Peter Straub's Special Dark - Straub Brewery

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

2.3/5  rDev -27.4%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

POurs a amber-ish color with a small white head. In the aroma, small caramel and a small roastiness. In the taste, a small roasty malt, with a caramel presence, somewhat watery. A smooth and light mouthfeel, with a semi dry roasty aftertaste. Quite light and watery for a dark lager.

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2008 22:27:58 | More by OWSLEY069

MarvinSnyder

West Virginia

3.5/5  rDev +10.4%

04-25-2013 15:44:29 | More by MarvinSnyder

ridgeline23

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -13.2%

08-14-2012 02:00:06 | More by ridgeline23

Turdman138

4.5/5  rDev +42%

06-14-2012 02:26:13 | More by Turdman138

claytri

Maryland

3.15/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer poured an odd light copper sort of iced tea like with no head. The aroma was nice straight up malt with maybe a hint of caramel. The taste was a bit of a let down from the smell, but still a decent malty beer. The feel is light and wet. Not a great beer simply drinkable, and there's no sin in that. Just happened to see and had never had a Straub's. It was worth getting.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2012 01:01:33 | More by claytri

CraftBeerTastic

Pennsylvania

2.98/5  rDev -6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Ba Review #168
Served On: 05/27/2012
Glassware: Pint Glass
Labeled ABV: -
Date/ Code: -

This was from a case I bought at Self Serve Beverage in York, PA.

Look: Poured from the 12oz. bottle (screw top). Color was a fairly clear copper. Some sparse carbonation bubbles were flaring upward. The head was virtually nonexistent.

Smell: Aroma consisted of a roasty sweetness. Some standard ‘beer’ notes were detected. Maybe some adjunct also came through.

Taste: Upfront slightly roasted note with a touch of sweetness. Then a dry corn or rice adjunct character seemed to dominate the middle. The finish was rather clean with the roasted note retuning for a few moments.

Overall this is a basic beer. I would certainly take this over a BMC offering any day. Plus the Straub’s is a brewery near my hometown in Western, PA – so that should warrant a point or two. I mean - this isn't quite your dad's beer, but it's close.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2012 18:24:15 | More by CraftBeerTastic

CLAZZ51

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +18.3%

05-05-2012 21:17:17 | More by CLAZZ51

RyanGoodman

Bolivia

3.25/5  rDev +2.5%

04-18-2012 02:45:51 | More by RyanGoodman

pogoowner

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +10.4%

04-04-2012 22:29:59 | More by pogoowner

supercolter

Minnesota

1.5/5  rDev -52.7%

03-26-2012 02:04:44 | More by supercolter

nukem5

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Poured a medium amber color with a nice big foamy cap , rich and creamy clinging nicely to walls of glass, very nice pour and very appetizing.

S: Heavy grain bill loads this one up, there is a few notes of hoppiness to this beer but just hints scattered here and there. Lots of toasted malts some caramel.

T: Taste is immediately grainy with a light floral hop taste in the back end, mild and refreshing.

M: Mouthfeel on this one is light and refreshing for a "dark beer" this is very crisp like a lighter lager would be not to heavy great for a session beer.

O: Overall a very good experience drinking this one and cant wait to drink a few pints more.

Serving type: on-tap

02-15-2012 06:40:22 | More by nukem5

Putter

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +42%

02-05-2012 03:35:52 | More by Putter

danielp215

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -5.4%

01-25-2012 15:37:00 | More by danielp215

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Man, my local trader, tone77 laid a buncha bottles on me on our last trade and now he is coming by on Monday with more! I gotta get caught up or I will be drowning in beer!

Here we go! I am sure that you have heard the adage "Once you've had [dark], you'll never go [bark]" and I am on a sudden Dark kick, thanks to both tone77 and this honey honey across the bar from me on Sunday. I would have loved to buy her a drink, but I was in the minority among the clientele and I have learned that lesson previously. Maybe a return visit ...

From the bottle: " A unique Amber Lager perfected through generations of family brewing"; "Brewed with Pennsylvania mountain spring water".

I went with another aggro pour, resulting in a finger-and-a-half of dense tawny head with good retention. Color was a deep coppery color that on a natural redhead makes me crazy. I was in love! Nose had the characteristic lager sweetness, but without the nasty adjuncts that often get in the its way. A redheaded fellow Pennsylvanian from our Northern Tier?!? I was ready to elope! I would gladly relocate, but southcentral PA may be more compelling to many. The beer simply danced across my tongue, perhaps a bit thinly/lightly than I may have desired, but the taste was clean, unadulterated lager with just a hint of roastiness. Finish was semi-dry with a light cocoa-like sweetness that lingered. Come back, baby! I promise to go slower the next time.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2011 22:21:18 | More by woodychandler

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

3.2/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Review from notes, beer sampled 8/12/2011
I had this in a bottle in a bar in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania while visiting my wife's mom. I'd never heard of this brewery so now was the time to try it. Pours a deep copper reddish brown with a decent sized white creamy head. Smells of lightly toasted and bready malt with hints of caramel and very faint spicy hops. Taste is smooth lager like and easy to drink. Lightly bready toasty caramel malt with barely enough spicy hops to keep it from being cloying. Medium body and carbonation level with a smooth slick mouthfeel. Decent enough macro style lager, but certainly nothing to go out of your way for.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2011 17:32:19 | More by johnnnniee

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Thanks to Eric for gifting me with one of these. Poured into a pub glass, this brew appears a fairly clear color of light amber. Some fine particulate floats through suspension. An initial surge of about a finger's worth of yellowish stained head appears and quickly fades to a thin film across the top. A light swirl brings back a thin layering across the top and produces some fine spots of lace on the glass.

The smell of this brew is lightly fruity and a faint touch of citrus that quickly dissolves. A faint hint of solvent alcohol is present. More smells reveal a bit of cereal grain to biscuit sweetness or crackers to the aroma.

The taste is lightly fruity that blends into a biscuit type of grainy sweetness. There are minor notes of butter present that accent the biscuit feel to the flavor. A light touch of fruity hops and alcohol is noticed towards the backend. The brew finish quite crisp.

This is a medium to light bodied brew with a moderate amount of carbonation. Overall not a bad brew, it is fairly easy drinking. Perhaps the best attribute is the crispness to the finish. While I would probably not seek this one out, it would make for a fine brew to pair with some brats and you could effortless throw a couple of these back if you didn't care about what you were drinking.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2011 02:52:41 | More by stakem

VikeMan

Pennsylvania

2/5  rDev -36.9%

11-19-2011 20:02:36 | More by VikeMan

tdm168

North Carolina

3.45/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Aiello's in Ridgway, PA. If I had to be in Ridgway with family I should at least be drinking.

Pours a pale amber with a thin frothy lacing of head. There's noticeable carbonation rising to the top throughout. The nose is grainy with a note of sugary sweetness. The taste is grainy and straw-like up front with a sweet, syrupy, almost candy-like, chewy caramel finish. The mouthfeel is well-carbonated, clean, and light.

This is another easy drinking beer from Straub. The only real difference between this and their regular offering is the sugary, caramel finish, but it's enough of a difference to make me prefer this over the original.

Serving type: on-tap

11-14-2011 00:26:26 | More by tdm168

Morey

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours reddish-brown in color with nice clarity. Head stood about one finger tall for a matter of a minute or so. Minimal amount of head retention.

Smell is very clean and mild. A touch of malty sweetness and toasted grain.

I'm getting the carbonation up front followed by a thin wave of roasted malts. Very smooth and mellow finish with a hint of bread and grain.

Mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side. Maybe a touch too thin. Moderate carbonation.

An average amber lager that would be an upgrade over BMC at a summer BBQ (or anytime of the year for that matter).

Morey's Bottom Line: An easy drinking lager, but it's a bit thin. Wouldn't spend $$$ on it, but I'd gladly drink one again if it was given to me.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2011 23:27:19 | More by Morey

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a brownish color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is on the malty side. Taste is of malts, a bit nutty, just a touch of hops is present at the finish. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a pretty good beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2011 15:32:07 | More by tone77

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer poured out as a dark brown color, with a tan colored head. The head fizzles away to nothing but the aroma of this beer is interesting. There is a really sweet malt aroma that fills the nose in this brew. There's also a light toasted aroma as well. The taste of the beer has some sweet caramel flavors mixed with some toasted bread. There is a decent bitterness in aftertaste. The mouthfeel is a little on the thicker side but doesn't exceed a medium body. Overall I found this beer to be pretty tasty. I wouldn't mind having it again one day if I came across it.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2011 19:11:38 | More by Knapp85

Retsinis

California

2.58/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Friend split this bottle with me, as he got it as an extra in a trade. We were both a bit confused by the name, as this beer is not dark. Anyhow, on to the review.

A: The beer pours a clear copper amber with an inch of white head, that very quickly settled to just about no head, and left very little lace.

S: Lager yeast, faded hops, cornmeal (probably no corn in it, but that's what I get)

T: Oats, dry yeast, very light caramel. Not much here.

M: Thin, light, dry.

O: Lackluster. Won't revisist. Barely average. However, I should note the bottle is dated 10/15/10, and I had this on 4/8/11 so at 4.10%, this beer was a shell of what it was fresh is fair to say...though, not sure if it is even good then given other reviews.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2011 00:06:13 | More by Retsinis

schoolboy

Ohio

2.7/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I had previously tried Straub's regular. Here comes the special. Pretty regular too.

I am not a big fan of American Amber's but this is a pretty boring one. It reminds me of the gallons of Dos XX that I drank in Mexico at the all inclusive resort. It never tasted like much as doesn't this.

It has color, but only a little sweetness. No hops taste or smell. Bad.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2011 22:26:44 | More by schoolboy

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Clear. Deep amber with a crimson cast and deep gold and orange highlights. Creamy off-white head. Average head retention. Little lacing.
S: There's a hint of dark malts in the nose. It's nutty, and perhaps a bit toasty. No hops.
T: Average maltiness. Nice bit of toastiness. Balanced. No hop flavors present.
M: Light/medium in body and crisp.
D: Nothing detracts, but nothing inspires. Easy to drink, but not compelling.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2010 23:07:52 | More by NeroFiddled

clayrock81

Virginia

2.68/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured a brownish-amber body w/ a one-finger head that die quick on top of a rather grainy, faint malt aroma with a little bit of spring-like hop bitterness. Not horrible but what I expected...the hops and malt are present - barely. Grainy hops and toasted, cheap malts with minor sweetness pervade my tastebuds and while I can slowly sip on the beer and it finishes crisp...just don't care for another. Easily goes down and it is what it is.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2010 22:26:27 | More by clayrock81