New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Traditional Ale
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard

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On tap at Pizzaria in Portland. Nice glowing brown body with medium tanhead. Nose is roasted malts. Nice smoky flavours with caramel, coffee and chocolate in there as well. Enjoyable.

Perfectly balanced and very drinkable. The prefect beer for a stout lover when they want something lighter.

12oz bottle pours a dark brown with a lot of head. Mild malt and roasted flavors.

Poured from bottle into a fluted glass. Thick foamy head that remains goes from an inch plus down to 1/4 inch. Aroma is smoky. palate is light for this dark of a beer. very drinkable. decent lacing along sides of glass. Color and taste of Coffee and chocolate. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Good; but not one of my New Belgium favorites. Kind of like a muted strong stout. Has the coffee/chocolate notes, without the depth or ABV. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

I poured a 12oz bottle into a goblet. It had a best before date of 6/23/13 making it about three months shy of its expiration date.

Appearance: Dark ruby red/black hue. Forms a small, white, foamy head which doesn’t completely evaporate and even leaves lacing on the glass.

Smell: Similar to that of a dunkel lager with a distinct lager scent and some malty notes. Otherwise mild and muted.

Taste: New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale is one of those beers that defies modern style guidelines. The brewery claims the beer is based on a recipe found in a Belgian book dated 1554. They also say it’s brewed with a lager yeast, but still consider it an ale. So using the term "black ale" in the name of a beer tends to lead the drinker to believe they’re about to drink something close to a "Black IPA" or "Cascadian Dark Ale" or other such brew, but 1554 is closer to a generic dark lager. I was shocked that upon my first sip I tasted a palette reminiscent of a cheap pale lager. All I could think was, "WTF"!?

It took me a few sips to wrap my head around this beer. I was disappointed that it was so unlike the Black IPA I was hoping for, and eventually managed to appreciate what was here. Though dark in color its taste is nothing like a traditional Schwarzbier, but lacks the refined sweetness of a dunkel lager. In fact, it’s hard to describe what flavors are in here other than those found in typical pale lagers, but without the overt pilsner character. It’s slightly sweet with a hint of fruit and maybe some cocoa powder or other candy-like flavors, but for the most part it’s mild and boring. Why it’s brewed with lager yeast instead of ale yeast I don’t know, as the latter would probably make it closer to a traditional mild or bitter. It’s not that this beer is bad, it’s more that it’s weird. I could see myself (or anyone) learning to enjoy it over time, but I can’t envision ever being really excited by it.

Drinkability: One thing New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale has going for it is its drinkability. An ideal beer for those new to craft beer due to its mild taste and comfortable mouthfeel. Definitely lager-like in its delivery, but not overly fizzy and it finishes fairly clean. I wouldn’t consider it refreshing, though, nor would I see this working with food or as dessert. It’s a stand-alone beverage. At 5.6% ABV it’s probably where it should be in terms of strength, if not even a little light on its toes since it feels like something much lighter.

Pours a dark brown that glints red in the light. A foamy cream/tan head that attenuates to lacing around the glass. A dark roasted malt aroma with notes of Belgian yeast. The first pull into the mouth promises mild creaminess. Pleasant smooth creaminess over the entire tongue with a mild bite of coffee acidity on the back of the tongue. Fireplace or BBQ smoke throughout. Nothing special, but quite drinkable.

This ones gets better as it warms. Pours dark and mostly black with a faint red hue and fleeting head. Aroma is nutty, malty, and slightly sweet. Taste is toasted malts, slight coffee, and nutty. Finishes smooth and somewhat dry with a great aftertaste. Really solid.

22oz bottle. Clear dark brown with a foamy beige head. Aroma of chocolate, spice, dough and herbs. Flavor is zesty spice, chocolate malt, dough and a light hop bitterness. Medium body with a fairly dry mouth feel. Nice beer, lots of flavor and very drinkable.

The aroma wafts strongly of roasted malts and not much else, which still makes the smell quite hearty, but there is also a hint of leaves. The color of the beer is very dark brown with a prominent off-white head that disappears quickly. The taste is mildly sour, slightly sweet, slightly bitter, and a touch umami, and the palate combines a medium body, average carbonation, long finish, and a creamy texture.