Beerlao Dark - Lao Brewery Co.

ronniebruner

Arizona

3.13/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Surprisingly Beerlao has created a pretty decent beer here. This is my first Laotian beer and I have to admit I was honestly surprised. The beer has a nice nutmeg brown color, and a somewhat spicy aroma. The beer pours smoothly and goes down smoothly. It tastes very clean and goes down smoothly. The beer has a decent amount of alcohol in it but does not have the overly sweet taste usually asociated with higher alcohol content beers. A worthy effort, I look forward to finding more Laotian beers in the future.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2011 12:18:14 | More by ronniebruner

Dave1999

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev +8.4%

05-21-2013 18:49:17 | More by Dave1999

RedneckBeerz

North Carolina

2.5/5  rDev -22.6%

05-09-2013 13:06:16 | More by RedneckBeerz

sumpjh

California

3/5  rDev -7.1%

03-26-2013 14:20:32 | More by sumpjh

ryanpj

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev +0.6%

03-25-2013 17:29:24 | More by ryanpj

Poupae

Thailand

4/5  rDev +23.8%

03-17-2013 14:18:03 | More by Poupae

jkermitj

Mississippi

3/5  rDev -7.1%

03-16-2013 01:16:14 | More by jkermitj

tbeckett

Ontario (Canada)

2.76/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Bottle at a restaurant on Don Det. From notes.

A - Pours bright with a root beer colour. One finger light beige head. Mild-medium carbonation. No lace, tiny spot of retention on the side of the glass.

S - Nutty. Sugar, dark fruit, coffee. Sweeter elements def come through stronger. Mild but pleasant.

T - Sugary. Some coffee flavour. Mild nuttiness again. Quite sugary, but the nuttiness is alright.

M - Strong carbonation, medium body and a sweet, nutty finish.

O/D - An OK dark lager. Definitely a step up from the run of the mill yellow lagers around the country. I could have a few of these but it really doesn't stand out too much style wise. Decent, but off style and far too sweet.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 12:48:51 | More by tbeckett

rickyleepotts

Arizona

4.05/5  rDev +25.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 3.75

There are two beers on the list from the Lao Brewing Company. This is one of them, and we grabbed this the other night at Total Wine & More. We spent $100, so we have enough beer to last us a few weeks! I think shopping for beer is my favorite part. Anyway, this beer is brewed in Laos, a small country in Southeast Asia. I need to plan a trip to Asia. There is some great diving over there, and it is a part of the world I have never been.

I don't recall ever having this beer before, but I do like the Euro dark lager style. The tasting notes mention toffee and coffee… and while I do not expect a lot of those aromas (or flavor) I am sure it will be easy drinking and enjoyable. I didn't realize they used rice in the brewing process. Makes sense, and I will be curious to see if that changes the flavor of the beer. Let's drink!

In the Glass: This is darker than I expected. It has a deep dark red color… almost brown. The head is nice, too. For a beer that I would assume is a domestic to Laos, I didn't expect it to have much character. But the head is nice and white, and it has a decent lace.

Nose: I thought I could smell this as I was pouring it in the glass, but Sheryl was making tea. She is on a tea kick right now… and I will admit, the stuff smells good. Doesn't taste very good, but smells good. At any rate, this beer smells like a traditional Euro pale lager. Beers like this are typically sweet, and have a lot of different flavors going on. Hopefully this one won't disappoint.

Flavor: That's actually really good. I am hooked on this home-grown rice thing. A few weeks ago, I had a wild rice double IPA that was amazing. The rice really came through in the flavor. The rice really comes through in this one, too. I can see what they mean about the beer being easy to drink. Bravo Lao Brewing Company. You have just thoroughly impressed me with this release!

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is soft, mellow, and leaves a nice little pillow of flavor on the back of the palate. They claim the rice is what mellows this beer… and if I didn't know about the rice beforehand, I would comment on how easy this is to drink. I wonder if this beer would age for two or three years. Beers like this shouldn't, but as mellow as this is, I wonder what it would taste like with seer carbonation.

Aftertaste: The aftertaste is solid, as well. There is a hint of malt and some sublet hoppy characters creeping in there. If you didn't know this beer was over 6% ABV, you could drink 6 of these and not even realize it! Very easy to drink with a lovely flavor. I bet this would also pair well with food.

For our first experience with Beerlao Euro Dark Lager, I am very impressed. I will be buying more of this in the near future. I bet this would be a great beer to pair with some brown rice sushi or with an Asian chicken dish.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 19:21:10 | More by rickyleepotts

Skelton

Georgia

3/5  rDev -7.1%

01-25-2013 19:23:22 | More by Skelton

chinchill

South Carolina

3.3/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

undated 330 ml bottle.
Pours clear dark brown with a large tan white head that has moderate duration.
Very sweet aroma of roasted malts, caramel and rice.
Also has a sweet and roasty flavor, but not nearly as sweet as the aroma suggests.

Medium body with medium carbonation.
O: Interesting and a little better than expected.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 23:15:17 | More by chinchill

ejh06752

New York

3.25/5  rDev +0.6%

11-17-2012 15:25:16 | More by ejh06752

LJWalker

Alabama

3/5  rDev -7.1%

11-11-2012 03:14:06 | More by LJWalker

cfalovo97

Ontario (Canada)

2/5  rDev -38.1%

11-11-2012 00:07:06 | More by cfalovo97

TeamUgly

California

3.25/5  rDev +0.6%

11-06-2012 09:47:30 | More by TeamUgly

intoxabroad

British Columbia (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +16.1%

10-08-2012 13:14:13 | More by intoxabroad

Kopfmeister60

Florida

4/5  rDev +23.8%

09-21-2012 16:19:30 | More by Kopfmeister60

wattoclone

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +8.4%

09-12-2012 13:50:53 | More by wattoclone

acat25

Texas

2.75/5  rDev -14.9%

08-08-2012 21:24:59 | More by acat25

rolltide8425

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +8.4%

07-22-2012 01:59:19 | More by rolltide8425

yossarian

Ontario (Canada)

2/5  rDev -38.1%

06-25-2012 20:44:25 | More by yossarian

tdm168

North Carolina

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

A - dark, translucent amber with a big, thick cap of brownish, off white head that has pretty good retention

S - sweet caramel

T - faint caramel, a slight bitterness; very, very light flavor profile

M - light to medium bodied, smooth, a bit sticky, well carbonated

This is a pretty simple, one-dimensional beer. If this were American it'd be a poorly put together amber lager. As a European lager I give it slightly more credit. Nonetheless, it's disappointing and forgettable.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2012 02:05:25 | More by tdm168

stoutman

Michigan

2.23/5  rDev -31%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Quite disappointed with this beer like the other beer lao. It is just a sweet and malty bland beer with some caramel and just a hint of spices. Quite sweet and sugary. Very little bitterness. Has some of that old lager flavor but for the most part it goes down fairly easy. It’s still drinkable, but far from a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 15:12:55 | More by stoutman

flagmantho

Washington

3.68/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 330mL bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: medium brown hue, not unlike a nut brown ale or an ESB. Body is clear and the head is a thick finger of frothy light-tan foam with a good lace. Not bad, actually.

Smell: sweet, caramelly malt aroma without much in the way of hops. Perhaps a bit sweet for my taste, but it is clean and free of flaws.

Taste: much like the aroma, it's a sweet, caramel malt-heavy beer. For that, the flavor seems more balanced than the aroma with a light but present bitterness toward the end. There also seems to be a very light but noticeable smokiness in the flavor which is appealing; perhaps they still kiln malt over wood fires in Laos.

Mouthfeel: quite good. Medium-light body with a massive carbonation which yields the creaminess I like. Perhaps not to-style, but it's certainly to my taste.

Overall: a decent and drinkable dark lager. I'm going to award some bonus points here for the light smokiness, which really is a treat here (again, if not to-style).

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 17:58:36 | More by flagmantho

matjack85

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I found both the dark and the regular versions of this beer at the new Binny's store in Bloomingdale, IL for $9.99 a six-pack. First time trying a Laotian beer. 11.2oz brown bottles with no freshness date.

The beer pours a clear reddish/brown color with a big creamy 3-finger light tan head. Long lasting retention and lots of lace - a pretty good looking dark lager.

Roasted malt and sweet caramel aroma.

Taste starts out with a mild sweetness, and then a strange combination of black licorice and a metallic flavor kick in. I'm sort of indifferent about it. Definitely different but not sure if I like it that much. A mild bitterness and touch of lemon are also present.

Light to medium body with moderate carbonation.

This is a decent beer, but nothing exceptional.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2012 04:38:47 | More by matjack85