@ kelk thnx to dad / jeroen Pours dark murkey brown no sign of carbo Smells boozy , hoppy . Taste is extremely bitter , but only in the back . Malty feel too , some dark malts . Bit sweet . Interesting , but too weak in complexity , and too boozy

Bottled, thanks fiulijn! Viscous, near black, no head. Aroma of calvados and licorice. Sweet and massive bodied with thick, oily mouthfeel. Molasses, licorice whiskey and white pepper. Really boozy finish.

Glass, 4-ounce, from a bottle, during the Mondial de la bière, savoured on May 29 2013; eye: black, opaque, no effervescence, no head; nose: woody, hops, alcohol, malt, intense, pepper; mouth: woody, hops, alcohol, malt, intense, pepper, alcohol warmth, woody finale with presence of alcohol, full body, below-average carbonation, mildly sweet, alcoholic and harsh texture; overall: fine FRANÇAIS Verre, 4 onces, d’une bouteille, bue lors du Mondial de la bière, savourée le 29 mai 2013; œil : noire, opaque, pas d’effervescence, pas de mousse; nez : boisé, houblon, alcool, malt, intense, poivre; bouche : boisé, houblon, alcool, malt, intense, poivre, chaleur d’alcool, finale boisée avec présence d’alcool, corsée, carbonatation sous la moyenne, moyennement sucrée, texture alcoolique et rugueuse; en résumé : bien

Bottle at the Deanso’s monthly RB tasting, July 2013. Poured a clear chesnut brown with no head and no carbonation at all. The aroma is pure rich alcohol. This is not black and its no IPA. It’s more like a regular cognac to be honest. This really is 24% or more. It’s not a beer IMO and hard to rate. Interesting to taste in very small quantities. I could not drink a whole bottle!

Bottle shared at Dean’s sticky table tasting. Pours hazy brown with no head. Aroma is really boozy, raisins, alcohol, like a bad gin, nothing like a black ipa! Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet. Thick burning mouthfeel. Medium bodied with flat carbonation. Pretty bad.

sample at Dean’s Monthly Den Haag tasting courtesy of Kermis. Not black and not an IPA: Clear alcohol aroma. Looks and tastes like a liquer. alcohol burn.

Clear black colour, no head. Malty aroma, caramel, lots of alcohol. Alcoholic flavour, liquorice, quite sweet, roasted malts, bitter notes. Finish liquorice, roasted malts, hops and alcohol.
(From 75cL bottle @ RBBWG II, Wilrijk 2013. Courtesy of 77ships. Thanks Eugene!)

33cl bottle sample @ RBBWG 2013, courtesy of 77ships. Brune foncée, avec pas de col. Bière atypique, qui ne veut pas dire grand chose si je me base sur mon expérience, hasardeuse, des bières Fleurac. Je m’attendais au pire, et donc au final, je retrouve une bière sympa à déguster. Le tout est assez plat avec un alcool qui est en évidence mais sans pour cela gâcher le tout (à la Brewdog); ce qui ne veut pas non plus dire que on est devant une perle. Notes subtiles de malt chocolaté, caramel et une fine amertume houblonnée venant juste en retrait. J’aimerai revoir la même version mais avec un alcool plus digne d’une Black IPA, soit 7-8%. Reste agréable en petite quantité.

Sampled from bottle @ RBBWG 2013. Black color, small light brown head. Smell malts, lightly roasted malts, lots of alcohol and liquor. Taste has malts but mainly alcohol. Really strong and over the top. Besides the alcohol there’s not much there. So, bad attempt at a black IPA if that was intended, not a very good attempt at a high ABV-beer, but it could be a start to a better, if not a good strong beer. Some work to do though.