The Civil Life Black Ale

Brewed by The Civil Life Brewing Company
Style: Black IPA
St. Louis, Missouri USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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I did a side by side shared tasting of the black lager, black ale, and dunkel at the brew pub, each of which were quite similar, but displayed enough distinction to make for a interesting exercise of the palate. I thought I’d post combined comments of all three for each. Visually, the dunkel is a dark brown with a reddish tinge, a bit of a challenge to discern from the black hues of the black lager and ale. The ale and lager can be distinguished only by a half shade of tan in the head. Flavor and aroma-wise, the dunkel carries a traditional chalky, roasted dunkel character, enjoyable enough on a cold afternoon. The black ale and lager are a bit harder to differentiate -- both with a chocolate malt base, and smooth mouthfeel. The lager has that clear "lagery-ness" to it, finishing with a grassy maltiness, whereas the ale ends with a subtle bitterness that even the less seasoned amongst us could call out. In the end, the ale was the favored pick among sturdy small batch brews. (#4496, 2/25/2012)

Sampled at Schlafly Fresh Hop fest - I think this ended up being my fave at the fest. Pours dark brown with a tan head. The aroma has roasty cocoa, light nuttiness, some spice, caramel and cream. Medium smooth body with soft carbonation. The flavor starts with chocolate, nuts, caramel,spice and an overall smoothness. The finish adds a bit of spice. For being at a fresh hop fest this sure didn’t showcase hops, but that didn’t take this down any notches.

It poured a dark brown color with a tan head. The aroma was resiny dryiness with a little bitterness. The flavor was roasty and dry with nice piney bitterness and some floral flavors. Solid drinkability. A really nice Black IPA.

Draft at schlaflys fresh hop festival. Pours brown with a tan head. Aroma is roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate and a hint of citrus. Flavor is roasted malts, dark chocolate, molasses and a subtle hint of coffee. The hops are not very evident in this beer. Almost a perfect balance.

Draft at the 2011 Fresh Hop Festival at Schlafly Bottleworks. Pours a near-opaque dark brown color with a small tan head that rides the beer all the way down. Big roasty aroma, with roasted malts, dark chocolate, toasted brown sugar, molasses, rye, and just a little bit of citrus underneath it all. The flavor follows suit, with way more roastiness than citrus. The Sorachi Ace hops aren’t all that evident but serve the beer well. Medium-bodied, with a roasty mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Nice, one of my favorites of the festival.