Miasmatic Review

Pioneer Black River Red

Lets get this party started! It’s been a rough day and I’ve been daydreaming about this review since 9:00 AM. I started work at 8:45 AM. Yea, it’s that kind of day. Tonight I’ll be reviewing Pioneer Black River Red by the Sand Creek Brewery in Black River Falls Wisconsin. This beer was brought to the beer tasting by Ktreva.

It comes in a standard 12 oz brown bottle. There is a light brown label with the word “Pioneer” most boldly in yell across it. A small black circle with a picture of a guy holding a hoe(?) has the words “Black River” at the top of the circle. A banner goes across the bottom of the circle with the word “Red” in red letters on it.

When poured into a glass it has a nice copperish orange color to it. There is a little bit of cloudiness to it. Light passes through easily enough but images are rather fuzzy. It had a nice off-white head about a half-inch thick that slowly faded into a thin layer on top. There was no real lacing to speak of.

There is a nice roasted malt smell to it. You can also detect a hint of a biscuity smell along with some spicy hops. The taste is a combination of caramel malts and a hint of spicy hops. The flavor is very mild and unobtrusive. What aftertaste there is fades quickly and doesn’t last long.

It is a medium bodied beer. It is a little heavier on the carbonation that I prefer, but it’s not bad.

At the beer tasting this one scored decently, about average. Some people really liked it, others said it was drinkable; I thought it was better than your standard. The flavor on it is very mild, but again this goes as yet another example of why not to do a beer review at a beer tasting. Everyone, including myself, thought it had a very week, almost no flavor to it. Today I can taste it much better. At the beer tasting I gave it a 4. Honestly it’s more like a 5 out of 10.