Phillips Black Toque India Dark Ale

Brewed by Phillips Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Victoria, Canada

Bottle at Bar Volo. Pours a dark ruby-brown with a small lasting frothy tan head. Nice mild aroma is predominently citric hops along with some slightly roasted malt. Delicious flavour of big citrus and pine hops along with some caramel malt and mild roastness and a touch of smoke and chocolate -- all really well balanced. Medium bodied. I really liked this, it’s definitely an interesting take on the style but it works really well, it’s quite flavourful and I easily drank a whole bomber. Phillips are really starting to impress me.

22 oz. bottle courtesy of JoeMcPhee. Pours a clear dark brown, slightly tinted red when held against light. Very pleasant aroma of chocolate and roasted malt. The flavor is again chocolate and roasted malt along with just a hint of cigar tobacco. Fairly smooth on the palate with light bitterness at the finish. Tasty.

Bottle at Café Volo, august 2006 Great mix of a porter, and an IPA. Wonderful chocolate/smokiness of a porter, but at the end you get that great butterness of an IPA, great beer.

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.

Bottle: Pours a dark brown with ruby tones in the light. Thick off white creamy head laces very well. A very nice herbal hoppiness and molasses in the nose. Flavour is full on hoppy IPA with a nutty roasted flavour working in tandem. Quite enjoyable but little to set it aside from other IIPA’s aside from the appearance. Re-rating I’ve increased points for appearance, flavour and palate. The more I drink it, the more I love it. Though I also admit to loving IPA’s first and foremost.

Robe brune foncée claire surmontée d’une mousse beige. Arômes de houblon, de bois et de torréfié. Saveurs de houblon aromatique, de chêne. Amertume du café.

Bouteille de 22 oz partagée avec MartinT, Beerbuzzmontreal et M_Heine. Arôme: Odeur de chocolat et de fruits foncés. Apparence: La couleur est brune très foncé. Présence d’un moyen col crémeux beige et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de fruits foncés, de chocolat et de torréfaction. La durée de l’arrière goût est moyenne. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture vineuse. L’effervescence en bouche est moyenne. Présence de torréfaction en arrière goût. (Rating #380)

Thanks to Oakes for this one! Pours black with a minimal off-white head. Caramel malt aroma. Roast malt flavor that quickly adds a bitter roast bite in the finish with some assistance from the bittering hops. The sweetness stays underneath the bitter malts the complete time. Not quite a Porter, not quite a Brown Ale. Roasty, bitter, dry, yet smooth and medium bodied. Different and uniquely good brew.