Pizza Port Black Lie IPA

Dark brown. Woody, lightly citrusy, toasty nose. Soft body with some caramel and wood. Hints of nuts and lime. Bitter, toasty finish.

From tap at Carlsbad. Pours dark brown to black with a little orange glare. Aroma is dense hoppy and fruity. Solid malty and hoppy base flavour. Dry yet smoothly balanced between hops and roasted malt. Dry lingering malty and dense fruity hops flavour. Quite dry in the far finish.

Draft... RBSG... Almost pitch black with a burnt orange hue when held up to the So Cal sunshine. Nice, creamy, off-white head with terrific retention and thick, creamy lacework that clings tightly to the side of the glass. Hoppy, fruity, roasted aroma. Full-bodied with a skim-milk mouthfeel and tickling carbonation. A lot of bitterness with low residual sweetness, but near-balance is somehow attained. Deeply roasted finish provides moderate bitterness with a pinch of salt.

Draught; described by Jeff as a double IPA Black beer with orange-brown highlights, covered with a cream-coloured head. Hops, and this time no doubt US ones; fresh and leafy, some cookies. Sharp bitter, near-metallic taste with bitter chocolate flavours; long bitter-harsh aftertaste. Well bodied, but rather harsh on the throat. Not bad! Original interpretation of an IIPA.

Tap at DLD 2008: Boy was I surprised to see this, thanks Nick and the guys at FFF for bringing in this guest beer!

Nearly opaque with a small off-white head and good lacing. The aroma has notes of grapefruit and mango, piney resiny hops, a bit leafy and earthy too, some charred and caramel malt, and a hint of woody smoke. The taste is quite balanced between the malt and hop providing a few different layers of bitterness. The acidity cleans the palate and makes you really for the next taste. Mild roast and smoke towards the mineral tones finish. The mouth feel is aggressive and bright. A very nice beer overall.