Bottled. Dark brown to black pour with a moderate head carbonation. Some pine scents, not too powerful mouthful.

Sampled in a horizontal tasting with the version from the West Coast. Nice clear brown coloured body with a thinnish tan head about a centimetre tall. Aroma of roasted malt, light caramel, light pine, grain, rye and a touch of nuts. Medium to Full-bodied; Strong hop flavour at first with a traditional cascade flavour, some more full-bodied roasty malt right behind with a good alcohol kick and a pleasant complex sugar finish with caramel and even some light chocolate. Aftertaste is rich and shows a great balance of hops and malt with a still pungent caramel kick that is noticeable throughout. Overall, a very nice beer and much better in quality than that of the West Coast version (I can’t believe I wrote that), but while non-traditional in terms of beer styles, this one holds up better to the standard than the West Coast to a ’normal’ IPA. This is one of the few horizontal tastings where it was actually worthwhile and showed some major differences, but also some similarities. Do it if you can find both and keep both around, but that might already be past possible. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Giant Food in Falls Church, Virginia on 03-April-2015 for US$1,99 sampled at home in Washington on 27-June-2015.

Draft. Dark brown color, almost black, medium off white head. Aroma of citrus, pine, subtle roast. Taste has grapefruit, chocolate, light pine. The combo works.

12 ounce bottles from mixed pack. Poured a dark cola brown color with a medium sized off-white, light tan head. Aroma was lots of citrus and chewy malt notes. Light tropical fruits. Flavor had a touch of chocolate, sweet malts, citrus, chewy. Pretty well balanced for a black IPA.

Devil’s Backbone bottle. Pours dark brown, small off-white head. Huge aromas of citrus, roasted malts, coffee. Tastes of citrus, pine, toffee.

Draft: Mild but distinct licorice aroma. Ruby black, medium tan head, nice lacing. Licorice and grapefruit. Medium body, easy carbonation. Lightly sweet, not very bitter. Good.

12 ounce bottle. Pours a clear dark brown with a large foamy tan head. Good head retention. Aroma of citrus hops, brown malts and a bit of chocolate. The taste is citrus, tropical hops, caramel, coconut, milk chocolate. Thin-medium bodied, well balanced, mild lingering fruity hops.