Lester Young Porkpie Hat Dark Lager - Angel City Brewing

Jason

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz brown bottle, no freshness date.

A very dark opaque brown color only shows a glimmer of garnet when put against the light. Perfect unwavering crown of tan head drops rings of lace on the glass after nearly every sip. Smells of German dark bread and light herbal hops, a very clean nose. Smooth with a subtle chocolatey tone, more of a dry bakers cocoa powder. A little yeasty though all of that stay neutral. Nice rounded breadiness from start to end. Just enough hop bitterness to get by with some light herbal flavors in the back. Finishes dry.

Minus the extra yeast flavor this is a pretty damn clean beer. A tasty session lager.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2009 03:43:55 | More by Jason

SkeeterHawk

Texas

3.8/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I found this beer at a hole in the wall liquor store here in Long Beach California. There wasn't a huge selection, but this was one of the most intriguing to me. Here we go.

Appearance: Pours a very inviting clean and clear light reddish brown color with a half-inch of thick tan foam that was solid and stayed for a few minutes and even later it was solid and being maintained by a whole bunch of bubbles rising.

Aroma: Has some dark caramel and toasty malts in the aroma with a defined floral hop bouquet. There is some esters that I assume are from yeast, which is unusual for a Lager beer.

Taste: The beer itself is pretty clean with mostly a strong malt flavor profile. It is medium bodied with plenty of carbonation. The subtleties in the flavor are accented by fruity esters that I believe are from fermentation. As the beer warms up some, the fruitiness is mellowing out and there is more caramel coming out. There is no alcohol noticeable at any point.

Opinion: This is a pretty good beer. I prefer my Dunkels to be quite a bit more toasty than as sweet and fruity as this beer is. I will drink all of the beer and not waste it...but I doubt that I will be buying it again. It isn't a bad beer by any means, but I can think of a number of other beers...even in this style...that I would rather drink.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2010 06:00:57 | More by SkeeterHawk

KevinBrewer

California

4.03/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Deep mahogany color with hues of red. Almost opaque. Nice big thick tan head with moderate retention and lacing.

N: Sweet toasty munich malt, bread, and rich chocolate upfront with a faint caramel and floral hop aroma underneath.

T: Slightly dry throughout. There is a subdued sweetness in the roasty malt at first. Chocolate undertones appear in the middle and last to support a dry, roasty, bready, slightly bitter malt flavor and a clean hop bitterness. There is also a yeasty flavor that shows up in the middle. Lingering hop bitterness with a grassy aftertaste.

M: Surprisingly light body for how dark the beer is. Moderate carbonation and a dry finish.

D: This brew hit the spot for me tonight. I was in the mood for a dark beer with lots of flavor, and Lester Young Porkpie Hat delivered. I liked the roasty bitter chocolate flavor; not too sweet. The body is light enough to make it a session beer, and at 5.7% ABV, I can easily drink these throughout the evening.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2009 03:02:40 | More by KevinBrewer

guinness310

California

4.15/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

poured into a pilsener glass...

A dark brown center with lighter dark mohogany higlights around the glass shows a well off body supporting a barely visible head with no retention.

A great nose hints the evidence of dark malts, chocolates and freshly baked biscuits.

spiced-like clove and light fruits intertwine with smoked malts, caramel flavour
and a bready character. bitterness and sweetness is well balaced in this light-mild bodied beer with mild carbonation. barely any lacing.

A good and very drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2010 05:09:45 | More by guinness310