Black Sands Brewing Company Reviews

joe19612	3.3 Black Sands Dark Side of the Malt Tap. Pours a black colour with a tight beige head, plenty of roast malt with hints coffee and chocolate in the aroma, the taste is medium bitterness with a dry bitter malt finish. Saturday, March 30, 2024
TrappistRates36	3.8 Black Sands Corrido 440 ml can included in Beer Jerks advent calendar ( $ 240 for 24 Xmas beers ) : Light Straw-yellow colour , foam settles quickly to a tiny head ... aroma is a mango smashed into the face ! Fragrant fresh mango aroma ... palate is dominated by a lime taste , and a good burn of chili in the back of the throat , the mango is still there but hiding from the chilis , far enough too ... a great little beer , refreshing on a 32°c summer day : Yum ! Saturday, January 20, 2024
joe19612	3.2 Black Sands NZ Pale Can. Pours a dark gold colour with a tight white head, plenty of hops especially citrus in the aroma with hints of pine, the taste is medium bitterness with a dry bitter finish. Sunday, January 14, 2024
TrappistRates36	3.4 Black Sands APA $ 8.40 for 500 ml bottle from Beer Cellars online : Avalanche of foam upon cracking bottle cap , beer pours a rich amber colour ... mild aroma , some citrus , resiny smell ... foamy in mouth , good quaffing beer , very bitter , salivatingly tingly , good malt , hops understated . Thursday, January 11, 2024
TrappistRates36	4 Black Sands IPA $ 8.50 for 500 ml bottle from Beer Cellars online : Awesome looking beer , deep orange-gold colour , good beads rising , nice head ... peachy-passionfruity aroma ... delicious natural unfiltered beer , rich peachy taste / rock melons , some sourness , bitter & balanced . Wednesday, January 10, 2024
TrappistRates36	3.7 Black Sands Double IPA $ 10.99 for 440 ml can from Henry's , Wakatipu : Orange colour , hazy , good head ... feijoas aroma ... pine resiny taste , green grapes flavour , balanced , like it . Wednesday, January 10, 2024
joe19612	3.3 Black Sands Forbidden Tap. Pours a black colour with a tight beige head, light hop aroma with hints of malt, the taste is medium bitterness and fruity with a dry bitter finish. Tuesday, December 19, 2023
mountdad	3.3 Black Sands Hazy Pale Ale 440ml can. Pours an opaque hazy mid gold with a foamy white head that fades fast. Aroma is mid hops. Beer is medium weight, with a light/mid malt base, lots of fizz, a hint of sweetness & decent hops & bitterness. Not a huge, chewy hazy and so yeah,sort of sessionable. Also a lot like a lot of other hazy pale ales & IPAs. Friday, September 1, 2023
mountdad	3.4 Black Sands Pilsener 330ml can. Pours a pale near clear gold with a small white head. Aroma is very mild with slight herb & bit of hops. Beer is medium bodied with solid mid malt base, decent bitterness & good hop flavours. Slight sweetness, not a bad pils. Friday, September 1, 2023
mountdad	2.5 Black Sands Latest Squeeze 440ml can. Pours a hazy pale yellow with a small white head. Aroma is mild tropical IPA. Beer is light for ABV with little bitterness, moderate hops but not the fruity tropical salad I was expecting. Pineapple is not that strong either. Average hazy IPA. Sunday, June 19, 2022
joe19612	3.2 Black Sands APA Bottle. Pours a light gold colour with a thin white head, tropical fruit in the aroma, the taste is medium bitterness and fruity with a dry bitter finish. Sunday, February 9, 2020
DylansDad	4.7 Black Sands APA Aroma is relatively restrained and shows mainly stonefruit. Malt and light pine needles also come through. Taste is peach, peach stone, dominating (in a restrained way) hints of orange, lemon, marmalade, black pepper comes through. Slight mineral, maybe chalk in a really complementary way. Body is soft yet firm enough that there are no hollow spots. Every sip from beginning to end is solid, consistent and delicious. Granted, I drank this when I needed it most after basketball on a hot humid day, but it turned out to be the perfect beer for me at the time. Friday, January 24, 2020
joe19612	3.3 Black Sands Pacific Pale Ale Bottle. Pours a dark gold colour with a tight white head, plenty of fruit especially orange in the aroma, the taste is medium bitterness and fruity with a dry bitter finish. Sunday, January 19, 2020
DylansDad	3.6 Black Sands NZ Pale Aroma at first is blackberry and cucumber on malt this soon settles to stonefruit jam. Taste is stonefruit, scoria, hints of pine and then lemon comes in. Very nice. Tuesday, December 10, 2019
explosivedog	3.3 Black Sands APA On tap at Westshore Beach Inn. Pours orange. Peach, biscuit, touch sharp, pear, grapefruit, caramel and a little bite in the finish. Medium body. Fine. Monday, April 8, 2019
DylansDad	3.7 Black Sands Double IPA Intense blast of juicy tropical fruit and floral arom, this settles to a woody, earthy smell with peach, caramel, pine nd pithy grapefruit bitterness. Taste is same with a bit of lemon/lime and fresh grass. Monday, December 24, 2018
explosivedog	3.8 Black Sands Milk Stout GABS Auckland 2018. Pours black. Milk chocolate, bit of coffee, touch of roast, bit of caramel biscuit stuff. Fairly typical sweet stout. Decent. Sunday, July 1, 2018
explosivedog	3.9 Black Sands Double IPA GABS Auckland 2018. Pours gold yellow. Grapefruit, peach, caramel, lemon, beautiful bittersweet finish. Good body. Nice. Sunday, July 1, 2018
explosivedog	3 Black Sands Honey Cream Ale GABS Auckland 2018. Pours gold. Floral, honey, sulphur, acidic, bit of a twang at the end. Bit thin. Not my favourite style. Sunday, July 1, 2018
explosivedog	3.7 Black Sands Waitakere Daiquiri GABS Auckland 2018. Pours black. Bourbon, nuts, herbal, toast, vanilla. Medium body. Good. Sunday, July 1, 2018
Skarecrow	4.1 Black Sands NZ Pale 500ml bottle Amber brown with decent head. Biscuit malt and stone fruit hop aroma. Malty palate with light hop taste. Good one. Sunday, May 6, 2018
Skarecrow	3.5 Black Sands Browns Bay Tea Party 500ml bottle Hazy light amber with good head. Malty aroma with slight woody/grassy notes. Quite harsh initial bitterness with malty palate and a slightly dry tannic aftertaste. Not bad. Saturday, February 10, 2018
explosivedog	3.4 Black Sands Browns Bay Tea Party 500ml bottle. Pours orange with a fluffy white head. Nutty, peach, apple, vanilla. Definitely plenty of that rooibos, which is fun. Not super clean, but nice and certainly inventive. Friday, January 12, 2018
explosivedog	2.8 Black Sands Pacific Red Ale 500ml bottle. Pours deep red with a nice pillowy head. Orange, caramel, plum, little liquorice, touch of smoke, plenty of bread and a slightly stale toasty thing. Quite thin. Not the best red ale I've had. Friday, January 12, 2018
Pdubyah	3.2 Black Sands Pacific Red Ale Rich malty aroma. Nice looking beer of dark orange red, but with little head. Not as full in the mouthfeel as you might expect from the malt aroma that might have led to to believe it was going to be 'stronger' there. Bitterness is low in the curve and almost annoying, finish is ok but could be stronger. Thursday, January 4, 2018
explosivedog	3.4 Black Sands NZ Pale On tap at Flight 605. Pours orange brown. Peach, biscuit, grapefruit, lemon. Medium body. Decent. Thursday, November 9, 2017
tombutlin	3.5 Black Sands Pilsener Good for a pilsener. Citrusy & thankfully no sulphurous waft (unlike most pils). To notch for a session watching the cricket Friday, October 13, 2017
tombutlin	4.2 Black Sands APA This is an absolute go-to for me. Complex, balanced and near perfect. All the flavour & aroma (pine & citrus leaping over each other like gambolling dogs on the beach), with a not-too-heavy body and a perfect 5.5% ABV Thursday, September 28, 2017
beer-yum	3.5 Black Sands Stout Restrained citrus aroma in a black pour. Laid back hop forward balance with a tasty malt body and a hint of licorice before a clean bitter finish. A nice example of a style that can be hard to do well. Saturday, September 16, 2017
explosivedog	3.5 Black Sands Stout On tap at the Beer Spot. Pours black. Little smoke, orange, pine, lots of toast. Full body. Nice. Saturday, June 10, 2017
DraftMeister58	4.7 Black Sands Stout New Zealand made Cascadian dark ale has a spicy citrus nose underpinned by roasting coffee. A marriage of dark malts and New World hops that works surprisingly well. My favourite beer from this brewery. Thursday, April 6, 2017
DraftMeister58	4.7 Black Sands IPA Everything a New World IPA should be but without the overpowering Sauvin that most New Zealand IPAs are packed with. It has a little Sauvin, just enough to hint of gooseberries but not so much that it smells like baby vomit. Overall, an easy drinking IPA with a distinctive floral citrus taste. Thursday, April 6, 2017
Skarecrow	3.7 Black Sands Pilsener 500ml bottle from West Liquor. Hazy golden color with good head. Grainy aroma with slight hop note. Slight malt palate with medium bitterness which lingers and a crisp refreshing finish. Not bad at all. Friday, March 31, 2017
Skarecrow	3.9 Black Sands APA 500ml bottle from West Liquor. Huge head with hazy amber color. Aroma is citrus and stone-fruit - orange, grapefruit, nectarine and peach. Medium hop bitterness with notes of pine resin, juicy fruit and a smooth finish. Good. Sunday, March 12, 2017
tombutlin	3.9 Black Sands Pacific Pale Ale Not too malty or sweet. Fruit & tropical with a hint of pine. Beautiful balance and clean finish Wednesday, March 8, 2017
tombutlin	4.2 Black Sands Stout Can’t believe I’ve reached past this to grab the (very good) Black Sands Pale Ale for so many years without giving this a crack. The nose is lemon & lime (especially a lemon merangue pie, delivered to us on a beach in Mexico on Christmas Day 1997. But I digress). Nice licorice as well. Beautiful rich but not overpowering body. Excellent beer Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Skarecrow	4 Black Sands Pacific Pale Ale 500ml bottle Hazy golden amber with ok head. Aroma is grapefruit, peach and a little pine resin. Medium bitterness with nice malt/hop palate and finish. Most refreshing. Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Hoponmate	3.4 Black Sands Pacific Red Ale On draught. Beer is sweet malt forward a nice bitterness before settling into a pleasent sweet cleansing finish. Wednesday, January 4, 2017
User369532	2 Black Sands IPA Bottle. Orange color, cloudy liquid, white head. Aroma of caramel, vegetables. Not very good. Saturday, December 24, 2016
Skarecrow	3 Black Sands IPA 500ml bottle BB 12/9/17 Hazy light amber with good head. Aroma is citrus - grapefruit, orange with added pine resin. Bitterness is mild but lingers at the back palate. The middle is disappointing - quite thin for an IPA so the hops have to carry it. OK but I’ve had better. Thursday, October 27, 2016
Skarecrow	3.1 Black Sands Pacific Red Ale 500ml bottle BB 3/5/2017 Aroma - malty, hoppy but nothing over apparent. Poured dark red brown with minimal head. Mild bitterness is followed by hoppy notes but a bit thin on the finish. For a Red ale, I was expecting a bit more oomph at the back end. Nice enough. Friday, July 15, 2016
Skarecrow	3.4 Black Sands Stout 500ml bottle Spicy malt, citrus hop and sweet biscuit aromas with hints of aniseed and liquorice. Poured dark brown/black with rich tan head. Good bitterness which drops away to a clean hoppy finish. Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Pdubyah	3.2 Black Sands IPA Very hazy orange pour. Sharply bitter and with dryness at the tip and lips and not and the back of the palate, which I though was odd, or I’m not well. Lots of citrus aroma and tastes, I thought lime, then orange mostly. Very pleasant and enjoyable beer. Thursday, May 19, 2016
JCNZ	4.1 Black Sands IPA Excellent hop aroma balanced by complex maltinesss. Nice long smooth afterbitterness. Hazy to look at but bottle conditioned. A bit of a treat Sunday, October 18, 2015
tombutlin	3.8 Black Sands IPA This was one of the best beers I have ever tasted, a perfect balance of bitter and exotic, with resin and herbs, but without any single dominating scent, which makes it smooth but not exceptional - and I mean that in a good way. Slightly cloudy, but I like that as it promises to be a brewer’s beer and not a marketer’s beer. Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Clarkro	3 Black Sands Pilsener Tuesday, September 8, 2015
tombutlin	3.7 Black Sands Pacific Red Ale First impression was the low carbonation and small head, then a rich red and slightly cloudy body. Medium aroma, with quite an earthy promise of natural flavour to follow. It felt like a real home brew, made with passion and instinct rather than a careful recipe. Enjoyable and I’ll have to try it again Monday, June 29, 2015
Jimthechap	3.1 Black Sands Pacific Red Ale Red ale. Red ale it says on the label.. This is quite a few degrees beyond red to the point I cam barely see my hand on the other side. I must be a bit tired at present because this bordering on being a bit sloppy. I do like that it has good clarity and the head was beautiful while it lasted. The aromas are subtle with redwood, crisp amber malts and burnt toffee which comes through in the flavour. There’s a twinge of bitterness that comes with that toffee note but it’s a mellow sweetness that lingers with flavours of red berries and ripening plums. I liked this more than my crotchety intro, really. Thursday, May 28, 2015
Jimthechap	3.1 Black Sands IPA It’s a lovely colour but hazy... So hazy. There is a partial covering of white head and toward the top of the body there is evidence of plentiful carbonation. The aroma is of ripe stone fruit, blood oranges and some resinous redwood. The flavour is much the same with a dash of sweetness and maybe a twist of resin bitterness. Lasting flavours of nectarine and peaches. Not a bad nudge but so, so hazy. Thursday, May 28, 2015
Jimthechap	2.6 Black Sands Pilsener To be fair I expected more. Hazy golden colour with clean white head and pin-prick carbonation. The aroma is an amorphous pilsner malt and dry herb affair with similar results in the flavour. Some pilsner bitterness lingers but I was a little disappointed. It wasn’t clean and punchy and the Motueka hops didn’t exactly shine until the very end. Maybe I’m being a little unfair as the finish is reminiscent of orange skinned apples. Hmm. Thursday, May 28, 2015