Bottle sample at the 2nd Annual Top of the Hops Charlottesville, VA beer festival, 9/10/11. Pours nearly black with a thin brown head. Decent head retention. Aroma of chocolate, roasted malts and a bitter hop finish. The taste is bitter, earthy hops, roasted malts, chocolate and caramel. Medium bodied.

Draft @ DuClaw, Arundel Mills location. Pours a black color with a creamy off-white head. Has a roasted malty hoppy weak piney aroma. Roasted malty hoppy chocolate flavor with hints of licorice. Has a roasted malty chocolate finish with a hoppy bitter aftertaste.

Bottle at RBSG. Pours black. Tan head. Nose/taste of chocolate, smoked grassy hops, light citrus, bitter roasted coffee and black malts. Medium body.

Whole Foods Market, DC sixer ($10): Pours a black color with a small beige head. Aroma is chocolate and hops... yup yup mix of a porter and an IPA. In my opinion, the taste of this black IPA goes more to the direction of the porter or at least the front of it is more porter dominant and the finish and aftertaste starts to let the IPA flavors through. I don’t know if the flavors are really well-balanced with each other, because it feels like you are really mixing two beers together somewhat ad hoc. Not the best Black IPA I’ve had.

12oz bottle pours a fairly opaque black with a thin, beige head. Really nice aroma, fruity, peaches, grapefruit, lemons, floral, honey. Flavor holds the black malts, lightly roasty, light nuts, bread, but more sweetness, honey, flower pollen, a little licorice, a little coffee, a little earthy pine tar. Full bodied, dry finish. Very nice. It’s got a good IPA nose and a solid porter body which is almost exactly what you want from the style.