Tazawako Dark Lager is a 5% schwarzbier style beer from Tazawako Beer Brewery Pub that is available all year round. It also won a medal at an international beer competition at some time during the past. Yeah, that’s about all the information I could dig up from Japanese sources about Tazawako Dark Lager.
Tazawako Dark Lager Aroma and Taste
Yes, pouring Tazawako Dark Lager into an IPA glass is not “the” done thing but I’m going to use it as much as I can before it inevitably breaks into a hundred tiny pieces of glass that will stick in my foot. I’ve also seen the glass really show off a beer’s true colour rather than some PR blurb that is tells me what the beer is supposed to look, smell, and taste like.
Tazawako Dark Lager poured out a deep brown tan colour with a fair amount of frothy, white head. The aroma off of Tazawako Dark Lager was of some weird yeasty, bread smell that had a certain staleness to it paired up with a little bit of caramel aroma coming through as well.
IPA glasses REALLY bring out the flavours in lagers and IPAs (well, that’s what they are kind of supposed to do) and with Tazawako Dark Lager, the roasted malts along with the smokey taste was far more pronounced than in a “regular” glass. The main problem I had with Tazawako Dark Lager, and in general, most schwarzbiers is that they do not have the body to support the flavours. They have are too thin and as such, the flavour just fades too quick.
Tazawako Dark Lager One Line Review
Tazawako Dark Lager is an alright dark lager and is a passable example of what a schwarzbier should be like, but needs more body for it to be truly considered great.
Where to Buy Tazawako Dark Lager
Tazawako Dark Lager can be bought at the following places online:
