DuClaw Black Lightning

Brewed by DuClaw Brewing Company
Style: Black IPA
Abingdon, Maryland USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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12 oz bottle served in a tulip. Pour is deep cola with 3 thick fingers of kaki head on top; retention and lacing are both fantastic on this brew. Nose is roasted malt, dark chocolate, oranges, and a bit of caramel. Taste is roasted malt up front, and then the rest of the nose makes an appearance, along with a healthy dose of biter hops that I didn’t really pick up when I smelled it. I think the citrus orange wallop hid them. It finishes bitter with lingering hop and malt. This is a decent enough brew to enjoy a six pack of, but for the style, there are quite a few others I’d turn to first.

Location: 12 oz bottle from Norm’s, 4/20/12

Aroma: The nose is heavy on roasted malts, some nuts, hints of chocolate, and subtle pine hops
Appearance: This one pours a dark brown-black color with a small beige head that leaves drippy lace
Flavor: The flavor is all roasted and nutty malts up-front, with a later light-medium pine hop bitterness
Palate: This brew is medium bodied, with a smoothish feel, soft carbonation, and a dry, roasty finish
Overall Impression: This one was pretty solid, thought it may have been a bit lacking in complexity. Also, I would have like to see the hops be a bit more prominent. It does have a bit of a dryness on the finish, but for sure, this beer was all about the roast.

Chocolaty roasty aromas. Pours black with a tan head. Roasty coffee flavors. Light on the palate. Overall a pretty decent beer.

Draft. Almost black, small tan head, fair lacing. Aroma of cocoa powder, burnt coffee and pine. Taste is similar. Nice.

In short: A harsh hoppy dark ale. Just ok.
How: Bottle 12oz. Consumed relatively fresh, a few months after purchase. Bottle from my BA trading buddy Heath
The look: Dark mahogany body topped by a large beige head with good retention
In long: Nose is like a bouquet of fresh flowers in a glass of chocolate milk. Taste is creamy, roast, cocoa powder, burnt earthy malts, milk chocolate, notes of coffee, highly roasted nuts, decent amount of flowery and piney hops. Harsh astringent finish accompanied by a medium bitterness. Tasty but a bit rough overall, not something I could session. A black lightning is like a regular white lightning and both can knock you out unconscious, except when you wake up after being struck by a black lightning your wallet is gone.

Draft. Pours dark brown with beige head; decent retention and lacing. Aroma is chocolate, caramel, roasted malt, and earthy hops. Flavor is heavy earthy hops and bitterness with light caramel and smoke undertones; dry finish. Medium body, carbonation, and warmth.

Tap. Pours black with a medium, creamy tan head, medium retention with good lacing. Aroma is roast and dark chocolate malt, earthy and herbal hops with dark fruity esters. Flavor is malt forward with moderate hops and bitterness, dark fruity esters, licorice and smoke with a dry finish. Medium body, warmth and carbonation.

Lives up to its name pouring black in color with a khaki head to it. Some faintly citrusy hops with a bit of sweet pineapple type fruit to it. A bit of pine and herbal hop character is there in addition to some molasses type sweetness and roasted malt. There is a light citric character to the flavor. Somewhat strong on the roast with maybe even some licorice. A mild sweetness, maybe molasses. Not quite as hoppy as the aroma. Medium in body and carbonation.

Bottle… Black ale with a mid-sized, creamy, khaki head. Great retention. The restrained nose is nutty with notes of black and chocolate malts. Light to medium-bodied with prickly carbonation. Balanced nicely, the flavor is acrid and burnt with only mild intensity. Finishes crisp, chocolaty and charcoaly, but clean once all is said and done. Bottle courtesy of growler!

Pours black with a dense 1/4" head. Aroma of chocolate malt, vanilla and hops. Very tasty with a smooth palate, medium to full bodied. Medium toasted malt and kind of a cream smoothness.

THOUGHTS: Nice. Nothing too special, but great balance and transition. Roasted malt and hop bitterness blend perfectly. I liked how they are calling it an ABA. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brownish red that was basically black in the glass with an average to large, tan head that left excellent lacing. The aroma had moderate to heavy roasted malt, dark chocolate and coffee; and light pine and citrus hops. The initial flavor was slightly sweet and lightly bitter; while the finish was light to moderately sweet and light to moderately bitter with an average to long duration. There was roasted malt, dark chocolate, dark grain, a little dark fruit, piney hops and some citrus hops. The just about medium body was a little oily and then fairly dry with fizzy and tingly carbonation and a slightly metallic finish.