Pipeworks Close Encounter

Brewed by Pipeworks Brewing Company
Style: Black IPA
Chicago, Illinois USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

22oz bottle from Dunt, thanks man. Dark brown almost black with a thick, foamy, tan head. Aroma of citrus, bitter chocolate, pine resin and dark roasted coffee. Flavor is bitter hops and roasted malt with some coffee and caramel. Fullish body with average carbonation and a dry, roasty finish. This is a really nice, big black IPA/Imp Stout, lots of bitter hops and roasty qualities but still fairly balanced and drinkable.

Bottle from Binny’s Lincoln Park. Pours near black with dark tan head. Aromas of chocolate, good dose of roast, citrus and resiny hops. Flavor has chocolate and roasted malts up front with good healthy amount of piney hops and grapefruit. Has a fair amount sweetness in the finish. Borderline between black IPA and imperial stout. Another solid beer from Pipeworks.

Bottle from Maria’s. Pours a deep brown black with a resilient brown head. Nose is cocoa and light roast, resiny hops. Similar to Alpha Klaus. Some light booze notes are also present. On tasting, a big and firm bitterness and a light roasty charcoal note. Again, lots of resiny hops and some light cocoa. Clean overall and a good level of carbonation. Not much in the way of booze here and it just continues to improve as it warms. Really great stuff.toast,

Bomber shared at DLD, thanks some dude. The gentle hops in this one are set off so brilliantly by the sweetness/tartness of its blackness that it is incredibly balanced and supple. I normally go for extreme beers, but this one is so extremely perfectly flavored, and the flavor dynamics are so balanced.

Pours a dark brown, but appears to be almost pitch black. Perfectly distributed, thick brown lacing. Some acidity and slipperiness (diacytel). Notes of chocolate, vanilla, coffee and citrus. Mostly bitter.

22 oz. bottle from stevemastny- thanks a ton, Steve, for the continuing generosity of you and the Beer Download family. Batch 7 (Binny’s has batch 10 right now). Pours a dark, opaque coffee brown with a small tan head. Aroma of citrusy, earthy hops, roast, dark chocolate, and orange. The flavor follows the same line but is very bitter, both from the dark chocolate and hops. Medium-bodied, with a bitter, roasty mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. Like an imperial stout-black IPA mix.

Black IPA? I guess that’s up to whoever categorized it as such. This beer defies categorization, however. Pours pitch black with a dark brown head and good retention. Aroma is baker’s chocolate, french roast coffee, dank piney green hops. Taste is aggressively toasted amber and/or brown malt, dark coffee, dank dank hops, bitter dark chocolate. Body is medium, medium carbonation, super dry roasty finish. Overall, awesome.

Bottle from Binny’s. Pours an opaque dark brown (almost black) with a beige head (excellent retention). Nose of molasses and malt. Malty and roasty, mildly hoppy with burnt coffee in the aftertaste. Overall, just alright. To be fair, this is a hard style for most brewers to pull off with much distinction. The Ninja Vs. Unicorn is easily PWBCs best offering.

Second pipeworks beer and it’s a good one. Pours black with a nice deep khaki head. Aroma is roast, a bit of smoke and some nice piney hops. Taste is big piney hops up front making way for chocolate, roast, smoke, and a final finish that ties it all together. Really manages to come together and unify all the different flavors, lots of hops here which is fine by me. This was really enjoyable, one of the best beers I’ve had in this category.

22 oz bottle from one of many possible places but I’ll go with Binnys Marcy (Chicago, IL). Pours a rich blackish hue, near opaque, dark and ominous with some brown flashes. A decent sized frothy brownish head. Good chocolate milk hue, dies to a firm ring that laces ok. Aromas are loads of hops, bitter pine, citrusy grapefruit quickly moving into sweet and bitter cocoa, flashes of roast, toast, and black malts. Gentle coffee, a touch of creamy sweetness, swept up by a good firm dry hoppy nose. Biscuits, sticky toffee, dry florals, grapefruit and citrus, firm pine and really just luscious, tempting the soul. Initial is bitter up front, loads of hops, firm grapefruit, citrus, and pine. Good florals, dry resinous bitter hop rich front leads into a sweetness, cocoa, biscuits, and some thicker toffee in the middle. Bittterness and roast work with each other, dry and bitter backend, roasty finish and dry citrusy blasts of hops grow in a wave. Some creamy malty qualities in the middle. Really well integrated, strong hopping works well but doesn’t lose the malt base as it makes a firm showing in the middle. Fresh and vibrant, dry bitter hop and roasty finish provide a lingering good finish that lasts for a long time. Great work here, guys! Head was a little lacking, but the palatability and overall experience of the beer was just lovely.