Brooklyn Insulated Dark Lager

Review Date 4/8/2016   By John Staradumsky

Welcome April, 2016! On April 23rd, the Bavarian beer purity law, the Reinheitsgebot, will celebrate its 500birthday. Here at Bruguru.com, we’re celebrating all year long, and not just with German beers but with German style beers brewed outside of Germany as well. So far this year, we’ve sampled more than a dozen new beers from Germany, drunk German food and munched German fare at Der Biergarten in downtown Atlanta, and visited a German-themed brewery in Charlotte, North Carolina called The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. And we’re just getting started.

Tonight, though, we’re sitting at Taco Mac here in Canton, Georgia and sipping a brimming mug of Brooklyn Insulated Dark Lager, brewed in the Munich Dunkles style. Brooklyn calls it a dark lager, of course, and Ratebeer pegs it as a dunkles, same as I do. Beer Advocate says it’s a Schwarzbier (it’s not) and Untappd has it as a “Euro Dark Lager” (whatever that is). Sigh.

Anyway, here’s what Brooklyn says:

Brooklyn Insulated Dark Lager is your protection against biting wind and soggy weather. German Munich, roasted Carafa, and Pilsner malts create a nimble, racy body, while a helping of American black barley adds just a hint of roast coffee. A light dry hopping of American and German hops pitter-patters across the nose and dives into the dry, warming finish. Try it with dark breads, hearty meats, and sturdy cheddars. If you still feel the chill, just add another layer and enjoy your insulation.

Ingredients:

Malts: German Munich, Carafa, Pilsner, American black barley

Hops: Perle, Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, Amarillo, Centennial

Brooklyn Insulated Dark Lager has an alcohol content of 5.6% by volume and I paid a very reasonable $5 for a 20-ounce mug at Taco Mac.

My mug of Brooklyn Insulated Dark Lager arrived a dark brown color with a medium quite creamy head formation and a soft cookie malt nose. Taking a sip, the beer is lightly chocolaty and replete with toasted nuts and slightly sweet chocolate chip cookie malt. It’s a dark clean maltiness here with a hint of light roast nicely punctuated with a slightly grassy, herbal hoppy bitter finish.

Brooklyn Insulated Dark Lager is to me a perfect beer (does Brooklyn do anything in half measures?). They definitely accomplished what they set out to create here, a drinkable dark lager with enough “oomph” to get you through a cold winter evening. Outstanding.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

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