Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Orange with a white head. Very heavy citrus aroma with some deep sweet malts, too. Flavor is of strong hops, citrus, bright fruit, light floral, and sweet caramel malts. A real solid west-coast IPA.
obguthr (12465) reviewed Black Xantus from Humboldt Brewing Company 15 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Wood and toffee aroma, with soy sauce accents. Black pour, thin tan head. Full bodied, alcohol noticeable. Date flavor, somewhat bourbony. Charred oak and bark finish. Not very dynamic. Good beer, but overshadowed by the wealth of better imperial stouts that are available. The elevated bottle price makes it doubly disappointing.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Fleeting tan head over a black pour. Complex aroma, chocolate, vanilla, roast malts. Sweet start, roast malt bitterness in the finish.
Leighton (34941) reviewed Red Nectar from Humboldt Brewing Company 15 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle. Pours a crystal clear, light honey-orange with a modest, slightly off-white head. Pretty hoppy aroma, quite piney, mild florals, only small hints of caramel. Not very sweet, there’s an emphasis on earthy bitterness. Light to medium in body with rather flat carbonation. Finishes dry with some stickiness. Fine, clean and lingering hops. Good.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 7
Bottle. Pours a dark but clear amber-ruby-brown with a very faint, white head. Easily detected malts in the aroma, some caramel, some florals. Holds a somewhat nutty flavor, mild chocolate notes, a bit of honey. Leaves an odd sensation on the teeth, like a coating of some sort. There’s also some earthy bitterness in the finish. Overall, it’s not bad, but didn’t strike me as particularly great.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 3 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5
Weak wood nose. Ruby brown, thin yellow head. Wood ringed with cherries, mild nutty finish. Sessionable average brown ale. Not as unique as you might expect.
Leighton (34941) reviewed Black Xantus from Humboldt Brewing Company 15 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Bottles. Pours pitch black. Big, thick beige head. Pungent aroma of dark chocolate, roasted coffee, and some bourbon. Flavor is deep: Rich, burnt malt gives strong coffee and chocolate notes. Also some vanilla and overripe dark fruits. Roasty, tobacco finish. Huge body, oily, thick, smooth. Really great beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle. Beautiful IPA on all fronts. Pours a light orange with a fluffy white head. The aroma lunges from several feet away. Huge floral and citrus hop nose. Flavor is rich and bitter, with some fruity sweetness. Medium carbonation, resiny, with a bitter and slightly sticky finish. Superb.
deyholla (22727) reviewed Black Xantus from Humboldt Brewing Company 15 years ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Sampled from the bottle at the 2010 February Circle City Tasting. Poured near black, but definitely a dark brown with a dark grayish brown head. Aroma had notes of coffee, tobacco and a bit of whiskey. Flavor was full of coffee and sweet dark grains with a bit of underlying alcohol.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle @ J.C.G US Tasting Pt.2. Pours pitch black with a small creamy lasting head and lacings. Nose is roast, vanilla and coconut. Flavor is pretty dominated by the barrel aging. Some coffee, vanilla and coconut going on. Sticky and oily. Warmth. One dimensional.