Beerlao Dark

Brewed by Lao Brewery Co (Carlsberg)
Style: Vienna
Vientiane, Laos

Serve in Lager glass

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

12oz bottle courtesy of Ann. Pretty medium colored for a dark beer, transparent tan-brown color. Mild sugary sweet aroma. Toasty, some mild dark chocolate tastes. I’d drink the hell out of this beer if I resided in Laos. Smooth, with a quality mouthfeel. This is pretty harshly underrated. A nice Schwarzbier all the way.

I poured an 11.2oz bottle into a tumbler.

Appearance: Straight brown, mostly opaque but some transparency to it. Large sediment chunks floating throughout the body. Forms a small, tan, foamy head with low retention and lacing.

Smell: Slightly sweet notes of iced coffee and toffee, but with a strong generic lager backbone aroma.

Taste: For a lager from a country not associated with quality beer, Beerlao Dark Lager is impressive by just how flavorful it is. The beer is remarkable sweet with flavors of coffee ice cream, toasted malts and a pleasant aftertaste. I’ve never encountered an American dark lager with this much flavor, so to get this kind of palate from Laos is very surprising (and pleasantly so).

The palate here isn’t as thick and sticky as a stout, nor is it as roasted-tasting, as it does have the thinner, lighter taste of a lager. The coffee-like flavor incorporates slight bitterness, but complemented by a very tasty confectionary sweetness of sugar, cream and toffee.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied to the letter - neither thick nor thin. Not fizzy, either. Residual sweet flavors too.

Drinkability: The bottle indicates this beer weighs in at 6.4% ABV, but it definitely do not drink as such. The alcohol probably accounts for the robustness, but has no effect on the drinkability. The medium mouthfeel and low carbonation make for an utterly smooth lager. The sweet, flavorful palate makes it something of a liquid dessert, although I’d imagine it would pair well with authentic Laotian food.

Overall, this is a diamond in the rough and a hidden gems of beer stores everywhere. Give it a try and you’ll be see what I mean.

Bottle, 33cl. Pours a rich, dark amber with a muddy white head of fairly large bubbles. Strong, rich malty and nutty aroma, with notes of grain, chocolate and alcohol. The taste is extremely nutty, leading to a very chewy palate. Notes of coffee with the initial sip, chocolate and grain definitely present. The aftertaste lasts - a nutty/alcoholic bitterness, reflecting the strength of this beer. As mentioned, the palate is chewy and thick in the mouth (you almost want to bite into it...). This may look like a dark lager, but drinks much more like a tropical stout. Amid the hordes of poor Asian lagers this rarely seen brew really stood out to me. Though it may not go down as easily as a beer lao on a hot day, I recommend it.

It is a great beer. I am prety used to the standard beer lao but this is a quality addition to what they do best. Its a little bitter and heavy but it is a great mix of the pluses of most darks I have head with a lot less drawbacks.

Bottle @ home, thanks vjl! Aroma is roasty malt, nutty, caramel. Very much like when steeping. Flavour is roasty malty, roasty clings on a bit. Pretty good considering.

Bottled. Mild aroma, lightly grainy. Very clean. Decent body, only a touch of sweetness. No real off notes. A touch of chocolate. Not particularly flavorful, but very easy drinking.

Aroma is fruity and a bit fruit-sweet with a malty undertone. Pours a slightly hazy cinnamon- brown with a decent cream-colored head. Flavor is crisp, malty, slightly yeasty and just a little fruity with just a tiny bit of sweetness. Texture is rather smooth and fizzy, rather typical. Worth a try.

Bottle 330 ml ?
Appearance: amber brown with handsome head , white frothy top , fragmental lacing 4-
Nose: light nose mainly base on brown sugars , hint of bubble gum and red sweet apple. 6-
Flavor/Palate : thin oily body. Soft textures , caramel hint of brown malt , dry alcohol on top. Bit mineral finish. Best beer of Laos? Fairly good.

Deep dark cola coloured body with a frothy, two centimetre tall tan head. Aroma of toasted malt, toffee, metal and a touch of coffee. Medium-bodied; Toasted malt flavour with a good nutty and earthy bite, some metal and alcohol soon afterwards and a sweet finish. Aftertaste is nice and robust - earthy and nutty, but still very sweet and potent. Overall, a very nice beer to break the monotony of the typical lagers you see here. I sampled this 33 cL bottle purchased from Pencil Supermarket in Phnom Penh, Cambodia earlier in the day for 3500Riel (US$0.90) sampled on 03-April-2012.

Pours a three finger cream head that fades quickly to a thin layer, leaving some lace. Nice crystal clear amber color. Mystery bits in bottom of glass that may or may not be yeast. Light carbonation and medium bodied. Faint malty nose. Flavor reminds me of honey cough syrup. Far better than their Lager. $1.85 for a 330ml bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, Ma.