22 oz. bomber, $5 at Lemon Tree, I poured some in my tulip and let it sit a minute, and caught a nice toasty malty smell riding in a blanket of Centennials, the mildest and sometimes therefore tastiest of the 3C’s. Brownish black in the glass, kicks up a big tan head with rockiness peeking over the edge. Taste is the right mix of schwarzbier black malts, just a little bit roasty. A slight orange citrus note in the hops, otherwise a mostly English bitter profile. Alcohol stays out of the way, making this a really balanced mix of IPA and black malt.

Bomber from Beer Run in Charlottesville, VA, opened 6/17/11. Pours a very dark brown color with a medium sized brown head. Decent head retention and lacing. Aroma of citrus hops, caramel and a faint bit of roastiness. The taste is citrus hops, roasted malts, chocolate. Medium bodied.

Bomber. Anticipation is always high with a new Black IPA and as I pour this I find myself thinking that the body looks thin. Sure, it’s black-ish and sports a small head, but it looks watery. First sniff reveals a sad lack of dry hopping... it has a kind of washed out chocolate aroma, but that’s about it. Flavor is similarly disappointing. It’s might be a slightly hopped black beer... but not a black IPA in my book. More like a schwartzbier that has had some poor quality Cascade hops dumped in early in the boil, only to have the brewer wander off, forgetting about late hop additions and dry hopping. The malt bill is watery, but holds peat, earth and chocolate. Late, late in the finish, I pick up some lemon peel and cat pee, which always makes me think of Cascades. It gets better as it warms and a little more hop quality comes out, losing a bit of the cat pee and substituting a little grapefruit rind, but it is still watery and a little off.

22 oz bottle. Pours very deep red with a light tan head. Pine and herbal hop aromas against a nutty, roasty malt background. Flavor has pine and citrus with roasted, smoky malts. Kind of tastes soggy, if that makes sense. Just doesn’t work out for me. Somewhat disappointing.

On tap. Poured black with a brown head that dissipated to a thin film around the edges. Aroma had notes of roasted malts, bitter dark chocolate and a bit of pine. Flavor began with roasted malts with it becoming more bitter as the chocolate and pine grew.

On tap at New Holland. Basically an IPA with chocolate malts and a roastier character. Poured a nearly opaque dark brown with a thin off-white head. Piney hops aroma with some toasty, chocolatey notes. Strong grapefruit and pine hops flavors with expected chocolate and roasted malt balance. Medium-bodied, decent complexity, bitter finish. Not a bad beer but I recommend the much superior Founders Black Rye for a similar, if more interesting, tasting experience.