Truckee Dark Lager

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 2 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 2

Maybe it's just a silly pet-peeve of mine, but I'm always a bit suspcious of brewery's that can't come up with a decent name for their beer. Case in point is any sort of "Dark" beer. Considering the number of different styles of beer out there, and the fact that many are various shades of "dark", this sort of labeling tells me absolutely nothing about the beer.

Anyway, rant-mode to idle, for now. I first had this when I visited the brewpub several years ago. The place was busy, but for all it's fancy charms, it was not much more than just a pizza joint. That unto itself is not a big deal in my book, but the big hit on this place was the fact that while they had six taps, none were working, and they were serving all beer from their bottles. It was especially odd when someone would order a pitcher, and the barkeep merely cracked open a few 22-oz bottles and dumped them into the pitcher, massive foam and all. Anyway, the brewpub is gone now I am told, but their bottling line is still going. Great....

As was the case back then, this Dark Lager is dull, dull, dull. Strange lemony-fresh dishwashing detergent aroma, that doesn't work for me at all in this style of beer. No hops, no maltiness, no alcohol, just that insipid lemony sour tang in the nose. Unfinishable.
//TB