Beer Review: Denver Chop House Dark Munich Lager

Reviewing the Dark Munich Lager from the Denver Chop House & Brewery out of Colorado. I had the opportunity to sample this brew during a layover on my trip from Madison to New Orleans.
Score: 76

22 oz tap pour at Denver Chop House in the Denver International Airport served in a weizen glass and enjoyed on 02/09/12. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Dark brown maple syrup color served with a thin layer of fizzy tan head. Despite darker body color, the beer is transparent. Above average lacing. 3/5

Smell: Toasted chocolate malt, caramel, barley grains. Sweet and sugary creamy soda aroma too. 3.5/5

Taste: Flavor is a lot more subtle than expected given the color. Likely due to the thin body of the beer. Caramel, sweet grain malt and toasted grains. Light amounts of roasted chocolate on the midpalate. Lots of grain flavor upfront with more toasted malt flavor towards finish. Very drinkable. Lingers with a malty, slightly bitter grainy malt flavor. As it layers, some chocolate malt residual makes an appearance in the linger. 3/5

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, medium-high carbonation. Malty finish. Gets sweeter, almost too sweet at points, as it layers. 2.5/5

Overall: Good for the style, but this is not a style I particularly enjoy. A little too much carbonation in this brew accentuated the grain flavors of the beer and subdued the chocolate malt. Certainly refreshing and I do not regret buying/drinking this beer, but it is not one that I would particularly seek out again. One of the reviews from BeerAdvocate summed up my feelings perfectly in his review: "This beer has all the right elements, but just not in amounts sufficient to make it anything but barely mediocre."

Recommendation: A decent beer for the airport, but I heard DIA has some of Fat Tire's better offerings on tap at some of the bars/restaurants around the terminals if you do some searching.

Food pairings: Venison.

Cost: $7.99 for a 22 oz glass.