R.J. Rockers Black Perle

20100515 Sampled at PilsnerPeter’s 2nd Annual Spring Gathering. Bomber from Honeygo. Surprisingly and probably unnecessarily big beer if they’re going to call it an IPA, but whatever it was plenty decent, nice and roasty, pretty sweet throughout but finishing hot and alcohol dry. Some lingering resinous bitterness.

Malty with a slight citrus bitterness to it. Enough hops to grab my attention but it strikes me as more of a barley wine than a DIPA. Still, it was a good beer from start to finish. Wouldn’t mind going another round with it.

Once again, this Black IPA style does little for me. It doesn’t taste like an IPA. Malty and dark. More of a malt bomb. I pass.

Pours a nice amber brown color with almost no head. Aroma is roast, chocolate, caramel, floral, and some spice. Flavor is caramel, some roast, chocolate, and a bitter spicy finish.

Bottle, RBWG 2010. Pours a clear dark brown body with a minimal large bubbled brown head. Chocolaty and roasty nose with bright citrusy hops. The flavor balances the citrusy hops with the slight coffee, roast, and burnt caramel notes really well. Medium bodied with a nice sticky hop finish. Pretty nice, I dig these black IPAs. A nice breakfast beer to open up my RBWG.

Bottle at Pilsner Pete’s RBSG. Pours mostly clear dark brown. Nose and taste of roasted malts, citrus, bitter hops and coffee grounds.

Near solid black, foamy light tan head. Aroma is floral, citrus, roasty. Taste is bitter up front with lots of malt and some bitter coffee flavor. Texture is creamy, finishes bitter. Medium body.

Bomber poured a clear dark brown with a lingering ring of tan foam. Aromas of roasted malt, bakers cocoa, carmel, coffee, grapefruit, pine and earthiness. Palate was medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of roasted malt, bakers cocoa, carmel, pine, grapefruit and earthiness with a smooth dry lingering bitter finish.

bomber from Oasis. Pours a super dark brown with no head. Carbonation is visibly low. It looks nearly flat. The aroma is not hoppy in the slightest. Malt is in full effect in a roasty, chocolatey fashion. Sweet fruity hints peek out a little, but try as I may, there is no hop aroma to speak of. The palate is very flat, but the malt forward, roasty palate doesn’t suffer too badly from it. Dry notes of espresso, earth, licorice, fig and some wooden complexity make up the flavor. There are tamer sweet notes that keep this from being overly dry. I’ll tell you what: I don’t know what to make of this brew. I initially was expecting a black IPA, but then I remembered it was R.J. Rockers so they wouldn’t do anything too hoppy. Now I’m solidly convinced this is a porter, maybe a stout. There is so much roasty, chocolatey flavor here and no standout hop qualities to speak of. We’ve got a porter, my friends. This is in no way, shape or form a double IPA. A hoppier than average porter. . .perhaps. I will attempt to score this purely on how much I enjoyed it without regard to what the label claims it is.

Sampled at RBWG 2010. The aroma is old ale and oxidized homebrew. The flavor is very bitter but not much hop flavor, just kinda disappointing.