Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Pours a dark brown with mid-sized head. Aroma of burnt grain and some hops. Flavor is a very smooth combination of malt and coffee with some hop accents. Pretty good, actually.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle @ Brad’s house. Pours a touch hazy, reddish brown appearance with a light brown head. Mild coffee, cocoa, vanilla, a touch nutty aroma. Chewy, nutty, Baby Ruth bar, chocolate, a bit earthy flavor. Not bad.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 5.5
Bottle @ Brad’s house. Pours a touch hazy, yellow appearance with a white head. Sweet corn, pale grainy malty, sweet, almost candy like aroma. Tangy, chewy/creamy, lemon, corny flavor. Ok but in general, I just don’t like the style.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
Bottle @ Brad’s house. Pours a bit hazy, dark reddish brown appearance with a light tan head. Very rich chocolate, raisin, somewhat fruity, kind of creamy, herbal hoppy nose. Slightly burnt, roasty chocolate malty, a bit piney, slightly bitter, anise flavor. Not too shabby.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
12oz bottle. Unfiltered deep cherry brown. Thin, oily head. Sweet fruity brown malt aroma. This is a really solid brown ale. Sessionable, medium bodied, but still with lots of big malt tones and flavor. A mild touch of bitter hops up front fades into a delicious malty mouthfeel. Has some malty depth. Creamy and fresh, well done.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
12oz bottle picked up in Duluth. Hazy light yellow-tan color. Lively carbonation bubbles rising. Thinnish, creamy white head. I have developed a certain appreciation for this style, and find this to be a pretty enjoyable example. Delicate light to medium body. Creamy, yeast and corn flavors merge. The hops are nice, but are probably more representative of new-school example. Solid offering if you can dig it.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
12oz bottle scooped up in Duluth. Amber-black body, respectable rusty beige head. Mellow chocolate hop aroma. A prime example of why people don’t like the Black IPA concept; this tastes like a Stout or Porter. It’s good, just not a good Black IPA. I mean really, this is doughy and malt centered. An OK hop balance for sure, an enjoyable beer. Pretty weak for the style but an enjoyable offering nonetheless.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
12 ounce bottle. Pours a totally black hue with a medium creamy head. The aroma is caramel and light pine. The flavor is sweet and bitter roast, some fruity hops, lingering hop bitterness, long dry chocolates. Caramel. Mellow, more of a light porter base, very good.