R.J. Rockers Black Perle

Brewed by R.J. Rockers Brewing Co.
Style: Black IPA
Spartanburg, South Carolina USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Appearance: Pours out a clearish, dark brown body with a bubbly, sudsy, beige-colored head. Smell: Pleasant mix of various hop and malt notes: roasted barley, robust coffee, chocolate squares, citrus, and lightly resinous pine. A bit of warmth pulls out more chocolatey tones. Taste: Dark, roasty maltiness developing tastes of bittersweet chocolate and Colombian coffee with some soft caramel sweetness. An iota of dark fruitiness. The hops are made to compete with the earthy roast character here, though still they manage to present pine wood, citrus fruits, and a few coarsely-chopped mint leaves. Moderate bitterness that couples with the roastiness. Finishes dry, subtly warming, and roasty with a few final hints of spice and citrus zest. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a moderately smooth mouthfeel. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Fairly enjoyable, well-rounded brew. Not nearly as notably hoppy or bitter as some of these so-called Black IPA’s (or in this case Walnut Brown IPA) on the market today, which is fine with me. It’s good to see RJ Rockers rolling out some new brews now that they’ve settled down in their new facility.

Bottle to snifter. Pours medium dirty motor oil black brown with a quick khaki head that dissipates to a wispy film and tight collar. Aroma is rich roasted burnt malt with a little coco and coffee grounds and dark fruit and hops. Taste is bitter and earthy floral hops with more rich chocolatey malt and coffee notes. Palate is full and piercing bitterness that ends chalky and dry. Very nice, very close to being a hop forward complex imperial stout, non the less very nice!

2010 Vintage. Served from tap at the brewery release party into an RJ Rockers shaker. Poured a massively dark brown almost black with a one and a half finger light tan head. Maintained excellent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of roasted malt, chocolate, and subtle bitter hops. The flavor was of roasted malt, subtle bitter hop that intensified upon swallowing, and very slight chocolate. It had a medium feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall this was a pretty nicely balanced Black IPA. With this one being as fresh as possible the hop character is in full bloom right now. The aroma on this one was quite nice and had a good flavor to follow it up. This one is a must try if you are a fan of the style.

Bottle. Pours dark brown with a moderate light tan head. Hoppy nose. I’m not really an IPA guy, but this doesn’t really taste like an IPA. It’s almost like a hoppy Imperial Stout. Distinct roasted malts, maybe some chocolate or cocoa. Hops are robust but not overwhelming, and are tempered by the malts. Enjoyed it a lot. I’ll buy it again.

The aroma is mostly coffee with some floral notes. The beer pours a opaque black with a thick tan head. The taste is of strong bitter coffee with some light floral hops. Clean and good. A delicious take on a beer that is mostly stout with a strong hop bitterness.

Bomber from Half Time. Pours very black with a transient tan head. Aroma of dark burnt malt, chocolate and something like herbal hop. And coffee? Full bodied. Flavor is very chocolate, hints of burnt malt, more than hints of coffee, and a fair amount of varying hop. Varying meaning I can’t tell what it is. Seems noble/herbal, but there’s so much dark flavor it’s hard to break this stuff down. There’s a barley wine aspect. There’s an IS aspect. It’s finishing burnt, chocolate, dry and pretty hoppy. There’s just way too much going on with this. Not that that’s a bad thing.

Bottle. Toted as an IPA - this is much closer to a weak imperial stout. Smells like chocolate and hops, touch of grapefruit and grass. Taste is rich and smooth, very fresh hoppy tasting. Really easy to drink, pretty complex. Decent beer actually; I was debating buying it @ $9 a bomber, but its worth it to help "local" guys. I would buy it again if it was in six packs.

22oz, blue waxed bottle. Poured a dark brown color with a smaller sized tan head. Aromas of roast, some earth, coffee, coffee grounds, and chocolate. Tastes of roast, coffee, chocolate, pine, some citrus, and caramel. Overall the alcohol content well hidden

pretty interesting brew. def bitter, but well balanced by the honey with a nice sweet back palate and finish. nice full body, the honey really comes out in the back part of the palate in all ways. pretty nicely done beer. im getting hints of porters, imperial red ales, old ales, nice variety of things going on here. i was wondering why a waxed ipa, but this may be a bit nicer and more complex when the hop bitterness thats masking it in the front and mid palate begins to disappear a bit. the honey really comes through for me in this brew in such a great way, i keep getting hints of wilf flower honey thoughout. would love another bottle of this to sit on and really see the malt profile shine in a year or so.

Bottle. Aroma has notes of coffee, chocolate, roasted malts, pine and spicy hops. Black hue with an average sized light tan head that mostly diminished and left little lace. Flavor is heavy sweet and very heavy bitter. Palate is full bodied and oily with an above average carbonation. Overall this is a really good brew that really should be called an Imperial Black IPA. It’s a really big beer with good roasted aromas and and intense hop bitterness. Good.