LTD Series - 06 - Full Sail Brewery & Tasting Room & Pub

kojevergas

California

2.35/5  rDev -38.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

7.0% ABV confirmed. I keep buying Full Sail's beers even though they're usually crap because they're just so affordable at Trader Joe's. I picked this one up at the Santa Monica location. 12 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into a Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are below average given the brewery and style (which I doubt this brewery can satisfactorily pull off, frankly).

Served a fair bit warmer than refrigerator cold. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a half finger khaki thin head of little cream and below average retention. Colour is a solid nontransparent opaque black. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. An interesting appearance for the style, but underwhelming all around.

Sm: Dark malts, cream, must, artificial berry, and sugary malts. Not a great aroma. I'm hesitant about this one. Mild in strength.

T: Sugary dark malts combined with crappily executed caramel and some stale artifical malts. Too sugary and artificial. Drinks like a crappy schwarzbier. Very cola-esque in sugar content and taste. Sugarcane. No, there is no chocolate or coffee in this - and no, my taste buds do not think there is. I hate presumptive labels. Simple, bland, and boring. Not a good flavour all around. Imbalanced.

Mf: Tingly, sugary, smooth, and wet. Some underlying artificial coarseness. I can feel my teeth rotting as the liquid touches them.

Dr: Drinkable but forgettable. By no means a good beer; not even of average quality. I wouldn't trifle with this again, even at its good price. A poor example of the style, though it does hide its ABV surprisingly well - maybe its best attribute. Leave this one on the shelf; there are far better beers to be had at this price point (especially in Trader Joe's).

D+

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 05:30:22 | More by kojevergas

kristenspaintings

California

3.38/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer as a nice smell and a creamy, toasted caramel head. The color is a very dark, opaque brown-black. You can't see through this even when it's held up to the light. It looks a lot like coffee in this way, at least the coffee I drink. I agree with the statement on the bottle suggesting coffee and chocolate flavors. It’s the flavor of very strong black coffee or dark, bittersweet chocolate. Both have a little tang and a bitter bite to them that this beer also has, plus a malty sweetness that makes this a very good beer.

In my opinion, it’s a well-crafted beer. It's among the better American bock-style beers I've had.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2013 12:51:02 | More by kristenspaintings

vkv822

Oregon

3.43/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz : tulip

Black, with deep red highlights. Craggy, foamy light brown head.

Roasty malt notes in both the nose and taste. Faint cocoa notes as well.

Medium+, smooth body, with mild carbonation.

A well done lager, easy drinking. A good winter beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2012 09:40:30 | More by vkv822

Fatehunter

Oregon

3.45/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Almost a finger of tan head on a black colored body.
Smell is a strong roasted malt.
Taste has the roasted malt with coffee undertones. A flavorful lager.
Medium body with moderate carbonation. Crisper texture.
A tasty dark lager. The flavors of a stout in a lager.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2012 00:36:29 | More by Fatehunter

Moose90

Colorado

3.45/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Enjoy By – 01/25/13 – Oh well

A – Pours a dark dark translucent brown, and leaves a fluffy light brown 2 finger head that is soon to disappear, but leaves nice lacing.

S – Some fresh coffee notes, light sweet cocoa powder, but underneath it all is an unmistakable lager backbone.

T – Bitter, burnt coffee here, some light cocoa notes come in again on the finish. A little licorice as well.

M – Light-Medium body, a bit strange with the darkness of this brew. The finish is clean, and quite crisp and leads to a finish that is quite quick.

O – A conundrum here, tip my hat to Full Sail for making a lager with such flavor and complexity, but still, I wish it was richer and smoother, it has typical lager carbonation and characteristics, and is a bit off-putting with the real darkness of this one.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 07:33:13 | More by Moose90

sprucetip

Alaska

3.5/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Mahogany with red highlights, minimal mocha head fades immediately to a ring, no lacing.

Grainy, black tea, some heat, some roast, and a nip of sweetness. Okay, nothing special.

Like the nose it is black tea/grainy, lightly roasty, with some sweet caramel maltyness. Not getting the chocolate or coffee as advertised on the bottle.

Adequately carbonated, thin side of medium body, and touch of bitterness in the finish. Feels thin for 7%.

Decent but not special. I guess for a lager you could almost say it's pretty good. I doubt I'll have it again. Worth a try if you are a ticker, I guess.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 05:40:56 | More by sprucetip

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.53/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours chestnut with 2 fingers of tan head. Good head retention & lacing

S: Brown bread. figs & pears

T: Follows the nose, some figgy notes, a touch of raisin & carob up front. A touch of charred grain. more dark fruit, dryness & a touch of breadyness & some pear & just a kiss off booze as this warms. Finishes with boozey pears, dryness & raisins

MF: Medium bodied/slightly chewy with low carbonation, thins a touch as this warms

An alright dopplebock, nothing too exciting, but a decent entre to the style

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2012 05:41:07 | More by russpowell

TheSixthRing

California

3.53/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Pours dark, near black with deep ruby hues where light can penetrate. The head is off-white, about a finger thick and with fair retention. Lacing is spotty, with little stick.

Smell - Roasted malts, coming across as dark chocolate, touches on coffee, berry and a bit of smokiness.

Taste - Follows the nose. Fruit berry sweetness upfront, then undercut by some dark chocolate bitterness. Subtle smokiness comes through mid-taste and carries on into the finish.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with ample, though somewhat fizzy carbonation. Finishes with decent smoothness.

Overall - Good beer, but it's not really doing it for me. It's basically a porter in a lager body. No problem drinking it, but I probably wouldn't buy it again, if only because I'd rather have an actual porter or stout in it's stead.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2013 20:05:55 | More by TheSixthRing

Domingo

Colorado

3.65/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pretty cool - this is kind of a spin on the Tmavé pivo style of Czech dark lagers. They're usually a bit like a schwarzbier/dunkel hybrid. This is a bit on the strong side, but supposedly that's what they're shooting for.
Dark brown, lots of foam that settles out. If there's ever been a consistent flaw in the LTD series, it's head retention.
The flavor profile departs from tradition a bit as there's a clear roastyness to it that very few traditional dark lagers have. The dark chocolate and mild coffee notes are there, but probably a little too burnt for a lager. A mild sweetness is there with some sips, but the finish is very dry and perhaps a little one-dimensional.
Seems like a stronger, roastier version of their Session Black. Not sure why they aren't going more in the traditional bready direction as I think it would be more drinkable without the roasty notes lingering.
Pretty good and a fun departure for the season with the LTD line-up. It isn't perfectly suited for my tastes, but it's not bad either. If you like Session Black, you'll probably like this, too.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2012 15:32:25 | More by Domingo

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.68/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked up a sixer of this for $5, score! The label mentions chocolate but I would not go that far. Dark black color, decent head. Smells roasty, dark, malts. Flavor is more of the same, very dark malts. This is a good lager, not sure what style it would be because I'm pretty much a novice at drinking lager beers. I would definitely buy another one of these for $5, that was a fucking steal.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2012 21:05:05 | More by ArrogantB

StaveHooks

Oklahoma

3.7/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz served in a Sam Adams perfect pint glass.

A - Very dark brown with a khaki head that forms a thin collar. Average retention with zero lacing.

S - Caramel, cocoa, roasted malts, charred grass, black pepper, dairy sweetness.

T - Dark fruit bread, caramel, brown bread crust, toffee, molasses, cocoa, raspberries, cherries, old coffee, a woody bitterness on the back end. Finishes with some tangyness on he end.

M - Smooth creamy feel, low to medium carbonation, heavy side of medium bodied.

The chocolate stands out more than any other flavor to me, the flavor is breadier than the nose describes. I liked this one. The Euro Dark Lager style can be ho hum but this one shines through. I've been impressed with all the ltd series.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 22:26:44 | More by StaveHooks

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance. Pours a deep, dark brown with little light getting through and a half finger of khaki head that doesn't stick aorund very long.

Smell. Some dark roasted malts and chocolate with some sweet black coffee.

Taste. Some sweet and grainy dark roasted malts, a little yeasty with a bit of black coffee.

Mouthfeel. Medium+ body, medium carbonation.

Overall. An easy drinker with some decent dark flavours going on. Drank a few of these in the hot tub on some snowy evenings at the cabin over the Christmas break. Perfect for that venue.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 20:05:51 | More by Rutager

HuskyinPDX

Washington

3.79/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle opened on 3.21.13

A - Pours a dark brown with a one finger dark tan head, good retention.

S - Coffee, roasted malt, subtle chocolate.

T - Lager-ish, with subtle coffee and chocolate.

D - Light body with a good carbonation.

O - There's really no coffee and chocolate in this? Keep making more please.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 05:51:55 | More by HuskyinPDX

beergoot

Colorado

3.83/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Dark brown color with an okay tan-colored head; kind of fizzy. Roasted malt, slight chocolate aroma; a bit of brown sugar. Roasted, nutty flavor; nice residual sweetness to balance things; slightly bitter at the finish; alcohol warmth sneaks in near the end, too; a tinge of light, soft chocolate after repeated sips. Medium-light body, clean; a bit over-carbonated.

A nice six-pack surprise from Full Sail with their LTD series. Pretty nice overall if a bit too carbonated. Dark, roasted flavors are a highlight. Worth checking out...

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2012 00:18:05 | More by beergoot

popery

California

3.83/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours coffee black. Slight ring of brown around the edges. Small beige head, dissipates relatively quickly. The aroma is coffee, chocolate and a sweet, clean malt sweetness. Unfortunately, that sweetness tends a bit toward the somewhat sickly flavor of strong lagers. It doesn't spoil the beer or anything, but the note makes me kinda wish that it was an ale. The flavor is quite nice. It's a stout-ish dunkler bock. Fairly sweet. More caramel in the taste, though there's some chocolate throughout and plenty of roast in the finish. Pretty full bodied. Nice round feel. Finish feels a bit too sticky. No noticeable booziness. Interesting beer. I liked it more than expected. I'd be curious to try the same recipe made with a clean ale yeast.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 05:49:26 | More by popery

UCLABrewN84

California

3.85/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Best by 1/12/13.

Pours an almost opaque super dark brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt and some slight cocoa and coffee aromas. Taste is much the same with a mild roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 05:57:48 | More by UCLABrewN84

HalfFull

California

3.88/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle poured into a pint glass. Pours light black with deep mahogany highlights and offers half an inch of deep tan foam. Decent retention and lace follow.

Bit of roast and light chocolate malt on the aroma with a touch of fruit and earthy hops emerging with some exposure.

Taste is quite full for a lager yet without the sweet malt profile one might expect from a bock. More light roast, chocolate and a bit of dark fruit in the background. Hops not so present on the taste. Offers a nice carbonation for the pour which gives a lingering malt finish. Full body with a smooth and easy drinkability. Interesting brew and tough to pinpoint as for style/comparison though I've had plenty of worse porters along the way.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 04:54:27 | More by HalfFull

VelvetExtract

Massachusetts

3.93/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4

A-Pours very dark brown. SRM in low 30's. Head is a deep tan. Its short but stout. Its creamy consistency stains the glass willingly. When I hold it to a source of light, I can surprisingly see through it but its pretty damn dark.

S-According to the label, my senses will swear that there is coffee and chocolate in here, so let me inspect. Definitely getting some chalky cocoa powder. Bittersweet dark chocolate and a cold cup of java. The label was accurate but the aromas are far from intense.

T-In the nose I could have easily mistaken this for a Porter via a blind sniff. Here I am getting some Lager yeast. Still, it has a ton of Porter components. Brittle dark chocolate squares and light roast coffee. I even get a hint of dried raisin or plum.

M-Drinks great for a darker brew clocking it at 7%. Low bitterness.

O/D-Pleasantly surprised here. A Porter made with Lager yeast essentially. I love Porters and therefore, I liked this one quite a bit. Definitely a cool beer to try at least once.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2013 23:01:29 | More by VelvetExtract

notchucknorris

California

3.95/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours black with a strong-lasting 1/2 finger tan head. Some tiny dots of lace down the glass.

S: Some faint coffee and cocoa notes with a bit of a caramel sweetness to it. A decent enough smell.

T: Gotta say, I wasn't a huge fan of the other LTD beers, but this one is pretty solid. Some chocolate upfront with a hint of roasted malt. A touch of dark roasted coffee and burnt malt on the finish. Pretty nice and smooth. Definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 21:37:51 | More by notchucknorris

N3rdM3t4l

Oregon

3.96/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Cold 12oz bottle into cold pint glass.

A: gentel pour geta no head or at least the khaki foam didn't last long. Dark browb or even black, no light getting through. Poured kinda thick.

S: roasty with hints of coffee. No chocolate on the nose though. Something kind of sweet peeks through but only a little could be a bit of malt sweetness.

A: chocolate on the palate with lots of rich roasty flavor. It finishes with that sweetness I couldn't identify really and a bit of burnt bitter. Almost like a sweet stout. The sweetness really lingers.

M: heavy as far as lagers go, in the grand scheme it is medium bodied. Being so cold smooths it out.

O: good brew, but Full Sail has a tendancy to brew good beers. glad I picked this up. Not usually a lager fan but I am a sucker for roasty chewy beers that don't taste like sulfur (one of my least favorite lager characteriatics)

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2013 04:43:25 | More by N3rdM3t4l

Gavage

New Jersey

3.98/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: pours a dark brown color with a 1/2" head that breaks down pretty quickly.

Smell: some mild chocolate tones are mild but easily detectable.

Taste: toffee, milk chocolate, a bit of grass, and a moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer. Lightly crisp from start to finish. Aftertaste is short lived.

Overall: this is a very drinkable dark lager that has a nice balanced flavor, and is also refreshing. Definitely worth trying this.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2012 18:22:47 | More by Gavage

Amalak

New York

4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A. A very deep brown, almost black color. A solid tan foamy head with some lacing. Only a sliver of light comes through at the bottom.

S. Nutty and hoppy scent.

T. Oh wow, that's a really interesting. There a nice burnt taste. Some chocolate undertones. It has a toffee or a coffee (a bit of caramel mixed with that coffee flavor). There's a bit of a malt smoothness. A slight tart aftertaste.

M. Carbonated, but not overly. Crisp.

O. It's a very nice stout-like beer, even though it says Euro Dark Lager. Semantics, perhaps. Flavorful and refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 22:45:58 | More by Amalak

Halcyondays

California

4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle,

A: Pours a deep brown with a medium off-white head, solid lace.

S: Deep chocolate and dark malt, some light berry, prune.

T: Great dark bread flavour with a hint of roast, and an ending of sweet bittersweet chocolate which certainly reminded me of Stone VE 06/06/06.

M: Medium-bodied, crisp, creamy, rich for its style.

O: Probably the best LTD offering I can remember from Full Sail, at $7 a sixer this offering is a steal. 4s across the board, a real nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2012 07:09:20 | More by Halcyondays

elNopalero

Texas

4.03/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This poured a roasty coffee black with thick foam that dissipated into a light cocoa-colored ring around the glass.

The aroma has a pleasing, decent roast note. I pick up some espresso hints and a dark chocolate scent.

The flavor becomes more enjoyable as it warms. Initially I was put off by the harsh roasty notes but they start to mellow out as this brew sits longer. The carbonation is spot-on and in spite of the slightly stale coffee flavor that comes across I found this overall to be much more pleasing and enjoyable than I had initially expected. For the price I’d have another.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2012 08:39:27 | More by elNopalero

kagent777

Utah

4.03/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle with a best by date of 3-14-13 poured into my perfect pint.

Appearance: Very dark brown with nice ruby highlights. A three finger head that looks rather creamy and sand-colored left lacing as the beer was consumed

Smell: Smell is of thin darkly roasted coffee. Mid level earthy hops are also pronounced.

Taste: Crisp clean dark coffee and roasted malts. Not fruity like some stouts can be this one is clean, the lager yeast allow the malt to play up front and personally. A bit of semisweet chocolate is present at first with the bitter coffee notes rounding out the finish.

Mouthfeel: The body is good, a touch of the heavier side, but it matches nicely with the taste. The carbonation is prickly and lifts the overall taste up a bit.

Overall: I enjoyed this twist on a Christmas time beer. A straightforward lager with a very good taste.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2012 04:32:27 | More by kagent777