Baba Black Lager - Uinta Brewing Company

spoony

Colorado

3.74/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

From a 355 ml bottle (best by July 21, 2013) into a tulip.

A-This is a decent looking brew. A normal pour produces about one finger of mocha colored foam head. The head hangs around for a bit imparting a nice creamy feel. The beer is nearly black.

S-The smell is full of roasted malty flavors. Chocolate, coffee, and a milky sweetness dominate. The smell is a little one-dimensional, however, and I could have used a bit of hop bite or levity.

T-The taste has a little more balance with an earthy hop flavor coming in to balance the sweet, milky chocolate flavors from the malts. The brew packs a decent flavor punch for 4% ABV.

M-The feel is medium creamy up front with a mild, but noticeable wave of carbonation. Medium to full body for the style.

O-This is my first Uinta review and I'll say again that this beer punches above its alcohol weight. I think it is sort of rare to find a good winter session-type beer like this. That being said, the flavor is a touch earthy and dull when compared against the best examples of the style.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2013 03:30:41 | More by spoony

AdamBear

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-very dark brown with a nice tan head

S-creamy milky chocolate and a hint of dark roasted grains. Smells pretty awesome. 

T-comes in with a good taste of dark roasted grains, though it's slightly watery. It's definitely lageresque though could be confused with a brown ale. Matching after-taste.

M-low creamy carbonation with a semi dry finish. 

O-it's definitely an okay beer. It's easy drinking and tastes fine, though I wish it tasted more how it smelled. The flavors were a bit of a letdown. It'll be easy to finish though I don't see a need to get it again ever. It's forgettable.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2012 00:11:43 | More by AdamBear

Zraly

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours an almost opaque black -- tinges of dark brown and amber decorate the sides of my stein. Upfront notes of roasted malts. Decent two-finger, mocha head.

Roasted notes predominate more than typical for style; bitterness comes less from the hops and more from the roasted grain flavors. Coffee and chocolate notes in the middle, with a slight, but crisp, bite in the end. Medium-light in body and very easy to drink. A hint of cream and citrus linger in the mouth after all is said and done.

Great session beer and would seem to go great with a meat pizza or a nicely charred black n' blue burger. As for a schwarzbier, it strikes me as a bit non-traditional but seems to capture enough of the categorical essence. And it is Baba (Black Sheep) -- so I guess that name fits!

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2012 22:14:04 | More by Zraly

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a big fluffy and fizzy 1.5 finger head fades fairly slowly with lacing, dark cola brown color with ruby light sneaking through.

Nose is mostly brown malts, brown sugar, molasses, caramel, even a little bready malt, then light hops, mostly earthy with a touch grassy, and hint of cocoa.

Taste starts malty as well, plenty of brown malts, caramel, bit of chocolate, and hint of vanilla. Soft bready malts, light cinnamon like flavors, etc. hops are there but barely, a light bitterness with light earthy and hint grassy hops. Its quite drinkable and fairly crisp, with a dry finish, and a but sticky. Brown malts, light spicy hops, and hint of bitterness, lager like crispness but for the most part the lager is completely drowned out by the malts.

Mouth is med to lighter bodied, fluffy, decent carb.

Overall pretty nice, very drinkable, soft brown malts, light cocoa and vanilla even, caramel, light bitterness and hops, juicy lager, very much like a brown ale but lagered.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 22:58:06 | More by jlindros

cbutova

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- Poured into a mug with a creamy light tan head. About two fingers in size and good retention. Tons of lace up top as the head dies and it continues all the way down the glass.

S- A mix of dark brown sugars, roast malt, cereal grain, bread and some hops, mostly earthy and floral types.

T- Pretty much follows the nose with some dark fruits in the mix. Brown sugar, molasses, cereal, bread, earthy and floral hops, some lager yeast presence as well.

MF- Highly carbonated and slightly thin body, but it is a low alcohol lager. Fair bitters from the hops.

Solid black lager that drinks smoothly and has a pretty nice mix of flavors.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2012 00:51:49 | More by cbutova

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Beer #18 in my great Utah Brew Hunt.

Not a lot of schwarzbiers out there.

Again, I find myself appreciating this beer more as it warms. Nice malty roasted tone to it, but not so heavy or thorough that it's out of the style range. Fairly easy to drink. Oddly, more easy to drink than the lager I had just a bit earlier than this.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2012 02:50:10 | More by RblWthACoz

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.81/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

12oz Bottle from the Whole Foods Las Vegas NV for $2

Appearance - Brown colour with a large size fizzy beige coloured head. It's too dark to make out the amount of carbonation showing and there is some good lacing. The head lasted for around 3-4 minutes.

Smell - Malts, caramel, chocolate

Taste & Mouth - There is an average amount of carbonation and I can taste caramel and malts. There is also a light smokiness and some chocolate and some roasted/toasted nuts. It ends with a lightly smoked slightly bitter aftertaste.

Overall – A really enjoyable beer. Light enough to session, but flavourful enough to stay interesting. Also well balanced and a nice appearance. I have yet to have a bad beer from this brewer.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2013 00:11:36 | More by spinrsx

Dodo2step

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

P- Thanks to my buddy Trask in NC for this brew.

A- thick black like mdinight without the moon. A nice frothy head that is 2 fingers and leaves a brown lacing on my mug.

S-licorice, cocoa and a smokey charred wood aroma. Simple yet nice.

F-Robust charred and smokey malt with hints of cocoa powder.

M- Medium bodied which is on par for a lager. Wood and char remnants in mouth which i like.

O- Not a bad brew from Uinta and this is from first and i have heard all good things and this confirms it. An abover average beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2012 17:21:29 | More by Dodo2step

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Picked this up at the house of 1,000 for 3 bucks.

A - Pretty black for a dark lager. Almost pitch except for a haze of clarity ruby in color at the base of the glass. Head is opaque in color.

S - Smell is mild yet has some char roast and a touch of chocolate.

T - Mighty tasty stuff I really enjoy a black lager with a light grain profile. Plenty of mild smoke and roast mix with mild chocolate taste.

M - Light in body with a great flavor.

Overall one of the better black lagers I had. In fact I believe this beer might have the most flavor I seen in a black lager with an equally lower ABV perfect for session ability. Recommended!

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2012 03:59:06 | More by DrDemento456

ficknish

California

3.85/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - Pours a nice black opaque. Slight tints of red. Great tan head.

S - Roasted barley. Chocolate. Biscuits. Bread. Hints of cola.

T - Milk chocolate. Roasted barley. Sweet malt. Slightly tart.

M - Easy to drink. Clean. Creamy. Soft. Small bubbles.

O - Delicious. Smooth and dark. Not deep enough in flavor. But very drinkable. Might drink again.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2011 07:55:22 | More by ficknish

Lawl3ss

Texas

3.85/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz. stubby poured into a tulip pint. Bottling date 1.3.12.

Look- Pours a clear deep brown with a couple fingers of dense puffy-looking toasted marshmallow head. Not quite what I'd call craggy, but close. Pretty good retention. Left thick rings of foam around the glass that devolved into lacing after a few more minutes.

Smell- Light brown sugar is dominant, sweet but not overly so. There's also plenty of medium-toasted malt, and bit of gingerbread. There's the faintest touch of flowery esters. Smells a lot lighter than it looks.

Taste- Rich black bread to start, with just a hint of sweetness and maybe a bit of vanilla and nutmeg. Finishes quickly with a light coffee flavor. Minimal aftertaste. Pleasant and well balanced. Very well done, and fairly complex for a lager.

Mouthfeel- On the thin side but still full for a lager, peppery carbonation, comes off as fairly smooth. Easy drinking, to be sure.

Overall- My first black lager/schwarzbier so I don't have much to compare it to, but it seems true to the style. I liked it quite a bit, and I'm not big on lagers. I'll keep an eye out for similar beers to try, and I'll definitely pick up a six pack of this one if I find it again.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2012 08:11:31 | More by Lawl3ss

JayQue

Virginia

3.85/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Surprising amount of flavor from a 4% abv beer. This one is the essence of a good "session beer" within the limits usually prescribed on this site.

Poured into a pint glass. Very dark brown color, opaque with light coming through all over when held to a light. Medium size tan head with decent retention Thick bands of lacing.

Smell is fairly good as well, roasted malts, coffee, a little floral aspect.

Good strong taste for a low abv beer. Roasted malt, breadiness, coffee, a touch of hops bitterness. Very pleasant.

Mouthfeel just right for a lager. Light and crisp.

Overall a nice flavorful lager, just right for mass consumption or a tasty lawnmower beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 19:00:39 | More by JayQue

match1112

Illinois

3.85/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

a: dark coffee color. thin tan head, minimial lacing.

s: roasted malts and nothing else, kind of bland.

t: has a nice subtle roastieness to it, a bit of chocolate and coffee hint at being in there.

m: a tad thin, like most lagers are. carbonation is good. some charred wood flavors on the after taste.

o: pleasantly surprised by this one.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2012 00:00:55 | More by match1112

schoolboy

Ohio

3.86/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Baba is a solid black lager. It looks great in the glass with a great head and lacing.

The aroma is weak but pleasant. The taste is also weak. It is somewhat roasty and somewhat hoppy, but not enough so.

The aftertaste is weak as well but nice and creamy. This is the third beer I have tried from this brewery and none of them were very impressive.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 01:14:09 | More by schoolboy

silentjay

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

pours a deep brown to black with a nicely sized light mocha head that quickly recedes, leaving behind tons of lacing.

nutty aroma with some toasted, not exactly roasted or charred malts, and thats about all. not bad, but pretty mellow.

again, nutty, but with some slight chocolate hints and some caramel/light molasses. a slight bit of herbal/earthy hops maybe and some leftover coffee from a few days prior. pretty easy-drinking, but flavorful.

light bodied with crisp, mellow carbonation that adds to the easy drinking qualities of this beer. a touch of sweetness lingers, but not a lot.

I was expecting more of a roasty schwarzbier type flavor profile, but this leans more towards a nut brown. It actually drinks pretty well and I could see myself downing a few of these in a social setting. It's tasty, but you don't have to think about it.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2012 03:17:03 | More by silentjay

TenHornsProud

Colorado

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear black dark brown with a small tan head that lingers.

Smells of sweet roasted malt with some sulfur from the lager yeast and a hint of earthy/floral hops.

Taste is roasted/toasty up front with high carbonation that goes into a more mellow middle sweetness and ends on a slightly bitter and toasted malt note.

High carbonation and lighter body works well enough.

This a fine black lager, though, I just don't generally find the sulfur aspects of lager yeast to work that well with darker malts.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2012 01:51:01 | More by TenHornsProud

homebrew311

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into nonic pint glass. Pours dark brown with light brown head. 1 Finger of head present initially, dissipates to a thin layer quickly. Nice lacing is left around glass. There are some ruby highlights at the edge of the glass. The smell features roasty chocolate notes along with noticeable lager yeast character. There are subtle hints of smoke present. The taste has a much heavier presence of smoke, almost a campfire like woodiness. Bitter waves of roast come through. Minimal hop presence noted. This beer feel very light with somewhat high carbonation. There is certainly a lot of flavor packed into this small beer with smoke being the main note. This is a great example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2012 07:44:41 | More by homebrew311

AEArider

Arizona

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured black, with a relatively thin tan head and good lacing. Smell is chocolatey and earthy. Taste is malt focused, with roasted coffee/chocolate notes which are pretty damn tasty. I feel like the taste is a lot like porters or even brown ales that focus on the roasted notes. . . the fact that this is a lager comes out most dominantly by the thinner mouthfeel, which makes for a much more drinkable brew, so I can dig it.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2012 03:32:18 | More by AEArider

superspak

Michigan

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 ounce bottle into pilsener glass, bottled on 5/7/2012. Pours crystal clear dark reddish brown color with a nice 2 finger dense tan head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Some good soapy lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of dark chocolate, coffee, toast, char, caramel, roasted malt, and light earthiness. Very nice and well balanced aromas with good strength. Taste of dark chocolate, char, roasted malt, coffee, caramel, toast, herbal, and earthiness. Lingering notes of roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate, herbal, and earth on the finish for a short bit. Nice balance and robustness of flavors. Fairly dry on the finish with no cloying at all. Medium carbonation and light-medium bodied; with a lightly creamy and crisp mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is well hidden with zero warming as expected of 4%. Overall this is a very nice schwarzbier. Very nice balanced and robust flavors for a 4% beer; very smooth to drink. Very enjoyable stuff. If I could get this around here, this would definitely be a nice session beer choice.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2012 03:28:16 | More by superspak

IronLover

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Black on color with a reddish-brown hue when held up to a bright light. Poured with a huge bubbly beige foam that drapes the glass with sticky lacings. Earthy dark roasted and burnt malt aromas with hints of coffee and dark chocolate in the background. Medium bodied and smooth through the middle despite the lively, aggressive carbonation up front. Bitter burnt malt flavor up front that that tapers through the middle to dark roasted malt and coffee flavors to the end. Finishes with a slightly bitter dark roasted malt aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2012 01:38:10 | More by IronLover

Jason

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz brown bottle with a freshness date.

LOOK: Nearly full on black, impressive lacing

SMELL: Soft charcoal, milk chocolate, faint oil hop, herbal, toasted bread, dried hay

TASTE: Mild roastiness, smooth, medium bodied, clean, balanced hopping, herbal, faintly salty, brown malt, toasted grapenuts, mildly roasty drying finish

A very sessionable brew, perfect for the winter and is a great substitute if you love Porters. Organic and all if you are into that, and all around great beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2013 02:30:41 | More by Jason

OtherShoe2

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours deep brown with a light cream head. The skim of foam reduces to a ring, but you still get some lace.

Dark cocoa and mild coffee aromas. A little nutty note.

Nice surprise here. Coffee, cocoa, some nuts, mild bitterness. Long finish with all of these elements present. Nice domestic version of the style. Nice and malty.

Lighter bodied, good carbonation.

Very nice. Drinkable, tasty, no harsh edges or horrible flaws.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 00:11:26 | More by OtherShoe2

Wasatch

Utah

3.93/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottled: 09/08/11

Pours a nice black color, nice carbonation, with a nice fizzy tan head, which leaves some sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, slight hop note, with some nice little chocolate notes. The taste is sweet, malty, very slight hop note, and caramel. Medium body, with a nice crisp feel. This is a pretty nice brew, one of the best Uinta makes at 4% ABV.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2011 21:37:08 | More by Wasatch

Halcyondays

California

3.93/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle,

A: Pours black with a light off-white head, no lace, fair head retention.

S: Some light fruit, prune with charcoal and roasted malt.

T: Nice dark malt flavours, some dark chocolate, good heft, tasty.

M: Medium-bodied, smooth and crisp. Soft carbonation.

O: For 4% it's got a considerable flavour, very drinkable, a well made beer. Uinta keeps coming out with good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2012 05:07:01 | More by Halcyondays

AnalogReigns

North Carolina

3.93/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours with a beautiful frothy head--as classic continental lagers should. The head itself is tan...with the beer being a solid black--you cannot see light through it.

Very little aroma other than some roast malt.

Taste is smooth, with a basic dark (but not at all bitter) malt flavor (Caraffa III?) --not sweet like a brown ale or some stouts. Hops are only enough to balance the malt, giving a crisp refreshing after taste.

Light mouthfeel, appropriate for a lager.

Overall, a VERY nice schwarzbier, not quite as good as as Heavy Seas/Devil's Backbone "Land Ho!" schwarz, or Köstritzer, but its getting there...

Certainly much better than Guinness' attempt at this style--and it warms my heart that Guinness, Sam Adams, Saranac, Full Sail, Heavy Seas, Duck Rabbit, Gordon Beirsch, Weeping Raddish--and a number of other craft-brewers are doing this classic German/Czech style.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2012 16:42:32 | More by AnalogReigns