So what is the difference between Lake Louie's Li'l Louie Lager and their Wisconsin Vacation Lager?
This question came up as I was checking out their website in preparation for this very entry you have before you. They both appear to be Miller/Bud types of beers. Perhaps the former is akin to Miller Lite since it has a lower A.B.V. than the latter. Lake Louie's website is one where ad copy reigns and revealing the ingredients comes piecemeal, if at all.
This reminds me of an exchange I had on Twitter several years ago. A beer writer whose name I cannot recall (wrote for Forbes, perhaps...?) posted a tweet saying that Goose Island was coming out with a new beer, Four Star Pils. I asked him if it had been brewed with then new, fruity tasting hops or with more tried and true Nobley ones.
Bad mistake.
Almost immediately, if not in his first reply, the guy turned into a snide jagoff and began addressing me as if I was the Mrs. Grundy of the beer world. Accusations that I was an obstinate puritan unwilling to consider the new and novel came first. My retort was that I simply wanted to know the ingredients before I spent my money. I am merely a humble consumer and in no way was I opposed to the existence of pilsners with nouveau, fruity hops; I just wanted help in deciding whether to go all in with a 6-pack or to dip my toes in the water with a single bottle.
Before long, his pal Michael Kiser (the marketer behind Great Beer Hunting) waded in and went on the attack. At one point, I told the original fellow that he had changed the direction of the conversation and moved the goal posts - in order to be an even bigger jerk, in my opinion, although I didn't write that. He sneered back "I can move the goal posts if I want to." I could easily imagine the guy hunched over his keyboard writing in response to disaster victims who are short on potable water, "Let them drink Westvleteren."
What an asshole. So were they both, both assholes.
It took me years but I eventually learned my lesson and left Twitter. A few or more years ago I heard that my original interlocutor was no longer reported on beer for a living and I now see that GBH is on indefinite hiatus. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel even a smidge of schadenfreude.
So back to Lake Louie. Their site's description of the beer at hand, Dark Side of the Loon, says "This rich and complex American Stout finishes as smoothly as a majestic loon gliding across a moonlit lake in hunt of its prey." Just ad copy. Can I get a bit more than a simile, please? I don't know what makes a stout American beyond being made in America, perhaps. How does it differ from an Irish or English stout? My guess is that either it has been laced with Citra hops or it is very potent and I see that it's 7% A.B.V. Does it lean sweet or dry? Was it blended with a soured portion of IPA?
Dark Side of the Loon is a recent addition to the Lake Louie portfolio. I think heard tell of it a month ago or so. An email I received shortly thereafter features a picture labeling it as a seasonal so, once it's gone, it's gone until at least next fall. I was going to lament that a brewery that has Kirby Nelson as an employee lets an autumn go by without a doppelbock is a crime but I see that Lake Louie does now have one called Mallaggie, a Märzen doppelbock. Not sure if it's being packaged or is just available on tap. And, to be honest, I am not sure if Lake Louie operates independently of Wisconsin Brewing Company or who. Brewmaster Kirby Nelson may spend his time fulfilling brewing contracts while someone else keeps the Lake Louie lamp trimmed and burning.
Even if the Lake Louie website isn't particularly helpful, the can does note some roasty flavors in addition to the major selling point of smoothness.
How many other beer labels are there that depict nature all red in tooth and claw and bill?
This beer got brownie points right off the bat for having a head that stuck around while I fumbled with my phone's camera. It was a lovely tan hue and jiggled when I moved the glass. And the beer's name was true to its word as this stuff was positively Stygian. If I held my glass up to a light at just the right angle it appeared a deep mahogany but, for all intents and purposes, this was the kind of beer that H.P. Lovecraft would have had at his side as he chronicled the events witnessed by Randolph Carter. A strong smell of roastiness wafted into my nose as I took a whiff as did an astringent one. Was this stuff really only 7%? I caught some stone fruit too as well as faint bitter chocolate and some herbal hoppiness. No fruity hop aroma!
My first sip revealed a medium body and a decent fizziness. I tasted milk chocolate, plum, some roast, and that boozy taste. Oh, and some of that herbal hoppiness and absolutely no tropical fruit. The stone fruit and chocolate flavors faded on the finish allowing the hops to share some bitterness to make for a perfectly dry denouement. I found that the much-touted smoothness appeared as the beer warmed and indeed the stuff became positively velvety as it went down. The smoothness helped minimize the boozy astringency, which I appreciated.
Once up to temp, this is one very, very tasty beer. The chocolate/mild roasty flavors are really nice and I was happy Loon steered away from the more intense roasted flavors that lend more of a bitter/burnt taste. It's not that I don't like these flavors, it's that American brewers tend to overload dark beers with them whether they be stouts, porters, dunkels, or schwarzbiers. You don't need to use black malts in every dark beer. The hops lovingly balanced the overall taste perfectly. Plus they give just the right amount of dryness to complement the luscious, satiny finish.
Junk food pairing: Dark Side of the Loon will pair well with nutty, smoky foods such at Barbeque Nutchos or Smokehouse Nut-Thins.
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