Baba Black Lager - Uinta Brewing Company

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.68/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle - $1.79 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Bottled on: 03/13/12. Cute-lookin' bottle, but I'm not here for bottles, and I'm not particularly concerned about it being organic, either. I do, however, appreciate the low ABV.

Appearance: Pours out a black body capped by a mocha-toned head depositing a few stray bits of lace here and there on the descent.

Smell: Roasty, mainly, but also some burnt dark bread crammed in the background. Also notes of chocolate shavings, lemon zest, and licorice with a vague whiff of peppery spice.

Taste: Roasted malts with a gulp of coffee and a mild inclusion of sweetish chocolate and black licorice. One drop of homemade lemonade. Leafy, faintly citrusy hops with sufficient balancing bitterness. Low hint of something spicy. Dry with a bit of a carbonic acid bite on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-plus carbonation, fairly crisp.

Overall: It is what it is and what it is works for me.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 05:13:19 | More by ChainGangGuy

UCLABrewN84

California

3.13/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottled on 10/6/11.

First thing I have to say is that this is an awesome bottle. I love the paper labels and the raised compass pattern on the glass itself.

Pours an almost opaque super dark crimson brown with a 1 inch puffy beige head that settles to a film. Blotchy patterns of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is pretty much solely dark roasted malt and maybe some slight campfire/smoke aromas. Taste pretty much follows suit with roasted dark malt as really the only flavor. There is a slight metallic flavor on the aftertaste too. This beer has a pretty thin body with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty average lager that is one dimensional in both smell and flavor.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2011 07:15:34 | More by UCLABrewN84

oberon

North Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the Mellow in G-boro.Poured a deep dark chocolate color with a tinge of ruby,a thinner off white head atop.Earth and bitter chocolate in the nose,not much sweetness other than slight molasses sweetness.Earthy with a light bitter chocolate notes on the palate,a little brown sugar/molasses sweetness in the finish.Not complex but tasty,light and easier to drink.

Serving type: on-tap

10-25-2011 21:27:18 | More by oberon

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

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottled on 1/31/12. Picked up a single at Abe's Cold Beer. At first I though this was an import based on the label—cool design.

It's a worthy competitor to Session Dark, though it does lean a little more Euro. It's a slightly sweet lager, with an earthy caramel and mildly roasted barley character. It's quite nice. The body is light, but not thin. This all makes for a pleasant, drinkable session beer. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2012 01:34:29 | More by tempest

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

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thick, but modest, head. Leaves a solid ring of lace. Deep ruby-brown color where only a minimum of light passes.

Good hop smell upfront (more floral than earthy). Second smell brings out some burnt (black patent?) malt aromas. I detect some hazelnut.

Very similar to a thin porter. Good bittering hop presence and the malt is also bitter. Surprisingly short aftertaste. Thin bodied with a high level of carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 22:34:13 | More by smcolw

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

rhoadsrage

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

(Served in a footed strange)

A- This beer pours an opaque black body with a boiling big bubbly light tan head that sticks to the glass in sheets. There is a gentle carbonation of microbubbles.

S- The dark pine hops with clean black malt hints are lagered smooth and finish with a flinty note that grows a bit as it warms.

T- The light clean dark roasted malt is clean with a slight chalky note and a clean slightly dry finish. The green hop hint lingers with a faint roast note comes through.

M- The medium-light mouthfeel with a gentle fizz.

O The crisp clean lagered beer has full fresh dark malt and a nice support of hops. Very drinkable and tasty.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2012 20:54:11 | More by rhoadsrage

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

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

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

The pour initially looks black but is actually a deep clear ruby in the glass, topped with 2 fingers of rich mocha colored head. This retains with a sturdy ½ finger of creamy froth, which leaves back a sticky latticework of lacing down the sides of the glass. The aroma smells leafy and citric up front, with a push up from underneath of cocoa, toffee, and roast. The hops here have an earthy ripeness to them that nicely compliments the sweetness of the malts.

The taste has a green citric bite the whole way through, which is softened by chalky chocolate character, some sweeter caramel flavor, and roast across the back. This finishes dry and bitter with a touch of lingering char. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and crisp on the tongue, with more of a crisp creaminess across the back. Some underlying oiliness really keeps this slick and smooth.

I really enjoyed this Schwarzbier, as it was nicely flavored, balanced, and mostly importantly, drinkable! I ripped through this glass a lot faster than I expected. This was another solid beer from these guys.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2012 19:34:06 | More by Kegatron

Zorro

California

3.68/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Clear extremely dark brown colored beer with a small tan head that doesn't last long.

Smells of roasted grain but more of patent malt with just a whiff of smoke. Not much else in the aroma.

Starts out with a strong patent malt flavor and more than a little smoky taste. Tastes of chocolate and coffee but REALLY this tastes of just heavy dark roasted malt. Tastes something like over roasted Starbucks coffee. Tasty but not complex, but it has a heavy roasted flavor.

Mouthfeel is full for the style.

Overall this is like a three chord rock song. Not complex at all, but it is likeable for what it is. Just a straight meat and potatoes dark lager.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2011 22:54:03 | More by Zorro

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.03/5  rDev +8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

12oz bottle purchased from Whole Foods SoMa in San Francisco.

Pours a lightish, browning black, with a fine, slightly filmy, slightly bubbly head of off-white. Lacing is minimal, but forms in oblique streaks. Body looks light and fluid, with fine carbonation. Decent look, but not exceptional.

Nose is pleasantly light, with some dedicated roast characters giving a faint suggestion of acidity. Some black olive character comes through as well with this roast. It's pretty light on, but pretty pleasant, and stylistically very appropriate.

Taste is similar. Pleasant roasted character, but a nice dryness and lightness in the body to keep it clean and drinkable. The roast flattens out towards the back, leaving a pleasant toasted grain flavour, and mellowing into a dry, almost crisp finish. Where the acidity was on the nose, this dips to become smoother and more savoury, leaving it crisp but interesting.

Feel is light and dry, but matches with the beer nicely.

Overall, this is a great dark lager. It has the lightness and freshness of a lager, with some genuinely well-delivered roasted characters from the malt. It's a delicate balancing act, and it's performed very well here.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2013 23:59:05 | More by lacqueredmouse

DoubleJ

California

4.2/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Black sheep often refers to a odd member of a group, so let's hope the reference has a positive spin. Coming from a 12 ounce bottle, on to the beer:

The beer is black with a hue of cola brown at the bottom of the glass. Sitting on top of the liquid is a half-inch of toasted colored head, which retains itself well after the pour and splashes sticky webbed lace around. The aroma is smokey like a porter, slight smoked meat note, molasses, unsweetened cocoa, and coffee roast. Not only is it complex, but the intensity is there there, unexpected for a beer at 4% ABV.

The complex does doesn't quite translate in taste, but it does deliver a good, more simple flavor. Smokey charcoal and bitter roasted coffee hit first. The bitterness dies and up comes a slight sweetness to keep the smokiness attractive. Smokey and roasty in the aftertsaste. It is a "lean" medium bodied beer, with well placed carbonation which doesn't kill the flavor, and without a doubt very easy to drink.

Uinta delivers a great package in this black lager, coming in at just 4% ABV. This would put me in a good mood while barbecuing.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2013 05:08:47 | More by DoubleJ

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.04/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A mini-trade with my colleague, Sam Knocken, netted me this and several other Uinta beers. That works!

From the bottle: "Earth, Wind and Beer Herded by Uinta Brewing Co. Salt Lake City Utah"; "For best flavor enjoy in a glass"; "Brewed with renewable power"; "Black Lager".

Yeah, I get that it is an allusion to the nursery rhyme, but how would any self-respecting rocker not default to The Who's Baba O'reily? Dunno. I did. I also utilized an aggro pour which resulted in a cascade-like action, finishing with a massive two-plus fingers of thick, dense, deep-tan head with great retention. Color was a deep, dark-brown with garnet highlights. Nose had a pleasant smokiness accompanying a dark chocolate semi-sweetness. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but approaching. The flavor was smoky, slightly bitter with an underlying chocolatiness. Finish was semi-dry and the flavor of chocolate lingered well pat the swallow. The lacing that remained in the glass was remarkable. Good stuff! I would drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 00:59:51 | More by woodychandler

mactrail

California

2.83/5  rDev -24.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Lovely big foam on a black-brown beer. Starts out with some dark malt but quickly turns sourish, like it's well dosed with Black Patent malt. The slightest hint of sweetness, and not much malt in the body. The touch of dirty hops takes over, though it's not very bitter. More of a dishwater aftertaste.

Austere without being very hoppy, dry with a hint of cardboard. It's not actually bad, but seems to be a cleanly-made example of a "why bother" style. Label claims "organic," and I am still looking for a drinkable "organic" beer. Thanks to Harmon's supermarket for selling singles.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 03:44:45 | More by mactrail

Cyberkedi

Georgia

3.38/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Strong, smoky aroma has tones of licorice and charred wood. It pours a deep sable a whisker above black with a decent tan head. Flavor is woody and smoky, with hints of licorice and coffee. Texture is smooth and fizzy but body is average. Overall it's so-so, but worth sampling.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2012 21:42:10 | More by Cyberkedi

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Uinta Brewing Company
Baba Black Lager
Style: Schwarzbier
ABV: 4.00 %

LOOK: Stubby bottle, USDA certified Organic. Pours a dark brown, just about black. Clear, with a soapy off white froth. Leaves plenty of lace on the glass.

SMELL: Chocolate like malty aroma, bringing back memories of malt chocolate Ovaltine.

TASTE: Roasted, dark malt flavor with some smoke and bakers chocolate. Mild tea like hop with a complimentary bitterness.

FEEL: Medium bodied, well carbonated, smooth, full of flavor.

OVERALL: A nice dark lager, really easy drinking. One of the better session ales Ive had. I could recommend this to anyone.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 22:17:51 | More by Stinkypuss

smakawhat

Maryland

3.6/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass. BAAAaaa!!!

A nice creamy and foamy off tan colored head, sits on a very dark body, has some very good clumpy retention. Body color appears to be truly nearly black, but with some red accents. Pretty solid looking brew here

Bouquet is a nice small creamy chocolate malt, some faint coffee roast. However, it's a little muted.

Taste on the palate brings a nice creamy milk stout sense. Some milky cream in the palate, but also some sort of crisp effervesence sense in the feel. Kind of playful carbonation here which matches kind of interestingly with the taste.

Overall, nothing wrong with this beer, but it doesn't really excite me, and probably not a style I have that often. But it's a pretty solid brew just not for me.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2012 00:22:27 | More by smakawhat

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.6/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

this is a heavy duty beer for a lager. pours midnight black and dense as anything, with a one inch light brown head. the nose is roasty dark malts and bready yeast. It so far is much more of a porter than a black lager i think. the flavor is very robust. burnt malt dominates the mouth, while some bitterness rises u in the finish, more from the darkness of the malt then from the hops. mouthfeel is pretty heavy again for a lager, lots of body in this one, and good carbonation. a nice bitter roasted flavor is left in the mouth for awhile, which is nice this time of year. overall a good fall session beer. super low abv makes it an all day beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2012 17:41:11 | More by StonedTrippin

alexgash

Connecticut

4.03/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle. Bottled on 08/14/12. As usual, great looking Uinta bottle/label.

Dark root beer brown body. Some light gets through the edges, revealing a clear beer. Good inch of dense, pillowy, cappuccino brown head. Nice lacing. Earthy, roasted malt aromas. Tobacco, dark chocolate, and a hint of licorice as well.

Roasted barley and coffee notes up front. Slight cardboard flavor as well. Singed caramel and more roasted malts fill up the palate. Tobacco and earthy, peaty notes into the finish. Roasted coffee bitterness in the end, with lingering semi-sweet chocolate. Moderate body, with medium carbonation. A nice session beer with good flavor and complexity.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2012 23:30:28 | More by alexgash

tdm168

North Carolina

3.7/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a very dark, brownish black with a reddish hue around the edges. There's is a quickly fading lacing of brown head. The nose is mellow, roasty, and faintly chocolaty with a distinct grassy, lagery aroma. The flavor is light, slightly roasty, very faint chocolate, faint citrus, and lager yeast. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied, smooth, and well carbonated with a bit of a crispness on the tongue.

This isn't a bad beer. The others in this style that I've tried have been imports and had that traditional euro yeasty mildew funk to them. This didn't. It was mellow, drinkable, and refreshing. I didn't mind it, but there isn't really anything here that will keep me coming back.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2012 00:30:51 | More by tdm168

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

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This beer is a dark brown colored liquid, with a slightly read hue. Moderate tan head. The aroma is malty, with a notable smoke, roast, and earthy quality. The smoke note continues through the taste, which has a touch of astringency. It's a thinner-than-necessary beer, with some sweetness and a background of under-ripe fruit. The smoky aroma is the most intriguing thing about this brew. All in all, this one is just okay.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 21:33:44 | More by Suds