SDalkoholic (2444) - Linda Vista, California, USA - JAN 5, 2012Bottle from South Bay Liquor: Created a monstrous thick fluffy head up top while the liquid was an opaque brown color. The aroma is mild and smells soapy with a minor scent of hops in the background. The flavor is smooth and evenly divided between the lightly roasted malts and a minimal addition of hops that in the end comes across as a tame and timid black IPA recipe.
marcus (11150) - Sacramento, California, USA - DEC 21, 2011Bottle from Beer Revolution. Pours pitch black with a nice tan head and a citrus aroma. There is a smooth chocolate malt flavor with plenty of hop bitterness. Relatively balanced and tasty.
Hophead22 (2879) - Redlands, by way of Wisconsin,, California, USA - DEC 24, 201122oz bottle. Rating #7. Very dark pour, almost black, but more of an extremely dark brown. Thin head, beigein color with a bit of lacing. Roasted hop aroma, a little coffee maybe with some sweet touches here and there. Big aggressive bitterness up front from a mix of hops and roasted malts. Lingering bitter aftertaste, not a huge bite, but it has a faint lingering on the sides of the tongue at the back of my mouth. Tasty overall. (2065)
Anova167 (397) - Manhattan Beach, California, USA - FEB 7, 201222 oz bottle. Pours black with a nice thick off-white head with good retention. Aroma is mostly malt and could probably use another late addition or dry hop to help bring this forward. Flavor, though, is hop forward with a nice blend of different flavors. Finish is a little astringent, but this is a pretty nice Black IPA.
AmEricanbrew (7081) - Same Trailer, Different Park, Louisiana, USA - AUG 6, 2012deep brown color witht tan head. Pine, floral, caramel, mild plastic aromas. medium body with a smooth mouthfeel. Dry black malt, caramel flavors with pine, florals, nicely bitter finish--good
jgb9348 (6779) - Arlington (Pentagon City), Virginia, USA - OCT 23, 2012Deep dark brown coloured body with a thick, four centimetre tall tan head. Aroma of caramel, toffee, roasted malt, nuts, sour milk and a bit of light hops makes a nice balance. Medium-bodied; Assertive roasty malt flavours at first then shows some of the soured milk and quite a bit of toffee and caramelised sugars. Aftertaste has some light herbal and grassy hoppy flavours, but mostly the lactic and malty notes coming through. Overall, a decent Black IPA, but not amazing, and showing more of a porter type flavour than an IPA, but still, worth trying if you like either style and can find it! I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa, Mesa, California on 05-August-2012 for US$4.99 sampled at home in Washington on 23-October-2012.
Travlr (27307) - Charlotte, North Carolina, USA - DEC 29, 2013This is unretired, I guess. Bottle. Gusher. Muddy brown color, brown ice cream cone head. Aroma of pine, cocoa, coffee grounds. Taste is roasty bitter chocolate, very bitter finsih. OK.
BMan1113VR (7931) - Los Angeles, California, USA - DEC 29, 2011Bottle. Pours with a lightly hazed, very deep brown body with a large, khaki head with good lace and retention. Aromas are malty, crystal, brown sugar, light roast. Dusty chocolate. Some pine and citrus. Lightly spicy. Flavors are roasty, bitter, lightly spicy, a touch astringent. Pine, mild citrus. Lingering and lasting bitter. Lighter carbonation, chalky and dry.
slowrunner77 (13912) - Reno, Nevada, USA - SEP 26, 2014came across as a hybrid winter warmer/black ipa...coulda gone either way. the hops were subdued for a aba, but there, especially in the aftertaste. spicy hop aroma and flavor with significant roasted malts being the slightly more dominanat player. nice enough, especially the aroma."
DYCSoccer17 (3721) - Woodland, California, USA - MAR 15, 201222oz bottle purchased at Bel-Air in Woodland, Ca. The aroma is pretty faint and weak in terms of hops. Pretty herbal, with what appears to be mostly Chinook. Some light pineiness is also there. Cocoa aromas and modest roastiness is also present. Pretty weak on the hops. Mostly transparent cola-colored body with a small-medium light tan head. Starts a bit piney and herbal with PNW C-hops present. Mild astringency. Some thick, chewy, roasted, and midly burnt maltiness follows. Finishes with more aggressive, bitter, herbal hops. I get a good deal of Chinook in this. Not the most balanced or subtle beer in the world.