Phillips Black Toque India Dark Ale

650ml bottle. Aroma of hops and slight whiff of chocolate. Almost opaque dark brown like a stout or porter. Malt is slightly sweet and chocolatey. Medium hop bitterness. I wonder if this is the Chocolate Porter malt brewed with hops from the IPA. Phillips has a winner on their hands here. If there were rating points for creativity this beer would score even higher.

This sure ain’t no regular ale! This pours dark dark dark, like stout or porter, and comes with a darkish foamy head. The aroma is mostly coffee, and much the same for the taste. No real evidence of any hops here until the aftertaste. Cool! Mouthfeel is also like a stout or porter, likewise the taste. Nice beer for a winter’s day.

Bottle 65cl. @ Papsoes blindtasting. [ Bottle #32. ]
Clear medium to dark brown color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, hard roasted, caramel, moderate to heavy vanilla. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20090612]

India Dark Ale??? Ok... lets see what we got here.
Got this beer in Radium Hot Springs on a torrential downpour after getting off of the RockWall Trail in Kootenay NP with that ass queen mmmmbeer. Poured out a really dark brown beer but give it some light from above and its a super clear darkest possible red. Gots me a perfect crown of light brown color that closes in on creamy and have some of the best retention I’ve ever seen on an IPA with full glass lacing. The aroma is nice and soft with sweet grapefruit, lemon and tangerine upfront. There are some roasted malts to go with the caramel and a hint of chocolate but the malts are mainly in the background and only balance it all out when warmer. That is not to say that it is all hop aroma. The taste is interesting, especially with the soft hops that has mint as one of the first flavors to hit. Pine, lemon, orange and obvious fresh and very bitter grapefruit, light caramel and medium roasted malts hold up the middle of this beer with maybe a hint of bakers chocolate. When I go past the pine bitterness the roast really comes out... and then it gets pounded back down with a second wave of stiff bitterness. Man, this thing is getting more bitter as I go. Light medium bodied, very carbonated and well done at that, the malts try to smooth this thing out and do then get punched in the face by the endless bitterness. Finishes bitter (pine) with a hint of roasted malts. Nice variety of the IPA style.

Bottled. A deep red beer with a lazing beige head. The aroma is powerful with notes of fruit and alcohol. The flavor is sweet with notes of malt, fruit, alcohol, and light notes of wood, leading to a dry and bitter finish.

Bottle 65 cl. Courtesy of fiulijn. Pours a clear dark brown with a reddish hue and a rough beige head. Sweetish aroma of vanilla and hard roasted malt. Medium body, sweetish hard roasted malt, vanilla and a fairly bitter finish. 120609

#32 - Amerikaner Blind-Smagning 12-Jun-2009 hos Papsoe. Bottle. Cloudy red/brown - offwhite head. Cinnamon, fruity, roasted, light body, bubblegum, candy, high sweetness, ryebread, light hoppy, bitterness. OK.

Consumed in a snifter, pours a dark brown, very opaque liquid with two fingers of dense brownish head that remains lacy throughout drinking. Aromas of earthy roasted malt dominate over light hops. Taste is initially sweet like prunes then dominated by coffee and black tea, light smoke and wood, with a bitter chocolate and hop finish. Mouthfeel is creamy bubbles with some lingering stickiness. An interesting style beer somewhere between IPA and stout.