• Mike Riedel

Grid City - Inner Darkness: This Czech lager is traditionally known as "Tmavé Lezak" or Pivo, which translates as "dark lager." The style is similar to the more familiar German Schwarzbier that is also a dark lager. Tmavés are generally sweeter, with more chocolate characters than their German cousin.

It looks nice—a deep, dark brown color with ruby notes and good clarity. A creamy two-finger light brown head eventually dissipated to a thin layer. The first whiff yields a nice dark, roasty aroma, along with a bit of charcoal, along with notes of coffee and baker's chocolate along with subtle hop presence on the finish. I also get a faint licorice note, nuttiness with dark walnuts and bit of creaminess on the nose also.

It's very smooth and pleasant on the initial drink, showcasing lots of roasted malt, nutty notes and coffee with a subtle sweetness, with a mild to medium bitterness and overall dry finish. I think that the bitterness is achieved by a combination of roasted malts and hops. I like how there is a charcoal dryness on the finish that almost reminds me of a smoked porter (however, I'm not sure how traditional that is). Overall, it's tasty, but I wish that it had a bit more depth of flavor and complexity. The result is definitely easy to drink and enjoyable, though—slightly lower than medium- to medium-bodied, which I think is appropriate for its weight at 5.0 percent ABV.

Verdict: Inner Darkness is malt-forward, with a rich and layered malt character supported by just the right amount of noble hop spice and bitterness. It's highly drinkable, and sessionable as well. This is an excellent dark lager from one of my favorite local lager makers. Highly recommended.

Salt Lake Brewing - Coconut Porter: This one poured from the nitro tap a deep, mahogany-brown with that laser-fine nitro khaki-colored head—nicely unfiltered with a pretty robust look to it, but that head formation and retention is money. Nose is subtle coconut and coffee-forward with some roasty malts, sweet vanilla and cocoa. I'm liking the chocolate truffle-like aspect this one possesses. It's lightly sweet-smelling with some mocha notes, but I definitely do get some coconut in there as well. Toasted coconut is just one of those things that works perfectly with a robust porter base, and Head Brewer Jason Stock did a nice job getting it to come through but not take over.

On the tongue, I get cocoa up front, with light notes of vanilla, slight roast and espresso elements, with bits of toasty coconut in there as well. The coconut gets a bit more apparent once the beer warms up to room temperature, which makes a lot of sense to me. This porter has plenty of the base beer coming through. The feel on this is pretty solid as well, toeing the line between light bodied and eminently drinkable, with a velvety-smooth feel and only moderate nitrogen and a 5.0 percent ABV to tickle the palate.

Verdict: I'm left with a pretty nice drinking experience that would keep me coming back pint after pint. The graceful inclusion of the coconut and nitrogen takes this from a standard porter to an immensely successful drinking experience. Though it's not a stout, I hope that this lasts until St. Patrick's Day.

As mentioned above, Coconut Porter is only on the nitro tap, and is available at Salt Lake Brewing Company downtown. You should stay for two. Inner Darkness is available in 16-ounce cans or on Lukr tap at Grid City Beer Works.

As always, sláinte!