Barley Creek Angler Black Lager

Brewed by Barley Creek Brewing Co.
Style: Schwarzbier
Tannersville, Pennsylvania USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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Poured into a nonic at 50 degrees Full review at http://lownobudgetreviews.wordpress.com/2013/05/07 (Ryan’s Reviews) ANGLER is a great example of a lager that actually maintains some pretty deep and interestingly complex flavor profiles, even though it is a lager… and that impressed me immensely! ANGLER pours a deep near-black brown with a creamy light tan head that dissipates pretty quickly and leaves nearly no lacing, but this is to be expected with a lager. The scent rising out of the nonic is all coffee and roasted malt, big smoky scents without smelling like a smoked beer, a lot more depth to it than I was anticipating from this lager. Taking that first taste, I think: this is a lager I could actually… like. It has some of the flavors you’d expect from what I’m smelling – coffee, roasty, deep flavors akin somewhat with a stout – yet it also has that dry crispness I expect from a lager, and a very mild hoppiness on the exit, just enough to remind you that there are some hops in the beer. The lagering process has made the flavor profile a lot more one-dimensional than it would be if it were an ale, which is not necessarily a bad thing; not everyone is into big flavors and not everyone will appreciate the complexities of a Russian Imperial Stout. ANGLER would be a great stepping-stone for someone working their way out of AAL and into better beers, darker beers. ANGLER looks thick, until you hold it up to the light and see how thin it really is. The beer is meager and zesty in its body; while from across the room it looks like a stout, drinking ANGLER makes its lager heritage extremely obvious. That lager body makes ANGLER a very easily drinkable beer.

Pours a burnt sienaish brown. Lovely malty sweetness on the nose. Nice smooth taste with just that hint of indeterminate sweetness. The finish is a bit bitter but not yet mouth-puckeringly so.

From bottle. Roasty aroma to this with lots of chocolate malt, coffee, and roasted barley. Rich nose, very fragrant and pleasant. Dark brown-black clear with thin off-white head. Medium watery body with heavy carbonation. Starts sweet with roasted barley, chocolate and light coffee. Nutty and sweet with dry tangy finish and light chalky after. A little acidity from some over carbonation, but a nice schwarzbier.

Sampled on draught at the brewery in Tannersville. A normal shwarz with nothing too distinguishing other then a metallic nose that I didn’t particularly enjoy. Dark black colour, thin beige head. Taste has some licorice, and spinach. Wierd.

Pourk brown with a white head. Smells of chocolate, some fruity hints. Tastes of roasted malt, some fruity hints, dry and crisp.

12oz. Bottle: Aroma of malts, chocolate, cocoa, hops, chocolate milk, and slight caramel. Poured brown/very deep amber in color with a medium-sized, creamy, rocky, tan head that diminished but lasted throughout. Clear. Slightly sparkling. Good to very good lacing. Flavor is lightly sweet and lightly bitter. Tastes of malts, chocolate, slight tar, light roasting, slight wood, slight caramel, cocoa, slight hops, and slight brown sugar. Medium body. Lightly dry, lightly chalky texture. Average carbonation. Malt, chocolate, and roast finish is slightly chalky and lightly dry.

Tap at the brewpub. Aroma of dark fruits, sweet malt, and a putrid, practically fecal feel to it. At first it seemed clearly infected, but later I noticed a similar note (much lighter) in many of their beers, so perhaps it’s an odd house character that got out of hand in this one. In any case, the flavor more mildly exhibits this odd character but also has some nice chewy, bready malt with nuts and hop bitterness. Body is fine, though the putridness lingers a bit. Kinda messed up stuff, in the end I somehow found it passable, though I completely understand the lower ratings for this one.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours brown with a ring of white head. Aroma of sweet roasted malt. Flavor is sweet with lots of malt and an almost sour finish (infected?). Drinkable but quite dull. 6/4/5/3/11 (2.9/5)

On tap at the brewpub...cola brown with a faint tan head. Aroma of coffee, chocolate, dark fruits..Flavor was too sweet, with not enough hop backbone...very unbalanced. The palate was medium bodies and sweet, sweet, sweet...Not my favorite Schwarz.

UPDATED: OCT 16, 2008 Complete drain pour! Really ugly beer. Dark amber-brown with virtually no head. Smells like vomited red wine. It tastes like it was aged in sweaty sneakers. Also extremely watery. How does a professional brewer make this beer and believe it’s good enough for public consumption?