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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6.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Bottle. Deep brown body with red highlights. Huge frothy head, most lasting. Aroma of sweet dark chocolate, roasted grain, apricot, caramel, roasted grain. Hint of prunes. The flavor is moderately sweet and moderately bitter. It finishes lightly sweet and moderately to heavily bitter. Medium body, creamy texture, lively carbonation. Aroma leans toward malts, but flavor is mostly hop bitterness. Bitter coffee taste and hot alcohol linger into the finish. For my taste, any depth these black IPAs and baltic IPAs may display are overrun by clashing roasted malts and hops.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Apr 2012
at 14:31
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Half liter bottle pours murky dark chocolate in color with tall mocha head leaving behind plenty of spotty lacing. The aroma is sweet with malts and semi sweet prunes as well as dusty malt balls and bold and earthy chocolate goodness. A few additional whiffs bring up molasses covered blueberries. Pretty cool. The taste is pretty thick and rich bringing up roasted malts, dates and bitter pine resiny notes to start. It then picks up additional notes of blueberry like sweet esteriness, chocolate and molasses. Into the finish the pine like resiny hops poke their head above the rest of the flavors and take this into a moderately bitter finish with plenty of roasted malts, earthiness, wet tobacco leaves and chocolate and dark fruity esters too. Very interesting and darn tasty. I dig it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Apr 2012
at 19:48
9/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Pine, charcoal, and licorice aromas in deliciously equal proportions and strengths. Cola brown, thick beige head, nice lacing. Full body. Pine and licorice flavor, charred oak, intense. Lasting bitter charcoal finish. Outstandingly bold and delicious beer. Almost too heavy to be an IDA, but it’s so tasty.
Tried
on 06 Apr 2012
at 14:18
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
what is this, a 500ml bottle? Eh, whatever it is - drank the whole thing. Poured a dark brown color, with a medium sized tan head. Aroma was darkened malts, with a touch of citrus malts. Pretty good, creamy porter, with plenty of hops. On a side note (not affecting my rating of the beer), I’m not sure I like the dilution of the styles - this was just seemed like a real hopped up porter to me, not a "Baltic IPA" or whatever they call it.
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 Mar 2012
at 19:32
7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Back of the label states “ Batch 1 “ Beer is dark brown with deep ruby highlights, big tan head. Nice retention, some lacing with moderate carbonation. Aroma is mildly hoppy, a little pine, mostly noble hops. Flavor has roasted malts throughout with a bit of bitter chocolate and is backed by a nice fresh grass/pine hop notes. Citrus notes in the finish. Is this the biggest, boldest, most hoppy black IPA / porter you will ever drink, no BUT it is a nice way to introduce a different style to the masses. ( or a buddy who is just starting in craft brew) Really blurs the lines of a style. Interesting and a real easy drinker for me. I love what Mr. Koch has been doing the last few years, well done Sir!
Tried
on 28 Mar 2012
at 17:21
7.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Dark mahogony beer with a light brown head. Grapefruit and light pine aroma. Light chocolate and grapefruit flavor with light pine and light darker malts. Medium bodied. Light chocolate and toffee lingers with grapefruit and light pine.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Mar 2012
at 12:35
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Pour is a black with a large tan head. Aroma is a nice fresh piney hop with a little roasted malt in there. Flavor is more of the roasted malt aspect. Hops play a minor roll here but the roasted malts make up for lack of hops in the flavor. A very roasted and burnt malt lay on the tounge. More baltic porter than IPA but still has a decent hoppy backbone to make this one a soild pick up.
Tried
on 24 Mar 2012
at 16:37
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
24 ounce bottle from Bottle Revolution in Raleigh. Pours a clear very dark brown color with a large brown foamy head. Good head retention. Aroma of big citrus hops, roast and chocolate. The taste is huge citrus and leafy hops with a chocolate malt finish. Medium bodied. I’m liking this one quite a bit.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Mar 2012
at 20:47
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Pours a wan brown color, almost the color of mud, with a smallish head. Aroma of malt and roasted grain. Some citrus and pine hops flavor, mixed together with the malt and the roast grain. Almost some burnt toast in the mix there at times. Not my favorite black IPA, but worth a try.
Tried
on 21 Mar 2012
at 14:37