Avery Anniversary Lager - Seventeen Dry-Hopped Black Lager

I've recently been getting more into black lagers, also known as "schwarzbier" (German for... anyone?... Bueller?... black beer). I did have a Chatoe Rogue Dirtoir Black Lager that I did not review, but it was absolutely delicious and will have to pick one up again. Combine that with my love for the Avery Anniversary series and my expectations become pretty high.

Appearance: Poured into a Duvel tulip glass that becomes impossible to see through due to its black-as-night color. TONS of tan creamy head that leaves some lacing on the glass as it recedes.

Smell: Piney hops and a bit of roasted malts, maybe some honey, then finishes with a little bit of fruit and citrus. Every time I go in for another whiff, I pick up something new, very enticing.

Taste: A swirl of roasted and chocolate malts are the undeniable backbone of this brew, but not overpowering. Hints of citrus hops, but extremely subtle. This is about what I expected since most of the hops from the scent are coming from the dry-hopping. However, it's just enough hop bite because the malts can definitely stand on their own.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with perfect medium carbonation, I don't like when something is overly carbonated and doesn't let the flavors of the beer shine through. This has just enough to tickle the palate while coating it. A tiny bit of bitterness on the aftertaste and almost no alcoholic bite, which leads to...

Drinkability: What a smooth beer! Some might see the black appearance and think it would give you the same chunky full bodied feel of a stout or porter. Some might see the 8.69% abv and think you wouldn't want more than one or two in a night. Some people would be wrong. This bomber is going down so fast I could go for another bomber of this or even a nightcap barleywine. I would like to have more black lagers before I give this a perfect rating, but if they are all like this one, I may have discovered my new favorite style. 9.5/10 and highly recommended next time you see this in your local beer store.

Glass type: Duvel tulip glass
Serving type: Bottle, 22 oz.

Port Brewing Midnight Sessions Lager

Shout out goes to fellow hophead Master Ryan Splinter for providing me with this bomber bottle of lager. He bought a quatro mix case of bombers from Port Brewing at The Beer Yard in Wayne, PA (legit store). I traded a Moylan's Hopsickle for this bottle. Lets get this review going!

Appearance: Barely any head as I pour. It is dark as the Black Hole as I try look through the glass as if it was a telescope. However, when I was pouring it, it appeared watery and not as thick as a stout.

Smell: Wow! Powerful and heart warming burnt chocolate aromas serenade my nostrils. Malts galore (chocolate, smokey, caramelly) and I am liking it a lot, despite my passion for sleeping with hops everyday. Interesting wafts of cardamond, nutty flavored coffee and burnt fig. Can't get my nose to pick out one smell!

Taste: It is as if I am biting into a roasty espresso bean. I wonder if the coffee flavor is from some dank earthy hops, or if this beer is strictly malts?

Mouthfeel: Watery. If this was warmer, I would mistake it for a medium bodied coffee straight black, without leaving you with that nasty coffee breath (instead lovely beer breath :) ).

Drinkability: This was the second beer of my cycle for tonight (had IPA first). Despite the darkness, I would drink it early on in the cycle since it only hits your at 5.0% abv. And I would really like to drink another bomber in all honestly. This was extremely good. It is my first beer of this style so I will give it a 9/10. I need to learn more about the style of Schwarzbier's (style taken from the wonderful Beeradvocate). Cheers!!