7

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

On tap at the brewpub. Black with beige head. Moderate hoppiness, some fruit, pine, light roastiness, moderate bitterness in finish. Medium bodied.

8

Well balanced black ipa, very nice. Best of the current available draft beers.

8.1

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

3 May 2018. Bottle at Brouwbar, Ghent. Shared with Anke. Thanks to Benjamin & Jolien for putting it ready!
Pours cloudy jet black with a big, frothy, beige head; good lacing. The aroma contains roasted malt, walnut, roasted peanut, fondant, burnt caramel, espresso, grapefruit & raisin, some iron (but not disturbing). It tastes light malty sweet, a bit nutty and umami even, and light to medium roasted bitter with hints of dark chocolate, developing a very light (dark) fruity sour touch. Dry, toasty finish with a subtle hint of hoppy grapefruit, but overall malty, nutty & chocolatey. Medium body, creamy texture, soft carbonation. Very well-made and I applaud Brouwbar's decision for brewing this, as for the public it may be a good introduction to the style. I find it simply delicious.

7

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

The new Cascadian dark ale in this brewpub’s range, tasted from tap at their premises. Thick and moussy, creamy, pale yellowish beige head, tightly ‘papery’ lacing and stable, over a black beer with mahogany brown edges. Aroma of toasted walnuts, dry leather, tea bags, fondant chocolate, dried grapefruit peel, quite stong damp earth- (even manure-) and beef stock-like notes, blackberries, brown bread dough, bladderwort, caramel candy, black olives. Flavour kicks off with the ‘clean’, only mildly estery fruitiness other brews by Brouwbar have shown and which is appropriate for the intended style, hinting at dried figs and elderberries, soaked in beef broth-like umami. Medium carbonation, supple and slick, bit oily mouthfeel; very nutty and hard caramel candy-like maltiness with only a soft toasty bitterish edge but primarily sweetish, leading to a bittering finish with a firm dosis of floral, rooty, spicy hoppiness, yet the malt sweetness keeps lingering and some bready, powdery yeast effects also show up. A typical present day European attempt at this thoroughly western American style, I’d say, well-hopped but not well enough to balance out the caramel malt sweetness, and evidently lacking in New World aromatics – this needs a lot more piney and grapefruity hop fragrance. (Too) accessible example of the style, much like BBP’s Dark Sister to name one, but technically well made. Cheers to that Benjamin, looking forward to what’s next (and thanks for the sneak preview into that)!

7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Imported from my RateBeer account as Brouwbar BI07 Black IPA (by Brouwbar):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 15/20, MyTotalScore: 3.8/5

23/III/18 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent) - BB: n/a (2018-313)

Clear dark brown beer, small creamy beige head, pretty stable, adhesive, leaving nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: pretty roasted, slightly fruity, not very aromatic. MF: soft carbon, medium body, creamy texture. Taste: nice roasted flavours, some citrus notes, soft bitterness, pretty hoppy. Aftertaste: roasted, bit metallic, bit grassy, bitter hops, little watery, dry finish. Not really a black ipa, more like a dry Irish stout.