Baird Divine Vamp III

Brewed by Baird Brewing Co.
Style: Black IPA
Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Black colour with a very nice looking lilac brown head. Unexpectedly good flavour of licorice, anise, subtle sweetness and a very slightly sticky feeling. Unique and impressive. Seems like Baird makes their best brews exclusively for pubs (this and First Impact are brewed only for Popeye’s and Ushitora respectively).

On tap at Popeye, Tokyo. Almost black with a small tan head. Grapefruit hop aroma. Perfumy and grapefruity flavours with light roast. Well-carbonated with a full body. A great combination of flavours.

Pint @ Popeye’s, Tokyo: Dark brown, light head and lacing. Nose of light hoppy, subtle caramel malts, light bitterness and a nice floral, earthy hoppiness. A bit lacking in body and a thin finish. Grassy finish. Eh.

My Bottom Line:
Dried berries and roasted malts aplenty coalesce and hug the herbal, resinous hoppiness of this lovely India Black Ale. A comparison with their Fast Impact would be intriguing (and very pleasurable), if the two beers could be tasted under the same roof...

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam surrounds the brownish blackness.
-All these flavors blend admirably, retaining complexity and a high level of flavor.
-Although there is a lot going on in here, the end product is very drinkable.
-If you like this, you will love their Fast Impact, brewed for Ushitora, another ji-biru bar in Tokyo.

On tap at Popeye’s.

Deceptive upon looking at it as the light brown head and color of the body suggest a brown ale or perhaps even a porter. However, one whiff of the hoppy cascade nose sends your mind into total disorientation, but you can reach your senses when you get a whiff of some pale malts. A huge floral hoppy body hits the tongue, but after the first swallow the roasted malts become apparent. After every subsequent swallow the hops and malts fight for attention. The hops produce a cotton candy like feel that seems to transform the roasted malts into milk chocolate like tasting. This is strange, but incredible stuff. Only a perfectly balanced beer could do what this beer does. To get a better understanding of this, take 2/3 pint of IPA and a 1/3 of a stout and combine them. It goes great with Yakisoba.

Draught at Popeye’s. Dark brown with red highlights and a small tan head. Aroma was very hoppy, toasted malt, and floral. Medium body. Pretty hoppy, pine, earth tones, smoke, caramel, and chocolate. I couldn’t figure out what type of brew this was...struck me as a very dark IPA. Doesn’t really matter, it was real good.

Small creamy offwhite head. Deep dark red barely translucent body. Floral hop aroma. Burnt bitterish resiny taste, very clean and harmonic. Dry resiny and chocolatey aftertaste. An excellent beer, whatever type it really is. (0.3l on tap at Popeye.)

UPDATED: MAR 29, 2009 My first IBA. I enjoyed this, but after sampling so many great beers that night, this felt a little like an afterthought.. Cheers to the gentleman that shouted me a round though! Rerate. The first impact, this beers older brother is better, but this is still not without it’s charm. Quite hoppy for what it is, although the body is a bit light

At Popeye’s in Tokyo. Dark ruby brown, minimal head. Aroma is chocolate, caramel, anise. Flavor is smoke, grass, toffee, caramel.