Full Sail Session Dark Lager

Full Sail Session Dark Lager

Most beers this dark are so heavy-duty, you could eat them with a fork. Not Session Dark. You've heard of tall, dark and handsome? Well, this black lager is short, dark and drinkable. With notes of roasty chocolate, it's the perfect complement to original Session - a dark beer that doesn't drink like a meal. Session Dark was named #1 in the "Top Ten List of lagers Brewed in the United States" and has nabbed 15 golds over the years, to say nothing of other shiny metallic colors. (Formerly known as Session Black. It's the same great beer with a new look.)
3.3
508 reviews
Hood River, United States

Community reviews

3.2 This is a good dark malty lager. Smooth drinking plenty of flavor would recommend.
3.4 12 oz bottle One of the twelve beers of Christmas The beer poured a clear dark brown to black. The beige head dissipated quickly. The aroma of roasted caramel malts and chocolate. The beer has a light body and soft carbonation. The taste of roasted malts dominate and there are hints of chocolate. The finish is clean with hints of some bitterness.
3.5 mohogany-black with red highlights; caramel and roasted malt aroma; crisp, caramel malt flavor; smooth and clean
3.8 Stubby bottle into stout glass. Dark ruby beer that is not as black as I was expecting. Decent head that sticks around a bit. Not much aroma - mild malt and that is about it. Smooth almost creamy mouthfeel - light but not at all watery. Hints of milk chocolate, vanilla and smooth malt. No real bitterness. Very good easy drinker. Would be interesting to try this one on nitro!
3.3 Decent beer but clearly the goal was solely sessionable. Pours dark brown w/ a tan head that leaves little lacing. The aroma has subtle caramel notes. The taste is primarily caramel throughout. Not much complexity & a bit thin on the palate but overall ok. I probably wouldn’t seek this out again!
3.2 Bottle. Delicate coffee and lager aroma with faint noble hops accents. Clear brown with a quickly dissipating off-white sheet on top. Nutty coffee and faint chocolate flavour. Low bitterness, slightly dry finish. Medium light body, moderate carbonation, almost crisp but for the smooth chocolate.
3.1 Old rating. Dark brown. Roasty, bready, minimal chocolate. A little thin in the mouthfeel. Decent.
3.6 Very rich, malty aroma. Taste is a little light but creamy, strong malt, a little dry but much.
3.7 Clear dark ruby brown. Small off white head. Aroma seems light roast and cocoa. Semi sweet. Flavor is light roast, toast, and a touch of berries. Lighter bodied. Plenty of character. I continue to be impressed by these Full Sail Session brews. Well made.
3.5 Clear dark brown with creamy white head. Aroma: toast, toffee, light cocoa. Nice chocolate finish
3.3 Bottle from the Lee fridge. Pours an almost black with thin head; very mild chocolate nose and initial flavor...pleasant way to spend an evening. Smooth chocolate ending...
3.6 $3 draft at Eureka. Clear dark brown with creamy white head. Aroma: toast, copper, toffee, light cocoa. Taste is moderately sweet, bringing more caramel and copper. Minimally bitter finish. Palate: light body, lively carbonation, quaffable. Overall: nice cheap easy-drinking darkish lager. Bottle at home, while baking way too many loaves of bread and thinking about a bunch of other shit instead of rating. And you know what? This beer was just great. I enjoyed it a lot and when it was over I wished I had another. I used to play chess with a dude we called Shoeless Dave (not to be confused with Crazy Dave). We called him that because he’d been barefoot continuously for 15 years, as he tells it. He drank mello yello by the 2-liter, and wore this matching green sweatpant/sweatshirt combo, and the shirt read "Set your feet free, and your mind will follow." Some things, like this, are best not to think about too hard.
3.5 On tap at the brewpub - Pours clear bronze with an off-white head. The aroma has roasty light schwartz like malt, lager smoothness, dark caramel and toffee. It has a medium smooth body with lots of soft carbonation. The flavor starts with the aroma notes, but with spicy earthy hops. Decent dunkel.
3.7 Nice roasted chocolate aroma. Appears black but is see through with a deep mahogany hue. The head only appears momentarily and is gone before you know it. Slight roasted malt tasting but then goes down relatively smooth with some mild bitterness. Sense some caramel sweetness too. Feels clean and light on the palate.
3.3 At a tasting, thanks Tom L, small creamy head, quite clear darkish brown color, aroma of wood and caramel with a hint of cola, flavor of dark bread, caramel and cedary hopes,light to medium mellow bitterness. Really nice.
3.3 Poured from 11 oz bottle....poured amber with a nice lasting head...smell is light caramel some cocoa and malt...mouth is the same...this one is a very simple but good beer...a tad light but very tasty flavor...i will grab this one again...for a buck it is way solid.
3.9 12oz bottle--> pint glass, dark amber with with a nice tall head that soon settles. Notes of maple, caramel, and roasted malts follow from nose to drink. A bit on the light side, simple but delicious. As you can guess, you'll want to make sure you have a supply on hand.
3.0 (Bottle) Pretty nice and dark but it’s very astringent. And feels pretty thin. Not great but not terrible.
3.1 Bottle. Dark clear brown color, beige head. Aroma of lightly toasted caramel. taste is roasty cocoa and caramel, not much bitterness.
3.1 I liked this beer... simple, unpretentious, flavorful. Nice color and aroma, goes down smoothly.
3.1 Julie says it is okay. Julie says it is good for a black lager. Mild and smooth 3.3 so it was exprired
3.3 "pretty much what i expected from this one. a session ale as advertised, nothing more, nothing less. there’s obvious quality to this brew, but it’s nothing to go out of your way for. a little dry, well balanced chocolate malt and hops."
2.9 Brown coca cola appearance. Aroma of light roasted malt and burned bread with yeast and light fruitiness. Flavor of burned bread and some malt sweetness. Medium light body. Burned aftertaste. Not bad. Good value.
3.0 Appearance- fairly dark, semi clear, mahogany, cola brown. Thin mocha colored head that didn’t last long. Little to no lacing. Smell- clean. Malt and spices. Dark and toasty. Light chocolate notes. Taste- bready, caramel, cocoa. Mouthfeel- smooth and creamy. Crisp. Light bodied. Overall- very good/nice. An above average schwarzbier. Would recommend and have again. Cheers!
3.4 Roasty malt scents and some minor caramel slight earthy grass notes. Light off white head and dark brownish red body. Light hops some roasty biscuit and minor earthy coffee and vanilla flavors. Smooth on the palate.
3.4 Decent dark beer for a reasonable price. Nothing too special about but good for when you don’t want to put down a lot more money on a specialty or microbrew.
3.2 Drought. Reddish brown with small beige creamy head, light caramel aroma, roasted malt taste, thin body, low carbonation, medium finish with caramel aftertaste. Light but easy to drink.
3.7 Dark brown pour with small off white head. Aroma of roasted malts, chocolate, slight citrus and faint hops. Taste of roasted malts, faint chocolate, cocoa, faint hops. Medium bodied, medium carbonation, very drinkable, perfectly balanced, all around a very good beer.
3.4 Tap at Full Sail in Hood River, as Full Sail Session Black Premium Dark Lager. Small sweetish roasty nose. Medium translucent brown (not so dark). Toasty malt, licorice, candy, chocolate, light caramel, and root beer. Thin-medium body. Maybe a bit too sweet, and too sessionable?
3.4 A: Nearly opaque brown. Half inch creme colored head. N: Biscuit, cocoa, char, straw, brown sugar, and a touch of Earth and pine. T: Good sweetness. Some bitterness. Both developed to be easily drank. M: Light and a touch oily. O: Nice beer for a sunny afternoon while waiting for football. Won’t take too much of your attention, but that’s by design.