3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle 330ml. Almost black with a small off white head. ’More Black Eyed than PA’ was my first comment on the taste. Hops on the nose, but predominant flavour is roast, slightly smoky malt. A touch of dry hoppiness to finish.
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.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Cask conditioned handpump Bree Louise London. A near black coloured beer with a nice whitish head and lace. Lovely grapefruity hoppy aroma. Excellent hops in the mouth too. A little yeasty note spoils it a touch. Definitely no roasty flavours here. A good full body. Tasty, but there’s just a little spoiler which takes it below some BIPAs I’ve had.
3.7 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Brown, almost clear body, beige head. Mild but fresh hops. Herbal as well. Low carbonation, smooth body. Quite some bitterness going on still. The punt pint I ordered way a bit much, but nice. (At Cask Pub and Kitchen)
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Cask @ CPK. Reddish deep brown with a small tan head. The nose is tropical fruits, grapefruit. Spicy pepper. The taste is light, hoppy summer fruits with a bitter toasty malt finish. Quite bitter, not passive. Pleasant. Full bodied, one to nurse. Overall, very good. I like these guys.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Factoberfest 2011.
Dusty Terry’s Chocolate orange on the nose with more pithy orange in the body and a dy chocolate sweetness.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
14th September 2011
On tap at the Draft House. Clear very dark brown beer, tidy pale tan head. Light dry palate. Mild dark malt, not bitter. Obvious and pleasant sweet red fruits underneath with strawberry and cherry identifiable. More dark malts with a trace of roast. Semi dry finish. Nice beer, the hop could be a bit stronger and the Draft House could serve this at cellar temperature instead of near room temperature but the quality shines through. Good stuff!
4.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
Cask at the CASK Pub & Kitchen on 3rd September 2011. Virtually black with thin grey head and lacing, particularly at first. Plenty of roast malts. Cofee and smoke in main kick and a richly bitter finish. Full-mouth engaging texture.
3.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
[Cask at the Three Crowns, Chippenham] Deep brown-black with a moderate off-white head and a slight fizz. Charcoal bitterness, yet sweet and sticky too. A vague hint of sellotape, and loads of pepper. Didn’t do it for me.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
From hand-bottle at the Cask Pub & Kitchen on 1 November 2011. Thanks to Nate for bringing this along. This was up against some stiff opposition just after the Dark Star Green-Hopped IPA and the Dark Star Simcoe IPA. It held its own very well indeed. . Dark in colour. Terrific hoppy aroma lots of citrus of various types. Hops are slightly more restrained on the palate but combine well with the dark malts, which provide distinct chocolate notes. Smooth but firm and very drinkable. Arbor are doing some really good stuff these days.
|
