Deschutes Hop in the Dark CDA

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: Black IPA
Bend, Oregon USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

Bottle to glass. Aroma has a pleasant hop character with some citrus as well as pine. It’s offset by the roasty malts. Black pour with medium sized tan head. Not overly bitter or overshadowed by the dark malts. A pretty solid black IPA.

Pours black with a thin tan-off-white head. Aroma is hoppy, pine, citrus, and some chocolate and caramel malt. Flavor is very dry, hoppy, crisp, with a chalky, bitter chocolate finish; a bit creamy and just a hint of dark fruit. Fair as far as Black IPAs go. Not bad by any means but not exceptional either.

Pours opaque black with a thick beige head. Nose is hops, chocolate ice cream and a bit of citrus. Taste is roasted malt and a bitter finish. Mouthfeel is fairly heavy. This beer had excellent lacing. It was much less aggressive than other black ipa’s ive had and I enjoyed the prominence of the malt.

Name: Hop in the Dark
Date: April 10, 2011
Mode: Draft
Source: Big Dogs Draft House, Vegas
Appearance: black, creamy tan head, lots of icy lace
Aroma: light roasted aroma, touch of caramel sweetness, light citrus
Flavor: roasted malt flavor, lots of hops, big citrus note, light sweetness is well balanced by a lingering bitterness
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+ /4

Bottled sample. Black in colour. Supurb tasting beer. Almost velvet like in texture.

I poured a 22 oz bottle from last year into a whiskey tumbler. The hops were a little stale, as the age suggests, but a piney hop aroma still worked its way into the nose. Otherwise, the aroma was nothing to write home about. Again, this is my fault; I let it get too old. The body is lighter than the deep mahogany color suggests, both more drinkable and less carbonated than a typical black ipa. Overall, this is a light, flavorful beer that could probably be sold in 4 or 6 packs rather than in bombers, as the palate and flavors are light enough to permit the consumption of multiple bottles.

Bomber from Secret Santa. Thanks man! Very dark brown pour with a big tan head, that settles into a thin tan film. Aroma is somewhat surprising. Strong aroma of spruce, pine, grass. Mild mint. Bright, and strong, nice aroma. Flavor of pine, spruce, melted dark chocolate, cream. Some citrus, some tangerine peel, some resin. Delicious. Easily one of the best of the style. Medium bodied. Nice carbonation. Finishes on a minty pine note. Lovely.

bomber, caramel, chocolate, coffee, roasty, floral, spruce, citrus, black, tan foam, light sweetness, bitter, full body, average carbonation, maybe my favorite beer