺 👌