Poured into an English pint glass, the appearance was a rich dark black color with a sustaining finger’s worth of off white foamy head. Damn, the head doesn’t seem to want to dissipate. It must have hung there for a good 4 minutes before wanting to die at all. Semi-thick foamy lace does cling nicely.
The aroma takes on huge bittersweet pine, thick sprucy/coniferous bitter hops. Dark roasted coffee bean arranges nicely underneath. Subtle dark chocolate further underneath.
The flavor leads with the bittersweet sprucy/coniferous hops. Cocoa to coffee bean bitterness strolls right on in, fairly dry and bitter. Dry roasty to sprucy aftertaste leading into the finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a crisp drying sprucy/piney gripping bitter harshness.
Overall, not a brown ale, but a black IPA, as it even brings that palate wrecking capability normally associated with the style. I would have again as a black IPA.