Speakeasy Butchertown Black Ale

Brewed by Speakeasy Ales and Lagers
Style: Black IPA
San Francisco, California USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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22oz bottle: Pours a barely transparent dark mahogany with a spotty-lacing light tan head. Has a fresh piney hoppy nose with some sweet toasty dark malts underneath. Starts with good fullness and lightly chewy dark caramel sweetness with a nice balance of resiny hops and a hint of chocolate before a bittersweet finish that hides the alcohol fairly well. Pretty true to style, but could use a slightly more citrusy hop profile for my tastes.

Grapefruit and dandelion bouquet. Clear garnet brown, slow building medium tan head. Grapefruit and bark flavor with hints of licorice from start to finish. a juicy IDA, nicely done.

Bottle. Black pour with a tall, foamy tan head. Strong citrus and floral hops mixed with roasted malt, coffee and dark chocolate. Taste is big citrus notes, floral hops, pine, chocolate mint, roasted malt, coffee, and hop resins. Body is medium with a soft, creamy carbonation and a slightly oily mouthfeel. Lingering bitterness throughout. Ends with more roasted malt, citrus, floral hops, herbal notes, chocolate, pine, light mint and coffee.

22oz bottle. Rating #17. Nice very dark red pour with a pretty big tan head. Aroma has a chocolate hop thing going on, very interesting and pretty nice too. Big hop bite, a bit of tropical fruit with a light chocolate roast. Nice beer. (2018)

22oz bottle. Pours a dark cola brown; thin, fine-bubbled light-tan head with solid lacing. Cocoa, dark chocolate, and caramel with plenty of citrus and mineral hop character. Medium body; medium-high carbonation; creamy dark chocolate and cocoa and vibrant, tongue-numbing citrus and mineral bitterness; toasty marshmallow note in there; building bitterness; nice stuff. Lasting, tongue-numbing citrus bitterness; balanced end.

Clear brown pour with good fair layer of khaki head. Foresty earthy piney old mellowed hop profile. Nose is fresher than the flavor. Malt and toast and biscuit undertone. Reminds of a ’cascading dark ale’ I’ve had before, which I find a little different than a black iPad. A little low on the carbonation. This was pretty damn good actually.

Whole Foods, P St, DC bomber ($7): Pours a near black with a creamy looking beige head. Aroma is a combination of citrusy hops, chocolate, and roasted malts. As advertised, this is a pretty light body. Also as advertised, this is heavier towards the IPA, with really pronounced hops doing work. The chcolate and porter notes are more in the background in this one, but do a good job accentuating the flavor profile. Good balance and a good job of alcohol coverage.

Bottle. Pours a dark garnet color with a medium beige head. Aroma of roasted malts and piney hops with a touch of caramel. Flavor is a nice balance between the roasted/caramel malts and citrusy hops. The alcohol is well hidden. Nice, clean, slightly bitter piney hop finish.

Light-looking in the glass, despite its dark hue. Both soapy-citrus and blackened malt aromas. Lots of flavor in the first sip and the last. Plenty of punch from the dry hops, and an easy palate to keep things lively. Perhaps a bit more alcohol than is totally necessary, but in this case I can’t complain too much. A very nice black ale.

Butchertown Black Sampled on 10/22/2011. This Black IPA pours a dark black color from a 22oz bottle. Small to medium sized beige foamy head with decent lacing and nice retention. The aroma is roasty malts, earthy and piney hops, caramel and semi–sweet. A medium bodied Black IPA. The malts are caramel, roasty and sweet. The hops are grapefruity and citrusy. Decent carbonation. Nice balance. Seem more like a hoppy black lager than a black IPA. It hides the alcohol very well. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.