342. Avery Seventeen Dry-Hopped Black Lager

More from the land of Colorado, home to Avery and many other excellent breweries. We visited the land of Avery before—this is number six from Avery. Past conquests include (like how I make use of the language of colonialism myself on occasion?) Anniversary Ale Ten (2003), Brabant Barrel-Aged Wild Ale, Ellie’s Brown Ale, 16th Anniversary Ale and duganA IPA. Boo yah.

Described on the front label as a “dry-hopped black lager” and on the website as “a dark study in German hops,” Seventeen pours a deep chocolate brown with a few stray red highlights the sneak through; the head is a creamy mocha with decent staying power and lacing potential. There is not much in the way of a nose—maybe the head blocks it out, or maybe in this instance Seventeen is remaining true to its lager roots—all we get is a bit of creaminess and maybe some low level chocolate aromas. Opening with a touch of sweetness and toasted malt flavors, Seventeen has a slick, creamy front that gives way to roasted and chocolate flavors in the middle. There are low levels of bitterness buried under the flavors of the middle as well, along with a slight touch of hop spiciness. The finish is dry with a bit of chalkiness accompanied by more of the roasty flavors along with some lingering bitterness. Medium to light bodied, Seventeen hides the alcohol flavor and mouthfeel quite nicely—this beer drinks a lot lighter than the 8.69% ABV it carries. The carbonation is medium, and runs across the palate nicely, helping build the creaminess of the front and close out the beer in the final third. A well-made, easy drinking beer; on tap (since we had it last week on tap) the hop character comes out across the profile a bit more aggressively; to be honest, we like it out of the bottle better, as the complexity of the malt profile is cleaner and more nuanced—it does not get covered over by the hop spiciness. As well, the label on this beer is stone cold awesome—we’re giving it Top 10 Best Label contender status.

From the bottle and the Avery website: “After years of commemorating our anniversary with deliciously wild and weird ales, we decided to mix it up a bit and create our first Anniversary Lager. Seventeen is a celebration and study of the aromas and flavors of German hops. And knowing our fetish for those beautiful green cones, you can be confident that the contents of this bottle are well hopped for your olfactory pleasure. Many thanks to all and we hope you enjoy our lupulin dissertation. Peace to all and follow your dreams!”

ABV: 8.69%
OG: 1.077

Hops: Hersbrucker & Tettnang

(6/7/10)

185. Chatoe Rogue Dirtoir Black Lager

Yet another Rogue for the list—saw this one on the way out of town, and after the fresh hop, I couldn’t resist. This makes seven, but who’s counting? Oh wait, we are...

Dirtoir Black Lager has a rich chocolate and coffee nose with light burnt and roasted notes as well. It is a deep dark coffee brown with red highlights—although very clear—and a dirty brown head. Beginning with roasted flavors, Dirtoir then moves into burnt and coffee flavors with some chocolate, and finishes with rich chocolate, some graininess, and some small amounts of bitterness. Light-bodied with a creamy but thin mouthfeel, Dirtoir is rich and complex across the palate. There is a bit of the lager crispness at the end, but it is hard to pick it out from among all of the darker flavors. Interesting and well crafted beer; this strikes us as almost more stout light than dark lager—if we were told this was a Baltic Porter, neither of us would blink an eye.

From the bottle: “Dedicated to Farmers and Fermenters. GYO is a Rogue Ales term for Grow Your Own. We made this beer with our own hops and barley. Jet black in color with a tan head, full bodied, deftly balanced, seamless dark roasted malt flavors with smooth bitterness, lingering long finish.”

From the Rogue website: “Available nationwide on 1-1-2010, Dirtoir Black Lager is the second in the limited availability Chatoe Rogue series. Dirtoir Black Lager and the brews to follow are all GYO Certified, First Growth, Appellation products made with hops and malt from our Department of Agriculture's Hopyard and Barley Bench.”

IBU: 35
OG: 15° P
Malts: Melanoidin, Carafe Special II, Black, Chocolate, and Risk Malts
Hops: Independent and Revolution

(1/1/2010)

115. Fort Collins Kidd Black Lager

Our first beer from Fort Collins Brewery in Fort Collins, CO.

Kidd opens with a roasted chocolate nose and low levels of coffee aroma. The deep rich dark brown hue of the beer reveals orange and red highlights with a minimal tan head. Beginning with a roasted malt flavor, Kidd’s middle has bitter chocolate and coffee flavors. There are also some burnt notes in the middle, which detract from the profile and don’t mesh as well with the lighter lager body. It closes with dryness and light bitterness; the mainly clean finish also has a light sulfur flavor with lingering chocolate flavors—the finish is well done. Light to medium bodied with a creamy mouthfeel, Kidd is both thick and light at the same time—the chocolate gives it some substance even while leaving the beer light on the tongue. The carbonation is a bit light overall; some of the wateriness comes from not enough carbonation or bite in the beer. A good beer overall; the opening and closing flavors are excellent, but the burnt notes in the middle jar the overall flavor profile and the carbonation is too light for the style.

From the bottle: “A hint of smoked malt compliments the chocolate malt in this surprisingly light bodied Schwarzbier. Experience Kidd’s intriguing aroma and complex flavor as you enjoy this remarkable style of beer.”

From the Fort Collins website: “Schwarzbier was crafted to taste much lighter that it looks. Chocolate malt lends Kidd its color while German Tettnang hops create the minimal bitterness of this brew. We’ve added a dash of smoked malt to make our Schwarzbier slightly more complex.”

ABV: 4.5%
IBU: 23-ish

(10/23/2009)