(Draught at Bryden’s, Nov 30 2013) Pours black with a bubbly tan head, a little lacing left behind. Aroma is tropical fruit/kiwi/light citrus/grassy hops first and foremost, but with a dry roasted malt character definitely present, slight sweetness but not very rich malts. Flavour follows the nose, real punch of hops up front, tropical fruit/orange/fresh pine needles, lots of roast, slightly nutty and dry with minimal chocolate and just a bit of toffee malt, a ’greenish’ hop flavour plus the roast made for a dry finish with moderate bitterness. Mouthfeel fairly light and not too creamy, more actively carbed than most stouts. I know this was billed as a stout (and on the stout tap) but I’d call this a black IPA if I were told to name it blind. Nice fresh juicy hop character plus roast, but I like more malt backbone/heft to dark hoppy beers myself. This may be the same beer as the GL x Nickel Brook Extra, Extra Foreign Stout (all NZ hops) which was on at BarVolo at the same time, but I did not have that to compare.