4 oz. draft at Ten Bends. Reddish amber in color. Aroma shows mild cherry skins and for some reason, a hint of chocolate. The cherry is very natural, soft cherry skins, mild pie filling. Mild earthy malt/ caramel. Decent.

4 oz. draft at Ten Bends. Hazy golden appearance. Aroma shows me mild citrus, subtle mango, pale grain. Flavor some mild citrus with decent tropical hints. Light bodied with a crisp texture. Pretty straight-forward.

500 ml bottle purchased at Craft Beer Cellar, Waterbury. Shared by Stacey, split 2 ways. Aroma is subtle oak, mild whiskey, hints of chocolate. The flavor profile is pretty nice, good amount of oak that lasts through the entire sip. Mild chocolate. Whiskey is very tame, mild toward the finish. Body is about normal for the style. Texture is on the dry side.

On tap at The Reservoir, Waterbury. Deep yellow with a bit of haze, bubbly white head slowly fades. Bits of bready and cracker with some earthy resinous grassy hops to counter. Decent beer, but feels a bit raw.

On tap at the Vermont NanoFest 2017, pours a lightly hazy orange with some ringing, white head. Standard nose, malt, orange, soap, a little paper. Flavor follows, malt and honey, orange, some grapefruit, pine. Finishes dry, bitter. Standard IPA.

On tap at the Vermont NanoFest 2017, pours a watery, deep brown with some filmy, white head. Nose is nice and inviting, coffee, chocolate, malt, a touch of smoke. Flavor follows, the coffee and malt go well together, just small hints of earth and baker’s chocolate. Simple, dry on the finish. Nicely done though and very very drinkable.

Tap. Pours very hazy golden orange, large creamy white head, dissipates slowly, good lacing. Aroma is melon, tea, kind of vegetal. Flavor is medium sweet, a bit odd, melons and hints of green tea. Medium plus body, creamy mouthfeel. Lingering bitterness.

Tap. Hazy pale gold orange, melon off white creamy head, good lacing. Aroma is piney, hints of grain, grass, citrus. Flavors is light sweet, light plus bitter. Lightish body. So so.

Draught at Tap 25, 5/26/17.
Black indeed, with an undetermined clarity (though I think not terribly hazy) and a dark beige, medium-sized head showing moderate retention.
Roast and a modestly hoppy character to the nose shows light mineral/house yeast character on the backend and juicy pine and citrus lingering. It’s not intensely roasty, thankfully, and provides a pretty good mix of both base malt and dark malt. Despite the citrus and pine, it doesn’t come off TOO aggressive, either, which is a pretty good feet for a black IPA. Clean and no alcohol noted.
Quite dry, though not too much so, with a fair amount of roasted character and surprisingly juicy hop notes helping to keep it somewhat bright (I guess as bright as a black IPA can be). It’s got low bitterness and fairly engaging carbonation. Moderately fruity with no resin and light chocolate and coffee notes lingering. No alcohol or flaw. Nothing crazy or unique, and very straightforward as usually befits the style, but it’s certainly competent.

Draught at Tap 25, 5/26/17.
Light-to-minimal haze in this blonde-golden beer with a medium-sized white head showing moderate retention.
Lightly floral with soft citrus (meyer lemon, ripe lime and orange). Cracker and biscuit-like malts behind do their thing and the beer is aromatically juicy with light tropical touches. Mild pine, wood and other more dry, austere notes linger on the finish, but it doesn’t become resinous. Alcohol well-concealed, no flaw.
Quite juicy in the mouth with strong, expansive carbonation and tons of malt texture; very biscuity and dry, though not too much so, leaving just a trace of honey on the finish which easily balances the low bitterness and easygoing citrus and light tropical character from the hops. Slightly abrupt finish, lots of eaerth, dough, biscuit getting in the way, though certainly not offensively so. Very light citrus and floral character lingers.