Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Tap @ brewery. Black appearance with a creamy, foamy brown head. Dark roasty chocolate malty with pretty tame, piney hops noted. More hop presence in the flavor that’s fairly piney and fairly bitter. Dark roasty chocolate malty flavor that’s pretty full flavored and enjoyable. Chocolate, hoppy aftertaste. Hops are a little weak, especially in the nose. Pretty solid Black IPA. These guys always seem to make solid brews.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Tap at Copper Kettle - this one falls into the hoppy stout trap that a lot of black ipas do - quite sweet, with a hefty body - quite a bit of chocolate, tempered by a bit of roast, but sweetness persists all the way to the finish - the bitterness and hop flavor doesn’t really kick in until then, but when it does it is quite nice - fresh and green, but well-integrated into the other qualities of the beer - sure, it’s really a hoppy stout, but it’s still tasty.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Tap at Copper Kettle - nose of espresso, vanilla bean, light estery fruitiness, grassy hops - smooth and medium bodied - fairly sweet up front, with some vanilla and chocolate character - dries out through the middle, as notes of bakers chocolate, roast and char come forward - a bit of blueberry - tail end has a fair amount of bitterness from the dark malt - grassy noble hops are very well integrated into this quality in the finish - very tasty - a well-executed black lager.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Tap at the brewery - lightly hazy gold - nicely clean and crisp, with very strong spicy notes (coriander and orange peel, but also notes of pepper (perhaps from the yeast?) and ginger - a little bit of a husky, grainy character, but it is not too pronounced - spicy, but not enough to overpower the light, refreshing, clean nature of the beer - I quite enjoy this.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Tap at Copper Kettle - amber ale? - this needs to be listed as an American Strong Ale - turbid amber pour - thick head - sits somewhere between barley wine and double IPA - initial malt sweetness with flavors of caramel, oats - moderate fruity esters - dries out a bit through the middle - earthy hops and potent bitterness, but also quite a bit of strong, nearly metallic acidity, which detracts considerably from the enjoyment - there are strengths, but not enough of them to make me want this beer again - tastes like a drier, much more acidic Bigfoot Ale - the world does not need another mediocre imperial red ale - copper kettle, please stick to the less hoppy styles; the world needs more of those
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5
[re-rate - originally.3.8 - recent batches of this beer have been far too spicy - the bombers in particular are unbearably spicy and nearly undrinkable - and I tend to like spicy beer ]Tap at the brewery - dark brown, nearly black - pillowy tan head - intense cinnamon in the nose, along with a fair amount of chocolate, a touch of anise, moderate pepper spice - flavor is initially sweet, with notes of bittersweet chocolate, raisin and licorice - the sweetness makes way for dry cinnamon and strong but not overpowering pepper spiciness - a little bt of vegetal character from the peppers is the only drawback here, which is fairly common in pepp beers - the malt and cinnamon does a fair job of covering it up - pretty good.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Tap at the brewery - pour is lightly hazy - pillowy tan head - an interesting twist on the style - brewed with a Belgian yeast rather than an weizen yeast, so no forward banana of clove phenols - this allows the grain to shine a bit more - rye is spicy and even a bit sour - a bit of tangy (wheat?) malt compliments this well - the yeast kicks out lightly peppery phenols that work well in a spicy, grainy/rye finish - creamy and medium bodied - this beer is dope!
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Tap at the brewery - a medium-bodied, creamy, clean version of the style - rich malts present notes of caramel and slight roasted nuttiness - a tiny bit of esters from the yeast add additional depth - sweetness is full but clean - moderately crisp and slightly peppery finish - well done.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
[I have had this beer many times since their opening last year, and my opinion varies from batch to batch - however, overall, I have really grown to enjoy it - full, frothy carbonation in th mouth - nice, simple but clean malt profile and a nice noble hop bite - I enjoy it quite a bit] Growler - hazy gold with minimal lace - a Helles should ot be hazy - seriously under carbonated (the growler was filled a few hours ago and sealed tightly) - lightly sweet honey in the nose, along with grassy noble hops and toasted grains - relatively innocuous sweetness up front - some toasty grain - fairly strong grassy hop character on the tail end - bitterness lingers too long on the palate - not nearly as crisp and clean as it should be, but it has potential - would like to try it properly carbonated (and with the yeast dropped completely out of it).
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Cloudy, glowing golden beer - substantial head - nose is earthy, dusty, lightly phenolic and peppery - moderately sweet up front, with significant, tangy wheat flavors - dries out through the middle - citrus, dusty yeast, a flinty quality - some spiciness from the yeast that the pepper piles on top of - moderate phenols - spicy finish, with lingering orange and yeast - it’s good, but overdone - I feel like you can lose the pepper and orange peel and have a much better beer.