Noonan Black IPA
Smuttynose Brewing Company in Hampton, New Hampshire, United States 🇺🇸
IPA - Black / Cascadian Dark Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.09
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Black IPA doesn’t quite seem to make sense, does it? How can something that’s black also be described as pale? Noonan is our interpretation of a New England original, the Black IPA. Dark like a porter, but hoppy like an IPA, this seemingly contradictory beer style originated in 1994, in Burlington, Vermont by brewer Glenn Walters and under the watchful eye of Greg Noonan. Greg was many things, a brewing pioneer and author, founder of three brewpubs, 2005 Russell Scherer award winner and genealogist. When Greg passed away suddenly, Smuttynose’s brewing team wanted to brew a beer in his memory and this was the result. We hope you find it a worthy tribute as well. Noonan (the beer) looks like an ordinary porter or stout, until you get the pint up to your nose. You can’t avoid the big whiff of piney, herbal and citrusy American hops, but there’s virtually no roasted character. Ponderous, huh? When you take a sip, you’ll notice that the beer doesn’t taste a lot like a porter either. Instead of the expected astringency imparted by dark grains, you’ll find a depth of caramel malts and more American hops. Don’t worry that’s by design; it’s also what we love about the beer.
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7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottled. Black pour light beige head dark roastmalts and piney hops are predominant. Light espresso.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 May 2025
at 01:18
8/10
Tried
on 13 Dec 2024
at 16:49
7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle. Orange, mint, pine, chocolate and some coffee in the nose. Cloudy matte black color. Flavors of pine resin, coffee, roast, some smoke. Decent, not all that sweet.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Nov 2014
at 19:59
7.5/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
On draft at Turner’s High Moon in Avon NC. Pours black with a tan head. Toasty nose. Flavors of dark malts with some grassy hop notes. Bitter finish.
Tried
from Draft
on 04 Oct 2014
at 18:13
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
bottle - Pours near black with a two finger tan head and big chunks of suspended yeast floating around. The aroma is of piney hops and chocolatey malt. The flavor has high bitterness with the piney, resinous hops in the fore and the roasted chocolate malt lending a full body to this enjoyable brew.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Aug 2014
at 12:42
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
12 ounce bottle into pint glass; best before 7/23/2014, 6.2%. Pours moderately murky nearly opaque dark brown color with a 2 finger dense tan head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of grapefruit, orange peel, pine, dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, floral, grass, and floral/roasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/pine hops and dark/roasted malt notes; with good strength. Taste of dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, grapefruit, orange peel, pine, floral, grass, light char, and floral/roasted earthiness. Good amount of pine/roast bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, roast, coffee, grapefruit, orange peel, pine, light char, and floral/roasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice robustness, balance, and complexity of dark/roasted malt and citrus/pine hop flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a smooth, moderately creamy, and fairly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice malt driven black IPA. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roasted malt and citrus/pine hop flavors; and very smooth to drink. A very enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Jul 2014
at 18:28
8/10
Tried
on 29 Jun 2014
at 11:41
2/10
Horrible.
Tried
on 19 Jun 2014
at 15:48
5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 4
When I first got this draft I was thinking it was more like a spicy beer in aroma and flavor. Then as I realized it was supposed tot be a black ipa, I did start to notice some hop backbone in there. Definitely a darker beer but it has some more mild spiced attributes about it aura.
Tried
from Draft
on 04 May 2014
at 07:44
7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Half Pint, NYC tap: Pours black with a greyish, creamy head. Aroma is lemon, coffee, chocolate, and hints of pine. Taste is prototypically that of a Black IPA. Seamless convergence of the citrus and chocolate that leaves a somewhat discordant, but pleasant aftertaste. Definitely has a somewhat herbal character at that point. Well put together.
Tried
from Draft
on 03 May 2014
at 10:46