Beer Tasting at Black Laboratory Brewing

Black Laboratory Brewing is located just east of downtown San Antonio and they have some good brews to offer along with a tempting food menu.

Black Laboratory Brewing is a cozy little brewery and restaurant located just outside of Downtown San Antonio on East Houston St. You place your order for beer and food at the bar then find yourself a seat somewhere inside or in their patio area. I recently stopped by the brewery for lunch on a Sunday afternoon and decided to order up a flight to get a good sampling of their brews. The four pours that I requested were the Greetings from Helles Lager, the Hackberry Pale Ale, the Mox’s IPA, and the Grizzly Greg’s Mountain Ale. I usually like to include a dark beer in my sampler, but their Vanilla Joe Stout promised too much on the coffee side (not my preference) so I chose to pass on that the first time out.

You will notice from the picture above that they serve these in little beakers because . . . laboratory . . . in the name . . . get it? Never mind, on to the tasting.

Greetings from Helles Lager: This is a good solid take on the classic German style that delivers full-bodied taste and a good finish. Sometimes with the German beers I feel like they come up kind of weak, but this one brings a nice richness with some hints of hops and malt. No one flavor really dominates, but everything comes together to deliver a satisfying experience. I would certainly order a full pint of this one next time.

Hackberry Pale Ale: This one was a little bit odd with a strong berry taste and some hints of sourness. I guess I should have expected the berries because of the name, but I would have liked it better if they were further in the background. It has some good hoppiness and bitterness, and it did improve after a few sips. But of the four I tasted, this was my least favorite and I would probably not get it again.  Not that it was bad, just not quite my taste.

Mox’s IPA: This is an IPA drinker’s IPA, and that’s good because I am an IPA drinker. It is strong on the hops with some citrus and fruitiness in the background, and it delivers just the right amount of bitterness. It is a more complex beer, and those who are less enamored with IPAs may not enjoy it. But it has everything I am looking for in this style and I would certainly order it again.

Grizzly Greg’s Mountain Ale: This fourth beer on my flight was somewhat of a wildcard. It took me a few sips to process the flavors, but ultimately I decided I liked it. It has some good hoppiness, but not overpowering. The taste of pine is definitely present and that seems to dominate at first, though it mellowed as I continued to drink. I can’t tell you that I can really recognize nor describe the taste of juniper, which is one of the ingredients, but I am going to guess it is what gives that little something extra in this beer that is hard to identify. This is definitely a complex beer, but ultimately a good one. And at 8.5% ABV, it is certainly potent.

The flight of four 4 oz pours will run you ten bucks. A pint ranges from five to eight bucks depending on the beer. And most of their brews are available in a four-pack of cans between twelve and sixteen bucks.

Their food menu has several tasty items to choose from as well, including sandwiches, wings, pizzas, and more. I decided to go with their Chorizo pizza, and that was definitely a good pick. (You can read my review of it over at SpicyFoodReviews.com). Next time around I will probably get the wings because I saw those delivered to another customer and they looked quite tempting.

It was a Sunday afternoon and I had tasks planned for the day, so I did not indulge in any more of their brews, though I was tempted to get a pint of the Helles or the Mox’s IPA. I will definitely get Black Laboratory on my list for a return trip and may even give that coffee stout a swig. They are located off of E. Houston St. and they have their own parking lot, so getting in and out should be easy (unless an event is going on down the road at the Alamo Dome). You can find all the information about the place at this link and I highly recommend that you schedule a visit soon.