Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle I brought to the RBSG 2014 Grand Tasting at Schlafly Tap Room. Black with tan head. Aromas of dark chocolate, bourbon, light vanilla. Tastes of dark fruit, bourbon, caramel, oak, caramel. Full body with a dry finish. Thick oily mouthfeel.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 5.5
From a 12 oz bottle at Griffin’s Tavern. Pours a pale gold with an off white head. Light fruity nose. Flavors of citrus. Light bodied. Slight bitter finish.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
From a 22 oz bottle shared at the Beer Head BBQ in Falls Church VA. Pours a hazy gold with an ecru head. Plastic notes in the aroma. Flavors of citrus with a hint of vanilla.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 10 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 9
Draft at Capital Alehouse, Harrisonburg VA. Listed simply as Sour Blend and may be an alias of a beer the brewer calls Wild Virginia Blend or another called Atramentous. Fig and rum nose with cocoa hints. Mahogany, thin tan head. Lightly tart currant flavor, wood at midpalate, and a vanilla undercurrent. Alcohol present but tasteful. Ash finish. Delightfully enjoyable, well balanced and assembled.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
Bottle. RBSG grand tasting. I need the label for this. If anyone has an empty, please let me know. Pours black off white head. Nose/taste of bourbon, bourbon, oak and chocolate. Too much bourbon for my liking. Medium body.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
4oz pour at the Northern Virginia BrewFest. Poured a very dark brown color, almost black with a tan head. Aroma was some dark bitter roasted malts, with a touch of coffee. Favor had a lot of roast, not as much hop as I was hoping for, but at least it wasn’t an earthy hop mess that most Black IPAs can be. Some light citrus notes that were pleasing. Tasty.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Total Wine, Fairfax 12oz: Appearance is light copper with a white head. Aroma is really light with hints of hops. Taste is similarly light. It is sort of like a watered down APA without being actually watered down. They basically made a pleasant and very accessible light beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Clear copper pour with a tall sticky off-white head. Aroma of citrus hops, some sweet caramel. The flavor is more to the sweet side. The hop bitterness is low but comes in for some dryness in the finish. Lacks a good crisp hop character.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
From a 12 oz bottle. Pours a clear dark cola brown with a tan head. Grassy nose. Flavors of nuts, licorice and pine resin. Plenty of sweet malt notes. Tasty.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6.5
Clear golden coloured body with hints of copper and a very light, impossibly small tan, pitch white coloured head. Aroma of pale malt, the slightest bit of hops and a funky stale cardboard smell. Light to Medium-bodied; Deep pungent malty and funky cardboard flavour with a lot of assertiveness and pungency with some obtuse flavours. Aftertaste shows a l lot of the funky malts, some lighter sweetness from the malt and a touch more at the very end. Some grass, hay, alcohol and pale cardboard flavours. Overall, a deep beer with some funky flavours and not much going well for it - aside from it’s very cheap price. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from May 2014 at Giant Foods in Leesburg, Virginia on 22-April-2014 for US$1.49 sampled at home on 31-May-2014.