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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6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Draft at Churchkey. Poured a dark brown, almost black with some light ruby notes on the edges of the glass. Aroma is a touch of caramel, a little bit of citrus grapefruit notes. Flavor was some roasted malts, with plenty of grapefruit character. pretty refreshing for the style.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Apr 2013
at 23:09
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
12oz bottle. Amber-black body, with a big, frothy, beige head. Crisp chocolate edged aroma, pretty nice. Respectable citrus hop tones and a hefty malt backbone to balance it out....and balanced it is. One of the more enjoyable Black IPAs I’ve had. Dry, sticky bitter aftertaste. Great chocolate, caramel, graham cracker flavors. Solid offering, would be great to go back and forth between this and their regular IPA.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Apr 2013
at 19:38
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
12 ounce bottle from Beer Run. Pours a clear dark brown color with a thin dark brown head. Decent head retention. Aroma of chocolate, roasted malts, coffee, herbal and pine hops. The taste is bitter resin hops, leafyness, some green notes, bitter roast and coffee with chocolate in the finish. Medium bodied.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Apr 2013
at 20:25
6.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6
Into a mug, it pours a dark brown body with a two and a half finger off-white/slightly tan head that gets a bit lumpy here and there; the smell is pine, wood, earthy, slight roasted coffee, roasted barley - perhaps if so, well its ever so subtle; hops coming out as the beer warms; the taste is mainly bitter and roasty through previously mentioned flavors, coffee aftertaste, dry finish, the palate is light to medium, semi-sessionable; overall: well, I’d say it fits the style pretty good, glad I tried it, and well, I might come back to this, unsure...
Tried
on 08 Apr 2013
at 11:59
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Dégustée en fût au Farmhouse Tap & Grill à Burlington, VT. De couleur brune très foncée et opaque. Nez de malt rôti, de houblon floral, moyennement citrique et fruité (agrumes) avec des notes herbeuses et résineuses, léger de chocolat avec des notes de café. Moyennement ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen-doux ainsi qu’une texture légèrement crémeuse. Goût moyennement amer de houblon floral, légèrement citrique et aux notes fruitées (agrumes et zeste - une amertume présente toute la gorgée) avec des notes de pain grillé lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un goût de malt rôti avec des notes de chocolat noir puis en finale l’amertume de houblon prend une tournure plus herbeuse et asséchante avec des notes résineuses et également quelques notes de café sont présentes. Post-goût long et plutôt sec, moyennement amer de houblon herbeux, légèrement floral et citrique avec un léger goût rôti ainsi qu’avec des notes fruitées (zeste d’agrumes). (3 avril 2013)
Tried
from Draft
on 06 Apr 2013
at 02:00