The dark light. A rare bird indeed but not our first one. The Grist served one up, with a fine meal. And we read about one in Beyond the Pale’s Evening Edition complete with an oxymoron overdose.* A common misconception is dark beer equates to strong beer but one of if not the most popular dark brew in the world, Guinness, borders on light tipping the scales at only 4.2%.
This Cowbell 4% black lager is dark for sure, no lack of black in my glass with minimal head to obscure the darkness. My nose detected a substantial quantity of vanilla in this beer, overpowering any other aroma. My first swig confirmed that the vanilla is present and accounted for but tends to be in balance with roasted malt cocoa espresso body. This is about as much flavour in a light beer as I’ve ever seen, or tasted for that matter. It has a creamy oat induced mouthfeel, not at all light in feel either. The tasty and balanced combo is a big swig success story. The vanilla doesn’t fade but everything else does a bit. It is vanilla forward as advertised, but with much more flavour and substance that your typical light. It is a vanilla oatmeal dark after all.
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