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Mad River Serious Madness Black Ale 3.52 81

Mad River Serious Madness Black Ale

Percentile
89
overall

bottled
common

on tap
available

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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
813.58/5.03.52/5.0Winter8.6%54Snifter, Trappist glass
Commercial Description:
Part of our limited release high gravity series celebrating our twentieth anniversary (1989 to 2009)
Serious Madness Black Ale (An American Strong Ale) is a high gravity black beer built on a foundation of our house Two-Row Pale Malt augmented with North American Specialty Malts & German Carafa, fermented with our signature ale yeast.
This black ale is bittered with Magnum hops, flavor and aromatics are enhanced by Hallertau and Tettnanger with Willamette hops utilized for added aroma in the hop back.
This beer is inky black with amber edges, light bodied, silky smooth, complex and delicious...
Not for the meek and timid this beer ferments out at a gratifying 8.6% ABV and 74.7 IBU’s. Best served at 45 degrees in a snifter.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 SamGamgee (1477), Santa Cruz (La Selva), California, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/103/514/20
Jan 6, 2010  
Draught at the Red. Black with a small tan head. Very fruity aroma with plenty of berry and some light chocolatey roasted malt. The flavor is less fruity and has a smooth chocolate malt character and medium bitterness. Light body with a touch of alcohol. Easy drinking and pretty light overall for the amount of alcohol, and has a nice fruitiness to the nose.


 Aurelius (2663), Tallahassee, Florida, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/103/514/20
Jan 6, 2010  
Clear, cola black beer with a good cascading tan head that goes beady. A gentle, dry roast, chalk and nuts aroma. Cold, the beer is bitter and bocky, the ABV isn’t well masked, and the brew was a lot edgier than I had expected from the aroma. As it warms, the beer definitely mellows -- I agree with the commercial description - 45° is definitely in the sweet spot where the brew smooths out and the alcohol isn’t as prominent. I think I’ll chalk the harsh temperature/taste plateaus up as a deduction to palate. Medium heavy bodied, the roast and hopping really come through at the end.


 jazz88 (2239), San Francisco, California, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/57/103/517/20
Dec 26, 2009  
Bottle. Black color with a creamy brown head. A rather mild aroma with a smooth chocolaty malt flavor with a little roast. Nicely hopped, light in the body, but very smooth and delightful. Easy to drink and hides the alcohol well.


 5000 (2900), Hardened Liver, Washington, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/103/516/20
Dec 17, 2009  
Bottle:   Nearly black, edges of dark brown, moderate foamy beige head, a few rings of lacing.   Soft chocolate and roasted malt nose, some cocoa.   Malty start, roasty, cocoa, chocolate milk, pretty tasty.   This has smoothed out since I had it initially many many months ago.   Finishes clean, soft sweet roasted malts and a bit of ash and charred wood linger.   Body and mouthfeel, while smooth are fairly moderate.   Pretty happy with this one.


 trevor211 (531), Seattle, Washington, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/56/104/513/20
Nov 20, 2009  
Pours more of a glossy dark brown than a black, with a light tan head. Lots of warm caramel malts on the nose, countered with a very significant hop contingent - this is like a red in a porter’s clothes. The flavor adds a bit more smokey/roastiness, and it has a decent mouthfeel - I’m just not big on dark, malt-heavy ales that don’t offer plenty of viscosity. Good. Just not great.


 JoeMcPhee (5056), Jackson Heights, New York, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/57/103/515/20
Nov 19, 2009  
Deep brown-black pour with a tight creamy head. The nose is very chocolatey with a bit of milk chocolate sweetness. Deep rich maltiness with a bit of plum and soft licorice. A touch of heavy candied fruit. A bit of heavy tarriness toward the finish. The hoppiness is pretty intense with a touch of woodiness. Warming brings up a touch of spice. Sort of a low roast imperial stout/or a hoppy robust porter. It’s pretty nice really.


beercollector (15), Astoria, Oregon, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/57/104/516/20
Nov 15, 2009  
This is a serious beer that changes as you slowly sip while working. It starts out sweet and nice gets more bitters and roasty as the session goes on.


 gracefullypunk (354), Washington, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/103/516/20
Oct 31, 2009  
On tap at Collins Pub. Pours a red black with a tan head and some lace. A faint aroma of caramel and citrus hops. Taste is bitter hop at first but then the caramel comes through as well as coffee.



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