Dark Beer Sample

November 1, 2001 By Gregg Glaser

For some people, a dark beer is any beer darker than slightly tinted water. That would include bitters, pale ales, IPAs, amber lagers, Octoberfests and a host of other beers that more knowledgeable beer drinkers don’t consider truly dark. Here’s a simple list of some better-known dark beer styles with a few commercially available examples.

(I = import; D = domestic)

ALES

Brown Ales

I: Newcastle Brown Ale, Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale, St. Peter’s Summer Ale, Wychwood Old Devil Beer, King & Barnes Brown Malt Ale, Adnams Nut Brown Ale
D: Brooklyn Brown Ale, Pete’s Wicked Ale, Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar, Goose Island Hex Nut Brown Ale, Pike Brown Ale, Lost Coast Downtown Brown

Porters – Brown, Black

I: Samuel Smiths Taddy Porter, King & Barnes Old Porter, Darwin Flag Porter, Shepherd Neame Original Porter, Fuller’s London Porter, Nethergate Old Growler Porter
D: Yuengling Porter, Stegmeier Porter, Anchor Porter, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter, Lion Brewery Hill Caramel Porter

Stouts – Brown, Black

I: Guinness Stout, Murphy’s Stout, Beamish Stout, Mackeson Stout, Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout, Young’s Oatmeal Stout
D: Sam Adams Cream Stout, Sierra Nevada Stout, BridgePort Black Strap Stout, Deschutes Obsidian Stout, Rockies Boulder Stout, Rogue Shakespeare Stout

Belgian Ales – Amber, Copper, Red, Brown

I: Affligem Double, Corsendonk Monk’s Brown Ale, De Dolle Brouwers Oudbier, Chimay Blue Cap, Rodenbach, Liefman’s Goudenband
D: Allagash Double, New Belgium Abbey Belgian Style Ale, Snake River Diplopian Belgian Ale, Sprecher Belgian Double Style Ale, Flatlander’s Dubbel Ale, Big Hole Boogaloo Abbey Dubbul

Strong Ales – Amber, Copper, Brown, Black

I: Young’s Winter Warmer, Thomas Hardy’s Ale, Traquair House, MacAndrews Scotch Ale, Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout, Young’s Old Nick
D: Sam Adams Millennium Ale; Dogfish Head World Wide Stout, Anchor Old Foghorn, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Rogue Old Crustacean, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

LAGERS

Dark Lagers – Brown, Black

I: Ayinger Altbairisch Dunkel, Beck’s Dark, Grolsch Dark, San Miguel Dark, Heineken Dark, St. Pauli Girl Dark
D: Michelob Dark, Sprecher Black Bavarian, Full Sail Black Pilsner, Dixie Blackened Voodoo, Capital Dark, Lakefront Eastside Dark

Bocks – Amber, Brown

I: Paulaner Salvator, Hacker-Pschorr Animator, Ayinger Celebrator, Spaten Optimator, Kulmbacher Reichelbräu, Eisbock, Park Primator
D: Sam Adams Double Bock, Paper City Goat’s Peak Bock, Full Sail Mercator Dopplebock, August Schell Dopplebock, Blue Ridge Sublimator Doppelbock, Crooked River Dopplebock

SMOKED BEERS

Lagers & Ales – Brown, Black

I: Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, Kaiserdom Rauchbier,
D: Otter Creek Hickory-Switched Smoked Amber, Alaskan Smoked Porter, Rogue Smoke Ale, Lafayette Smokehouse Porter, Stone Smoked Porter, Blue Star Smoked Dark Ale