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"Welcome to Beer School, GQ\u2019s column on the knowledge you need to raise your beer I.Q. And, of course, the brews you should be drinking right now. This week\u2019s lesson: Black Lager.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nWhat to drink with your taco al pastor? A frigid Tecate? A spicy michelada? A milky horchata? How about the other end of the spectrum: roasty, bitter, and dark as la noche. Black lager, Northern California\u2019s latest craze.\n\nTranquilo, ese. Don\u2019t be afraid of that pitch-black pour. For years, they\u2019ve been stigmatized as too rich, too heavy, too sweet, too strong, and for good reason\u2014when craft brewers went dark, they went Spinal Tap: blacker-than-black imperial stouts; barrel-aged, cacao-infused porters, But dark beers can be deceptive. Black IPAs are hoppy and bright, and schwarzbier, a dark German lager, is crisp and satisfying\u2014think cold brew coffee.\n\nLight and dry in body but with a rich, roasty punch of flavor, black lagers were once just the thing to cure the Teutonic blues in German spa towns. But they fell out of favor as bright, golden pilsner conquered the world. Now big timers like Guinness are trying to convince us black is the new, well, in Guinness\u2019s case, black. Their black lager is thin and caramelly\u2014a fine introduction to the style. But the real black diamonds come from California, where black lager has become a NorCal staple. It\u2019s schwarzbier, with a twist. Brewmaster Brian Hunt of Santa Rosa\u2019s Moonlight\u2014whose Death and Tas is the best of the black beer bunch\u2014calls California black lager an &amp;quot;indigenous style.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Everyone\u2019s copying something from another continent that\u2019s absolutely irrelevant,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;What European beer goes with tacos, with this climate?&amp;quot; A Euro-style schwarzbier, like Kostritzer, is a bit heavier, a bit darker. Uinta\u2019s Baba is the best state-side take (Utah, I suppose, is a more Teutonic state than sunny Cali)\u2014creamy, rich, thick. Hunt\u2019s take is fresher, lighter, hoppier, with, he says, &amp;quot;a little more acidity, a little more astringency. People think a dark beer will be like beef stew, but this is like drinking iced coffee. It\u2019s palate cleansing.&amp;quot;\n\nOther Bay Area brewers are making the style their own. San Francisco\u2019s MateVeza adds mate. Novato\u2019s Lucky Hand ups the hops. From Oakland, Linden Street Burning Oak is a little richer, with slight sweet fruit\u2014a darker, brooding older brother of the Bay Area\u2019s other local beer style, California Common. All told, just the thing to keep summer around a few (dark) days longer.\n\nGQ\u2019s man at the taps, William Bostwick, is writing a history of the world in six beers, to be published by W.W. Norton. Follow him at brewerstale.tumblr.com\n\nMore Beer School:\n\n  Craft Pilsners \n\n Mexican Beers that Don\u2019t Suck \n\n The GQ Beer Guide"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/beer-school-black-lager-the-perfect-early-fall-beer>