Smoked Black Lager
Mayflower Brewing Company

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From:
Mayflower Brewing Company
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
Schwarzbier
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
86
Avg:
3.82 | pDev: 9.42%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
18
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 31, 2013
Added:
Oct 31, 2012
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by PatriotsRule:
Photo of PatriotsRule
Reviewed by PatriotsRule from Massachusetts

4.01/5  rDev +5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A: Nice dark brown, nearly black with ample carbonation, a bit of head, and lacing that vanishes almost immediately
S: Smokey, a bit of chocolate and relatively strong malt and hop characteristics
T: Roasted peanut brittle and plenty of smoke, following the nose
M: Crisp and smooth, the Oct 2012 limited batch is delicious fresh!
O: Almost a porter, but a little too funky in some ways... Still smoky and intriguing throughout.
Nov 09, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of bum732
Reviewed by bum732 from Lesotho

4.49/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
S: Medium-high strong "rauchbier" smoke, some bacon, campfire, roasty graininess, hints of fruitiness.

L: Black, light tan head that dissipates slightly, solid lacing.

T: Roasty sweetness up front with smokiness following. Medium herbal bitterness with some bacon-like qualities following. Some coffee roastiness near the finish. Finishes semi-dry with additional roastiness.

M: Medium full body, medium carbonation. Slight creaminess.

A great smoked lager. The fact that its 8 months old is impressive. Great smokiness matching well with just enough roastiness. Clean lager makes it very drinkable.
Jul 31, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by anfield86 from New Jersey

May 27, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by MAbeerNE1 from Massachusetts

Mar 14, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by shehateme from Massachusetts

Jan 26, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by WhitmansNiece from Massachusetts

Jan 06, 2013
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
White colored creamy thick 1 finger head fades semi slowly with lots of lacing, tons of layered lacing, dark semi clear molasses brown with hints of mahogany light coming through.

Nose has nice smoke, a typical rauchbier like aroma, light campfire smoke, a little smoldering log, beachwood smoke, just a bit of smoked meat too, light burnt char aroma, light bitter earthy hop and maybe bitter charred roast, a bit of dark chocolate. Any thought of lager is completely drowned out by the smoke.

Taste starts with more smoke, smoked meat at first, with more campfire and smoldering beachwood like, and even a bit of liquid smoke and maybe peat too. Malts also bring light roast and some dark chocolate, and light bready malt. Yeast come through with light bready flavors and a yeasty flavor that even cuts through the smoke for a bit of an unpleasant flavor. Hint of char and bitter slightly acrid flavor from some form of dark malt. A hint if earthy hop finishes off the flavor. Finish is dry but a bit sticky, long lingering peat like smoke with more campfire and charred smoldering log with a fair bitterness. Again no lager characters to be found.

Mouth is med bodied, although maybe a bit light and crisp for maybe the only hint of lager, lighter carb.

Overall not impressed. The lager is all but drowned out by the fairly overpowering and single minded smoke, very little other malt character except the charred flavor, and fair hint of hops just aren't enough. Also the yeasty flavor in there adds another negative. Not a very well done beer, especially from what I've come to expect from Mayflower.
Dec 10, 2012
Photo of TheManiacalOne
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

3.88/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 22oz bottle into a mug glass.

A: The beer is a deep dark brown color, with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains smoked malts, lager yeast, some chocolate and some coffee.

T: The taste starts out with some smokiness followed by a hearty roasted malt character and lager yeast breadiness. Then some mild flavors of chocolate and coffee come in. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly smoky.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, mild kick, good variation of style, this is a solid beer worth drinking for a while if you’re in the mood for the style.
Nov 28, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by Wally1912 from Massachusetts

Nov 23, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by OriolesFan1008 from Maryland

Nov 22, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by Rekrule from Massachusetts

Nov 18, 2012
Photo of MoreThanWine
Reviewed by MoreThanWine from Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
For the record I've always been very proud of this brewery. They make quality craft beers at decent prices and I'm proud they're here in Massachusetts. Poured a 3" cappuccino head with medium long life. The body truly is black, dark as coffee, even held to the light. It smells mildly of troasted malt and smoke in that order and it comes across fairly complex. The taste reverses with smoke up front and roasted malt secondary. Smoke extends through a pretty long finish. And the body is between medium and light. Nice beer. Although the smoke exceeds the malt it's still one of the more approachable smoke beer samples I've had.
Nov 12, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by kaelingirl from Massachusetts

Nov 09, 2012
Photo of tkelley
Reviewed by tkelley from Massachusetts

3.05/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
A - dark brown with ruby highlights and white head

N - dark roasted malts with very faint smoke.

T - not very smoky. A lot like a regular porter with just a very light hint of smoke. Some sips have a delightful ham taste.

M -light and crisp. Would surprise a lot of people based on sight alone.

O - this would be good for a barbecues. I was honestly underwhelmed. I thought it would be smokier. I think mayflower set me up for this by having many other excellent beers. On the look out now for Thanksgiving Ale.

Cheers.
Nov 07, 2012
Photo of smcolw
Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts

3.71/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Large initial head with plenty of chunky lace. Dark amber, light brown color and clear.

Darker malt aromas with a good level of burnt sugar. The smoke is slight but present.

Thin bodied with a moderate level of carbonation. Starts like a Brown Ale with some chocolate. The swallow is dry and toasty. There's a bit of hop bitterness and some alcohol warmth.
Nov 03, 2012
 
Rated: 4.25 by DoctorB2B from Virginia

Nov 02, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by snowmaggedon from Massachusetts

Nov 01, 2012
Photo of tigg924
Reviewed by tigg924 from Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Had on tap at New World Tavern Plymouth--served into a pint glass.

Appearance: dark-brown in color, 1/4inch head, opaque, moderate carbonation

Smell: roasted malt and smoke

Taste: chocolate a bit of milk, but mostly dark, roasted malt, and a good deal of smoke

Mouthfeel: medium bodied, moderate carbonation, sweet and smoky

Overall: Mayflower advertises this as a combo of a schwarzbier and a rauchbier. This beer does incorporate both of those styles. The smoke is very present but not overbearing. I do like it and I believe it is one of their tastier beers. That said, I have seen this selling in the $11 range around here and I would not pay for it in that range.
Oct 31, 2012
Smoked Black Lager from Mayflower Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 18 ratings