Brewsday Tuesday: Guiness Black Lager

Happy Three Days After St. Patrick’s Day! In the spirit of the Emerald Isle I picked up a sixer of Guiness Black Lager.  Slainte!

Name: Guinness Black Lager

Brewed by: Guiness, Ltd.

Style/ABV: Euro Dark Lager / 4.5%

Appearance: Pours a very deep dark brown almost with a one finger light cream colored head that dissipates quickly.

Smell: On first sniff this smell like Coors light and the macro-lager astringency is off-putting.  Another pass reveals some light toated malts and a slight hint of coffee.  Disappointed to not pick up any chocolate notes.

Taste: Very bland first impression that mirrors a macro lager.  The middle has some hop bitterness.  Finishes with a good coffee flavor. This beer improves the more it lingers.

Mouthfeel: Medium carbonation, medium body.  The finish is crisp.

Overall: This beer is a gateway to dark lagers.  It is not an impressive beer, but also not horrible.  It’s overall mediocricy earns a hearty meh.  I do not think I would buy this again, and instead would opt for Session Black Lager by Full Sail Brewery.

Final Grade: C-