El Steinber Dark Lager - Anderson Valley Brewing Company

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

4.1/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

16 ounce pint - $6.50 at Taco Mac in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Passed across the bar a clear, dark brown-hued body with a half inch of head the color of dusty ivory. Fine, slim lacing on the way down.

Smell: El Steinber leans malty, with notes of toasted bread crusts, lightly roasted malt, and cocoa. Slender hoppiness. Small touch of fruit.

Taste: Dark, liberally toasted bread crusts atop subtle pils malts housing tastes of cocoa powder and a restrained roastiness. Sensible sweetness. Turns a bit nutty as it warms. A little raisin fruitiness. Minor hint of herb and spice, with a low bitterness from the German hops. Nicely malty, nutty finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium carbonation.

Overall: Works fairly well as a easy-going, easy-drinking dark lager.

Serving type: on-tap

12-08-2012 17:18:26 | More by ChainGangGuy

verge

California

3.55/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Saw this 16 oz tall can at Total Wine & More in Brea, CA. Snagged one cause it looked interesting! No description on the can.

Poured it gently into a pilsner glass...exploded with head anyway! I had to slurp the head off of it a few times to get it to fit in the glass. Otherwise, a clear dark brown, reminiscent of a Newcastle-ish color.

Smelled kinda mild, like a nondescript German dark lager...not like a Schwarzbier though. Just malty and mellow. Nothing too noticeable here.

Once I tasted it, it was not as expected. Sure, the typical qualities are there - dark malts but with a crisp finish - but there is also a very slight lingering hop aftertaste, and after swallowing there is also a hint of creamy chocolate, even...peanut butter? Am I off my rocker? Overall, tasty. Subdued but balanced.

Mouthfeel is light and creamy just like lots of lagers that you've had before.

Interesting overall beer. Definitely sessionable. In fact, if I could find a sixer of this, I would take it to the next poker night or NHL playoff watch party. As a standalone, not going to blow you away. An interesting choice for Anderson Valley, but at the same time, you can see why they did it.

Serving type: can

05-16-2013 21:26:00 | More by verge

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.43/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Pounder can picked up at Bier Thirty in Bown tonight for about $2.25... Poured into my slim tulip produces an abundant 3 finger tannish head atop a clear walnut brew.... the head dies back pretty quickly but leaves good lacing.

For the lion's share, the nose shows toasty malts... but there is a "tinny/metallic" quality that I am picking up on pretty heavily... it dissipates with warmth, but is no doubt there.

Flavor is better, but still a mild metallic element remains.. more though the malts shine very clean... no real hoppiness to come into play.. dark toast is the big player on the finish.

Body is light/medium and a pretty abundant carbonation...

Decent beer (and I love dark lagers), but the tinny quality is pretty off-putting.

Overall, this is a nice beer for peeps that appreciate dark lagers. Otherwise, they will pan it. I like it a lot.

3.5/3.25/3.5/3.25/3.5

Serving type: can

05-07-2013 05:21:52 | More by JohnGalt1

deadonhisfeet

Kentucky

3.38/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a growler into a beer stein. Pours with a massive sandy-brown head. It appears nearly black, but when held to the light is actually a clear, extremely dark mahogany.

Medium body and mostly firm feel, though a bit thinner than the best lagers. The beer has a nice, clean toffee-like malty flavor up front and a slight spicy note at mid-palate that carries through to the finish. Unfortunately, the beer lacks the malty ``chewiness'' one finds in the best examples. Still, a nice easy-drinking, sessionable lager in the European tradition that accompanies just about any meal.

Serving type: growler

11-17-2012 19:28:50 | More by deadonhisfeet

mdfb79

New York

3.1/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

From 07/11/12 notes. Had this on tap at Idle Hands on the LES in New York. Served in a pint glass.

a - Pours an almost black, dark brown color with one inch of medium tan head and low carbonation evident. Looks pretty good.

s - Smells of roasted malts, grains, bready malts, toasted malts. Not a ton going on; not bad, but pretty average.

t - Tastes of roasted malts, grains, bready malts, light fruit, and toasted malts. Again, pretty bland and average.

m - Medium body and low carbonation. A tiny bit undercarbonated, but easy to drink.

o - Overall a pretty average beer. Not much going on except some roasted malts; probably wouldn't seek it out again.

Serving type: on-tap

07-26-2012 18:41:13 | More by mdfb79

TheRealBigC

Nevada

3.03/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

This beer left a ridiculous amount of lacing on the glass. It was like a sheet. Unfortunately, the taste didn't stack up to the apparent thickness of the beer. I realize that adjuncts were used in it to make it a bit lighter, but I don't think that did the beer any real favors. It was easy to drink, no doubt, but it wasn't particularly enjoyable. In some regards it tasted like an improved formula for Dos Equis. I don't regret trying it, but AV is way better than this.

Serving type: on-tap

12-08-2012 02:00:38 | More by TheRealBigC

metter98

New York

2.95/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

On-tap at Beer Authority, New York, NY

A: The beer is slightly hazy amber brown in color and has no visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high off white head that died down but left a very thin layer of bubbles covering the surface and some lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are sweet aromas of malt extracts in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of syrup extracts and toasted malts along with slight hints of sweetness.
M: It feels light-bodied and very thin on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The thin and watery nature of this beer makes it taste somewhat like a Mexican Munich Dunkel Lager.

Serving type: on-tap

11-03-2012 17:59:06 | More by metter98

kojevergas

California

2.95/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

5.5% according to my can's label. 16 fl oz orange and blue aluminum can acquired a few days ago at a local SoCal beer store and served into a conical Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are above average given the brewery.

Served cold, straight from the fridge. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a four finger grey-white (ecru for the pretentious) colour head of decent cream and thickness and good (~4+) minute retention. Body colour is a clear translucent dark amber. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Lacing is thin and inconsistent. Not unique or special, but generally appealing for the style.

Sm: Amber malts, caramalts, and minimal floral hop character. Boring and bland. Generic. No yeast character or alcohol is detectable. Clean. Average strength.

T/Mf: Some vague smoky character - perhaps smoked malt? Amber malts. Caramalts. Clean and crisp. Smooth and wet. Overcarbonated. Decent thickness. Okay presence on the palate. Bland and boring. Unrefreshing. I'm not big on this one. Not very balanced. Badly built. No yeast character or alcohol comes through.

Dr: A surprisingly mediocre dark lager from an otherwise solid brewery. This forgettable brew should be left on the shelf. Drinkable but pedestrian. Anderson Valley is capable of far better.

High C

Serving type: can

05-13-2013 03:44:39 | More by kojevergas