Lakefront Eastside Dark

Dark amber with a small head. Lots of carbonation bubbles that stick to the side of the glass. Aroma is sort of a creamy milk malt. Flavor took a sour turn (pun intended). Sour malts, light hops and a tad of roastiness.

I still fondly remember trying Eastside Dark for the first time at the Midwest Beer Festival in Oconomowoc, WI in 1990. This beer even won first place at the show. I wonder if they ever collected their cash prize since the show. Just like it was in 1990, it pours like a quality oatmeal stout, dark as it gets and holds a tan head well. Aroma of semi-sweet chocolate, coffee and cherry. Finishes clean and chocolatey. It’s terrific to know the product is as consistent as it was 17 years ago. Has it been that long?

This beer was a decent lightly roasted dunkel which doesn’t go overboard with its malt character. I’d weakly recommend it. Appearance is dark with very little head. Color is brown with some reddishness. Aroma is very faint with some mild chocolate notes. Flavor is very mild roastiness. Mouthfeel is the high-point of this beer and is nice and smooth. Decently drinkable for a beer of this style. I had this on-tap at the brewery.

Nice dark pour with some head. There is a non-hoppy bitterness to the dark cola color. Some malt in the flavor, but nothing particularly notable.

Very mild aroma. Slightly smoky flavor with pronounced hoppiness. Very drinkable

The aroma has herbal hops (mint), coffee, raisins, toasted malt, and caramel. The appearance is dark red/brown with a small head. The flavor is sour and not much like a Dunkel except for the very faint chocolate and toasty qualities. The palate is thin with a bitter aftertaste. This is not a good beer and closer to a Lambic than a Dunkel in taste. And what’s up with the commercial description? It doesn’t even come close to describing the taste of this beer. Do the marketing people even taste this stuff?

(12oz bottle, bottled 1st week November) Creamy, medium beige head. Aroma is medium sweet, metallic, some coffee, light caramel. Taste is medium sweet, coffee/roast, caramel, some earthy/grapefruit, light metallic. Light-medium body, light acidity.

Slight malty aroma. Copper red appearance with a moderate off white head that disappears quickly. Weak caramel taste. Slight creamy on the tongue that becomes watery at the bottom of the glass. Uneventful with a nasty after taste as the glass empties. What were they thinking when they made this stuff?