Dark Depths
Samuel Adams in Boston, Massachusetts, United States 🇺🇸
IPA - Black / Cascadian Dark Rotating|
Score
7.06
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Another entry into Sam Adams Small Batch Series – Dark Depths. Depths is a IPA or a hoppy porter brewed with a lager yeast for an interesting mesh of styles.
Across the cold and brackish waters of the Baltic, the English Porter was transferred, from a mild ale to a dark and complex lager that confounds definition. Immersed in dark, roasted malts and a bold citrus hop character, these big and contrasting flavors are brought together with the smoothness of a lager for a brew that’s bold, mysterious, and full of flavor.
Across the cold and brackish waters of the Baltic, the English Porter was transferred, from a mild ale to a dark and complex lager that confounds definition. Immersed in dark, roasted malts and a bold citrus hop character, these big and contrasting flavors are brought together with the smoothness of a lager for a brew that’s bold, mysterious, and full of flavor.
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6.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottle: Poured a deep dark brown with red edges, head was two finger creamy off white to tan. Aroma seems very malty and roasted. Taste is sweet roasted malt with some metallic hops.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Jul 2012
at 18:59
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
12 ounce bottle. Mahogany reddish brown color topped by a rocky beige head. Rich burnt caramel malt nosehints at baked brown bread. Toffee-ish roasted malt flavor upfront with citrus hops in the midtaste. Well balanced and full of flavor. Very good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Jul 2012
at 18:22
6.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
12 ounce bottle from hop mix pack - pour is dark ruby, with a soapy, clingy lace - nose is of moderately rich maltiness, caramel, light esters, moderate roast - relatively low hop profile on the nose for a black IPA, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing - fairly smooth - medium bodied - the approach has the malt profile and sweetness of a Baltic porter - some vanilla and light esters - some roast and char through the middle - some floral and fruity hops on the tail end that work relatively well with the roast - not really a black IPA, but pretty decent.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Jun 2012
at 20:59
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
12 oz draft at Martin City Brewing Company in Martin City, Missouri. The pour is a lightly hazed brown copper with a tan head. The aroma is bright pine and orange citrus hop, some nut, and vanilla sweetness. The taste is the pine hops and the vanilla sweetness. There is a bit of sharpness to the malt, though it does finish pretty clean. The palate is light to medium bodied, active carbonation. Decent interpretation of the style.
Tried
from Draft
on 11 Jun 2012
at 08:34
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle. Deep barely translucent garnet body, thick, puffy light brown head. Citrusy, salty, leathery nose with chocolate and hints of pine and yeast. Bitter body with citrus rind, pine, chocolate, and berries, roasty, sharp, and prickly. Medium-bodied with a dense flavor profile, a bit chewy in the middle with toffee and brown sugar. Pretty good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Jun 2012
at 19:25
8/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
22oz bottle-pours black with a big cascading light brown head that laces. Aroma is pine/resin, dark malt-roasty. Taste is sweet resin/pine/citrus hops, dark malt-ashy/roasty. The biting ash fades at cellar temp and becomes more enjoyable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 May 2012
at 06:30
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
12oz bottle. Unfiltered brown-black, steady creamy beige head. Oily hop aroma, burnt chocolate. Pretty much a Baltic Porter meets a Black IPA, pretty well done. Big chewy caramel and chocolate tones, respectable pine/citrus hop backbone. Above par for Sam Adams, this is a well-executed beer. Amped up Schwarzbier, this is waaaay better than most authentic Baltic Porters. Bold, really well done.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 May 2012
at 20:34
7.9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
If nothing else, Dark Depths looks amazing, making for a truly beautiful pint. The head is beige and frothy and huge, and leaves ample lacing as the beer quickly disappears. So now it’s time to go out on a limb, to risk it all in the face of ultimate beer snobbery, but Sam Adams has made a good beer. A really good beer. A solid, dare I say it, delicious beer. I’d describe this beer as a wonderful Porter, though, with nary any IPA qualities in sight. Sam Adams has some damn fine marketing folks, though, so trendy IPA it is! Still, it’s dark and roasted with a noticeable lager fruitiness, yet the hopping rounds out the finish before the brew can grow cloy. Really. This beer is shockingly good.
Tried
from Can
on 27 May 2012
at 17:41
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Pours deep amber-brown with a large tan head with good staying power and lacing. aroma of grapefruit, roasted malts, grass. Taste is dominated by roasted malts and citrus hops, with notes of caramel and chocolate. Bitter finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 May 2012
at 12:53
8.4/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Bomber. Aroma is more hoppy than roasty. There’s some caramel in here to go along with the citrusy notes. Also some bread. Pours black with ruby red highlights and a medium collapsing beige head; falls into a blanket of foam after a few minutes; nice lacework sheets the glass. Taste is sweet, roasty, a touch sour and finishes bitter. Flavors of anise and molasses come out as it warms. Creamy mouthfeel with a medium-full body. A strange beer that doesn’t know what it is. Is it a black IPA or an extra hoppy baltic porter? It borrows from both styles equally. This is unique and quite tasty.
Tried
on 03 May 2012
at 19:41