It’s my last night in Hood River, and very, very early tomorrow morning I head to Portland to brew at Full Sail’s Riverplace location. So, before I left Hood River, I thought I’d step right behind my hotel and enjoy a Full Sail Session Black Lager while the sun set over the Columbia River Gorge. This is a beautiful place that I’ll always remember and I couldn’t think of a better place to do this review.
As you can see, it comes in a stubby 11oz bottle that is a twist off. When I poured it into my tiny hotel room glass, it had a deep brown/light black color. There wasn’t much carbonation, only a small ring around the top of the glass. The aroma was chocolaty and slightly caramelly.
When I took a drink, it had a very light body. At first I noticed a slightly dark caramel flavor, followed by a chocolately roastiness. There was a bit of roasty nuttiness in the finish, which was fairly dry. The roasty flavor lasted for a bit in my mouth. It had an interesting bitterness that I couldn’t tell if it was from the hops or the roasted malts.
If I had to pair this with a food, I think I’d put it with some BBQ, maybe a pulled pork sandwich at a picnic or party. Overall, it is a lighter beer with some flavor to it, good for a hot summer evening, when you’re looking for something a little light to wind down from the day, but with still with complex flavors.
March 22, 2011
I love that picture. Be sure to post it on beercraving.com which launches in April.