Sixpoint Black Soul

(Tap) A great, big, frothy head on this dark brown, opaque body.. Very impressive porter. Roasty, chewy, chocolately, but not overly sweet. One of their few "unhoppy" beers, but that’s OK, because this one turned out very well.

Dark brown with a thick tan head. Good retention. Roasty aroma with coffee and chocolate. Taste was very nice with apricot and banana in the mix. Thick palate with coffee and chocolate beans. Finish was quite sweet. I was very pleased with this Porter.

Draft. Solid, dark brown body with nice whipped tan head. Roasted malts seem to predominate both the aroma and taste. Strong hints of smoke in the flavor and notes of chocolate coming through in the sweet backbone. There is a slight bitterness in the aftertaste indicating some hop presence. Chewy. Medium body is clean in the finish. This porter is nicely crafted.

2 draught pints at Burp Castle on 9/23/06.
Dark tar-like black-brown, mostly opaque, with a hint of deep magenta on the edges, in the light. Creamy light-caramel colored head is well-retained and laces lightly as it recedes.
Strong molasses-like bittersweetness is evident up-front, while some creamy, lightly milky-like buttercream sweetness fattens things. A dollop of chocolate syrup washes over the nose and then is consumed by a gorgeous, ashy, roastiness that is brittle, delicate and displays great caution in its use. Hops provide an afterthought of green, leafy buds, some sticky resin qualities and light floral notes, trimmed by the chocolate and pale malt combo of sticky sweetness and drying roast. Aroma strength is medium-high, with no alcohol apparent and less yeast character than seen in Six-Point’s paler beers, no doubt due to the darker malts being used.
Sticky-sweetness is present, from the start, in the flavor, almost like a combo of gritty pale-malt sugars, cookie-like with hints of vanillla-flavored fudge and beads of molasses providing an off-setting bitterness and the defining stickiness. But soft hop bitterness and light, ashen roast help pick apart this stickiness and the beer finishes balanced, and by no means too sweet. Some nuances of coffee beans emerge as it warms, with more a focus left on the main flavors of caramel and chocolate. The typical one-two punch of brilliant malt-extraction and proper attenuation are here again wonderfully represented. The body provides heft and thickness up front, but eases out to become drinkable and quenching as it finishes, never compromising on flavor, of which it has quite a bit. Yet again, I don’t find bittering hops to be in excess in the least, nor do the flavoring hops dominate the beer. Notably, roast does not build up to a palate fatiguing astringency as it is apt to do in many American porters. Alcohol is not evident. Carbonation is moderate. As far as criticism, there was just a bit too much of a chocolate syrupy-like sweetness that built up, slightly, as I finished my second pint.
All in all, this was a hell of a weekend for trying Six Point beers. Whether off the fermentor or tap at the brewery, and on tap at Burp Castle, all were in peak form.

Tap at Hop Devil Grill. Black beer with a thin tan head. Aroma is fantastic, caramel, toast and sweet milk chocolate. Malted milk balls. Some cherry/berry esters as well. Flavour is similar, dominated by bittersweet chocolate and toasted malt. Very subtle roastiness. Lingering chocolate and fruit on the finish. Good beer.