3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle. Moderate toasted and bitter chocolate for the malt, pine resin for the hops, light earth for the yeast, with a hint of charcoal. Head is small to average size, frothy, light brown with excellent lacing and is mostly lasting. Color is very dark brown. flavor starts lightly sweet and moderately acidic then finishes lightly acidic and has a long moderately to heavily bitter aftertaste. Palate is on the fuller side of medium, creamy with a soft to lively carbonation and has a drying. Not a lot of strength or complexity to this Black IPA, but it’s enjoyable and very drinkable.
4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 17/20
Wow there must be some great B-IPAs to push this thing down to the 45th percentile! Wonderful aroma, could have been stronger with it’s hop aroma, but it was on for style with just a touch of roast/malt aroma. Beautiful lt. black color with wonderful lacing, among the best I’ve seen in a commercial brew. Taste/flavor is where this brew shines with the perfect amount of roast more than a brown but not quite brown porter. Enough malt character to balance the hops. Hop character is perfectly bitter for an IPA and the roast character helps to dry it out and emphasize the bitterness. Overall very enjoyable.
3.4 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Pours a thick dark liquid with a light beige head. Aroma is intense roasted malts and a faint pine hop. It comes across like a sweet stout. Taste is where the Black IPA comes out. Yes there is a lot of roasted malts, Maybe a little too much for me, it overshadows the hop, but the pine hop and bitterness is there as well. Interesting beer.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
22oz bomber. Deep black, just a hint of brown, or maybe it’s the thick beige head. Cool, chocolate mint aroma. Big and rich but remains quite soft on the palate, highly drinkable. One of the better Black IPAs I’ve had. Serious minty chocolate covered hop tones. Some smooth brown chocolate in the finish among the hop bitterness. Really just nails the style. This is not a hoppy Porter, this is not an IPA with some chocolate malt, this is a bona fide Black IPA, displaying it’s unique characteristics expertly. A great beer, World Class example of the style. Peppermint, burnt coffee thickness.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Appearance: burnt espresso and smoldering woods. Gorgeous head – tan – with a full circle collar crawling up the sides of the glass. Swirls creamy, like whipped coffee ice cream.
Nose: roasted oats, burnt twigs, and burnt hops. Clean profile. Dry finish of instant coffee. Dark fruit pits, dry roasted almonds. Ash. Dry brittle chocolates.
Palate: light around the sides while grabbing middle of tongue and never letting go. Burnt ash and twigs, burnt dark fruit stones. Pure black cacao crumbles. Dried roasted hop cones. Hint of smoke in the back. Parching. Bitter ashen finish.
Final Thoughts: for a Rogue beer, pretty darn good. Not my favorite Black IPA but definitely up there with some of the better examples. I’d gladly drink this beer any day.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
bottul. dheep browne wif read tinjez, bigg lite browne bubblie hed haand ampull laseing. dirtee bernt mawlt smelll, haz ahh purpel aromah - knot shure howe too discribe thaat, mabee i’ts tha fakt thaat eye thinc mee findz fayke grayp. Karamell, thu dulllest ouv coco, orenge tha’ts hevilee koverd buy tha roest ande mildd sitris. Da flaver iz desent butt knot overlie youneek. bit-her roest ande plentee uv pyne, aktuallee thairs ah lott uv pyne bitternece. bernt stufff, mohr pyne, unsweeetend grapefroot hidez, knot muchh ellz. Lite roest beginninz, sayme middul ande lengthee bitterrr finnish. Yawwwn.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
On tap at Tyler’s, Durham. Hey kids, everyone’s brewing black IPAs these days! Handsome enough pour, a slightly clearer dark brown than in some variations, but with a big sticky head. Nose was quite fragrant but not particularly complex, with big bittering hops accompanied by pinches of anise and molasses. Mouthfeel was oily, a bit too sticky for me. Flavors were a bit muddled, like a moderately hopped black ale rather than anything approaching the IPA designation. And for me, too much molasses and so on. These things don’t generally offend me like they do some of my buds, but it certainly takes a lot to stand out or to measure up to the benchmark that is Sublimely Self Righteous.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
22oz bottle. Pours a deep dark almost black color with a tan head. Aroma is like a mixture of IPA and stout, some roasted malt notes along with some hoppiness. Tastes just like a hybrid IPA / stout. Nice smooth mouthfeel. Medium bitterness and lightly sweet. Good beer.
3.2 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
bomber. pours out of the bottle like a stoudt. very upfront roasty nutty taste with an extremely harsh bitter finish. This tastes to me like an extremely hoppy porter rather than a black IPA. The main reason I am not a fan of black IPAs like this one is that the floral aroma and citrus taste of the hops is overwhelmed by the Malt, and all that remains of the hops is the bitter finish with a slight aftertaste of cigarette butts (I know that sounds gross, but hey). Still, an A for uniqueness and effort and definitely a man’s drink, that’s for sure. Not for the weak.
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 14/20
Dark pour with creamy tan head. Aroma of dark chocolate and raisins and hops. Flavor piney, coffee, chocolate and then the hop bitterness. Bitterness lasts a while. A nice black IPA.
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