I mentioned it when I had earlier beers from Penn Brewery – Penn Weizen, Penn Oktoberfest Lager, and Penn Overlook IPA – but my dad and sister were in Pittsburgh several weeks ago and brought back several beers for me. As I sit here and watch the presidential election coverage this evening, I felt like it was time for a beer. If you watched the presidential hype on election night, you probably agree with me. I went to the beer fridge, and this was the first thing I grabbed.

Location: Poured into a slightly curved pint glass from the bottle at my home in Bloomington, IL.

Numbers: 5% ABV, 25 IBUs, 12 Plato OG, 2.9 Plato FG, 160 Calories

Ingredients: Malt: Two-row, Munich, black. Hops: Perle

Appearance & Aroma: It’s dark brown in color and I could see some light through it when I held it up. It appears to be fairly clear, with a one-finger thick, creamy head on it that didn’t go away, and left some nice lacing on the glass. It has a rich nutty and caramel malt aroma that reminds me quite a bit of some good Oktoberfest beers.

Taste & Feel: It’s got a solidly medium body, and a smooth, almost creamy mouthfeel from the head on it. The flavor up front is slightly bland and bready, but a lightly caramel, and mostly nutty brown flavor comes in during the middle. It finishes with a hint of bitterness, but mostly the big nutty flavor with a bit of roastiness. In the aftertaste, there is a bit of roastiness along with the caramel nuttiness.

Food Pairing: This beer had a good amount of maltiness and nuttiness in it, and therefore, I’d probably pair it with something like BBQ, as I think the flavors in the beer would mix nicely with the sweetness and smokiness in the BBQ and sauce.

Overall Impression: I really enjoyed the creaminess, which I thought was a bit uncharacteristic of a lager, but it also had a good amount of caramel nuttiness. The flavors reminded me a bit of a good brown ale, with hints of roastiness. Overall, I enjoyed this beer, and thought it had a lot more flavor, and more complex flavors than most dark lagers I’ve had.

My Rating:

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