3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Keg at the euston tap. Hazy caramel black very little cream head little lace. Aroma is sweet citrus hop very soft roast and a touch of mineral. Flavour is some sweet caramel lemon and peach. Very soft roast in the tail. Chalky palete. Assertive bitterness, but pretty low. Decent beer. Happily drink a few of these.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Intriguing nose with strong licorice notes freshened by zesty grapefruit hops. The flavour is intense - strong dark notes with coffee and chocolate at the front with a subtle back note of citrussy hops with some lime, some papaya and some orange peel. It lacks a little in the balance and there are better BIPAs out there - Thornbridge Raven for example stands out, as does Brewdog Libertine - but nevertheless this is a fine effort.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Cask at Hanging Bat, Edinburgh. It pours darkest ruby with a medium light tan head. The nose is roasted malt, earth, liquorice, peppery and a touch of farmyard. The taste is roasted malt, coffee, pine, liquorice, varnish, bitter cocoa and scortched earth with a dry finish. Medium body and fine carbonation. Pretty tasty.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Stout like appearance. Minimal head, nice creamy mouth-feel. Blindfold you’d think this was an ipa without doubt. Some additional sweetness and minerality perhaps, but not much. Decent but not worth much of a detour
3.5 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Cask at the York Tap.Good blackness, thin white head, good lacing. Nose is hops, taste is more hops, but well balanced. Slightly sweet finish.
2.5 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 9/20
28th April 2012: half pint, cask.
Dark body, black as black can be in fact: good full cream coloured head which produced some strong, thick lacing.
The nose was a mix of coffee and semi-citrusy hops: neither really strong, but just about findable.
The taste was a similar mix with the coffee coming out the strongest of the flavours with hints of smoke pushing the hop content out somewhat, although there is always a hop bitterness within the black coffee feel of the beer.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle at Jens ... deep brown ... big foam tan head ... big soapy pine hop nose ... over fizzy :-( ... deep chcolate roast ... big soapy pine ... big juicy hop ... zezty ... light long bitter linger ... nice
3.8 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle at home. Black pour, thick fluffy off-white head. Soapy hops, lemon, touch of herbs (Rosemary? Thyme?) and a touch of coffee on the nose. Soft juicy bitterness. Soft roast malts, minty chocolate?! Hmm. Nice and juicy hop presence, soft lingering bitterness. Nice.
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle. Black with nice big cream head. Aroma is a tad weak but is a nice mix of floral and citrus hops with a little coffee. Taste has slightly soapy hops but nice, with coffee and a little licorice at the end. Nice body with a light bitterness, I’d prefer a little more bitterness. A decent black
3.8 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
(Cask at Cask P&K, Pimlico, London, 20 April 2012) Black colour with brief, beige head. Malty, roasted nose with notes of pine needles, liquorice and coffee. Malty, roasted taste with coffee, pine needles, grapefruit, dark chocolate, vanilla and a generous piney, citric bitterness in the finish. More than medium body, slightly sweetish. Excellent black IPA with an impressive hop presence, backed up by a solid malt profile.
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