Lake Louie Radio Free IBA

Brewed by Lake Louie Brewing
Style: Black IPA
Arena, Wisconsin USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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12 ounce bottle
Picking up a single of this while in town for the Great Taste of the Midwest I had high hopes. After all Lake Louie does not often disappoint. This one is no exception. Much like many of their beers it is not a game changer. Instead they offer an affordable regional option for people looking for good beers.

Aroma / Appearance - A deep black base results from a gentle pour that reduces the wispy head to mere hints. Malt, dark chocolate, and soft hops soothe the nose.

Flavor / Palate - Coffee and raspberry truffles sweeten the palate almost after the first sip. The creamy texture carries a malty tang into the finish. This then lingers for a while. This isn’t the punchiest black IPA but hits a great combination of flavor and price point.

Picked up a single 12-oz bottle at Rileys World of Wines in Madison, Wisconsin. Pours an opaque dark brown colored brew with an average sized tan head that quickly dissipates to a thin beige cream top and some spotty lacing. Aroma of floral and citrusy hops, chocolate malt, a hint of tart berries and light molasses. Taste is full bodied, toasted dark malt, a hint of soy and more raspberry presence in taste than aroma. Finish is thick and oily, aftertastes of both bakers chocolate, raspberries and plenty of Cascade-style hops with lingering bitterness. Quite tasty!

Aroma is dark malts/bread and hops. The flavor is dark malts, bread, berries/fruit and a medium bitter finish.

On tap at The Old Fashioned. Murky black with a creamy tan head. Aroma of roasted malt, chocolate, light pine, fruit, light berries and brown sugar. Taste of pine, dark malt, roasted malt, juniper berries, light chocolate and caramel. Mild to moderate bitterness, a touch different than the other black IPAs I had and I enjoyed this one.

Bottle courtesy of nuplastikk, thank you sir! Black, small but thick brown head, solid lacing. Aroma of cinstant offee grounds. Taste is bitter coffee and burnt espresso. Decent.

12oz bottle. Attractive opaque brown-black with a big, creamy beige head. Pronounced minty chocolate aroma. A big, hearty Black IPA, probably the best example of the style made in Wisconsin. Thick oily roast and chocolate malts, caramel. Big and full bodied, pretty much nails the style. Minty chocolate finish.

Dark. Solid stoutish head. Strong malt, roasty fully balances the assertive hop. Balanced... No raspberry presence 7%. Good hop/malt finish.

Bottle - Pours murky black with a thick foamy tan head. Citrus hops on the nose, with a rich, chocolate malt base. Taste leans toward malt, a big, rich roasty base with dark bread and chocolate notes. The hopping is pretty strong too, with more of a bitter pine needle bite, which goes a little too far and feels boozy. Roasty and a bit charred through the finish. Feels like a hoppy porter rather than a malty IPA. Good stuff, but I like my black IPAs with less of the porter character.

On tap at Old Fashioned, pours black with a thin tannish head and some lacing, the aroma has some citrus coming through with a good amount of malt and a touch of chocolate, the flavor has a nice hop front with a finish of chocolate and malt, wish it had a little more hop presence, the mouthfeel is pretty thin though, wish it had a little bit more of a backbone. Really not fair though because I just polished off a pint of Black Top before I tried this one.