Lovibonds Dirty 69

Brewed by Lovibonds
Style: Black IPA
Henley-on-Thames, England

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Keg tap at the brewery in Henley, 05/05/13. Mahogony brown with a medium beige head that retains well. Nose is dark malts, burnt toffee, grain, hops, light pine, hints of bitter grapefruit. Taste comprises an aggressive hop bitterness, dark malts, demerara sugar, pinch of cocoa, orange pith, bitter grapefruit. Medium bodied with fine carbonation, bitter dry finish. Decent black IPA.

Keg @ The White Horse. Deep brown with a medium tan head. The nose is peppery, caramel and plenty of toffee. The taste is lightly hoppy, with plenty of toasty grain, more chewy caramel. Not the hoppy beast I was expecting but still quite pleasant. Sweet and sticky. Medium body, soft carbonation. Overall, a pretty good effort.

30 June 2012, tap. Dark ruby. Nose is huge: pine and burnt dark chocolate. Med body and faintly fizzy. Seriously heavy beer. Lots of burnt coffee beans, charred wood, oatmeal. Big bitter chocolate finish. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

keg at 9a. Black with decent tan head. Aroma has a nice grapefruit hit ruined by a cheesy vegetal note, cabbage, sweat. Taste is similar, grapefruit, nutty cheese, cabbage, some nice toffee and molasses also. Cold and fizzy (a good thing) with a bitter finish. The hops are a mess here

Keg @ BrewDog Edinburgh
Black, ruby edges around glass, thin off white head , some lacing
Aroma - roasted malts, dark malts, quite stouty for a bips which I like, rich roast, piney citrus
Taste as aroma, very stouty, zesty citrus resin hops, some bitter grapefruit, but has a bitter burnt crust which I’m not too keen on
Palate - medium carn. medium body. Finish as main flavour, dry, rather over bitter burnt crust roast that lingers.
Overall - Too burnt for a BIPA

Keg at the Southern. Hazy black, thin off-white head. Nice pinkeye zesty nose, just a hint of chocolate malts. Slightly sweet, burnt malt front with a juicy hop twang and lots of pine resin. Long bitter finish. Ok, a bit cloying.

Keg at The Southern. Brown with tan head. Nose is intriguing. Floral and chocolatey. Flavour is off. Smoky burnt toast and chocolate with a mismatched fruitiness. Bitter and unpleasant.

Tap at Brewdog Camden. Dark choc brown, small golden head. Aroma is very roasty, bit of citrus hops, touch of cream and biscuit. Taste is nice enough, creamy, touch of citrus hop, bit of chocolate. Nice and smooth.

On-Tap at Brewdog Edinburgh:
Medium pine to begin with although darker than a standard IPA and backed up by some background malts as well and a dark fruit aroma on top of this. There is a mix of berry, citrus and very light caramel.
Really dark ruby to brown in colour with hints of black around the edges and an off-white to brown coloured head that is about the width of a pinky and settles to a thin lacing.
Fruit and pine flavours coming through along with a caramel malt taste and more touches of summer fruit and berries. There is a little grapefruit that I’ve come to expect from an IPA and some earthly herbs and malts to round things off. The beer is quite dark tasting and bitter towards the end.
Medium bodied with a strong amount of bitterness, especially towards the end and a smooth feel with a wet finish. The beer also seems quite strong leading me to believe that the alcohol isn’t particularly well hidden but it doesn’t effect things too much.

Not a bad beer really, one that started well but was a little too bitter towards the end for my liking. It’s certainly worth a try and is a nice example of a black IPA but the bitter grapefruit was slightly overpowering.

A taste of Cam’s pint at the Southern. Citrus and chocolate aroma. Flavour is a mess - ashy chocolate clashing with the hops. I wasn’t too keen on the regular 69 and this is worse.