Beer III

Beer III, Maine Beer Company, Freeport, ME
(Black IPA, Rated 94)

Dark brown pour with a thick, tan head. Aroma is mild citrus, roasted malts, and a touch chocolate brownie. Definitely get some chocolate in the flavor along with mild citrus hop.  Light mouthfeel with a dry finish. Easy drinker at 5.5% abv, but lacking in taste. Not my favorite from Maine.

Weez

Weez, Maine Beer Company, Freeport, ME
(Black IPA, Rated 99)

Pours black with a nice, inch-thick, tan head. Nearly reminiscent of a stout in terms of color and viscosity. Aroma is char-roasted malts, coffee, and piney hops. Medium bodied and carbonated. Taste is chocolate and roasted dark malts up front with burnt grain and a dry, bitter, pine finish. Impeccable example of this style! I love black IPAs!

Crowdsourced Batch # 5 Night & Day Vanilla IBA

Crowdsourced Batch #5 Night & Day Vanilla IBA, MobCraft Beer, Madison, WI
(Black IPA)

 Dark brown pour with a thick, almost never-ending, tan head. Aromas of roasted toffee, rich coffee, malts, and faint vanilla sweetness. Holy carbonation! The fizz lasts throughout the taste. Bitter hops up front, followed by roasted coffee, and finishing with vanilla goodness. Yet, the carbonation tingles my tongue to the very end. Great beer!

Let me share a little about MobCraft. They are quite a unique beer company, well, unique to me anyways. They crowdsource most of their recipes and every month there are new beers that are one-time only brews. Beer lovers visit their website (or receive invitations via email) and submit ideas for a beer flavor or style that they have wanted to see if it could get made. The recipe ideas are put up for a vote and the winning recipe gets brewed. How awesome is that?! One recent recipe I had that I thought was totally awesome was called Tequila Mayan Bird, a beer brewed with cocoa powder, white ghost chilies and aged in tequila barrels. YUM!  If you are in the area, give these guys a try!

Blakkr (Surly Release)

Blakkr Imperial Black Ale, Surly Brewing Company, Brooklyn Center, MN
(Black IPA, Rated 99)

Blakkr is the spawn of a collaboration between Surly Brewing Company, Three Floyds Brewing Company, and Real Ale Brewing Company. This beauty pours black in color with a thick tan head that leaves some great lacing on the glass. Aroma is packed with dark roasted malts and floral hops. Complex flavors of dark malts, chocolate, espresso coffee, citrus and pine. Detect a hint of licorice too. Sweet and creamy up front followed by intense hops. The finish is sweet but bitter. The 9.99% abv is there, but hidden well. Outstanding Black IPA!

Hoppy Feet 1.5 Double Black IPA

Hoppy Feet 1.5 Double Black IPA, Clown Shoes Beer, Ipswich, MA
(Black IPA, Rated 99)

You know what they say about big feet, right?  Big beer! This beauty pours a dark, mocha brown with a tan head. Fantastic aromas of dark roasted malts, dark fruit, licorice, and hops. Full of flavor! Chocolate, licorice, dark fruit, roasted malts, a little spice, pine and citrus hops...lots of hops. Well balanced and not overpowering though. Smooth on the palate. I expected a stronger alcohol presence at 10% abv. Just a little booze burn at the finish. This is one fantastic black IPA...one of my favorite styles!

NightTime Ale

NightTime Ale, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma, CA
(Black IPA, Rated 98)

Never a bad time for Lagunitas! This black IPA pours a very dark brown with a tan head. For a black IPA, this beer has everything you'd expect. Aromas of dark roasted malts, piney hops, black licorice sweetness. Resiny hops jump out at first taste followed closely by some intense spice. Dark roasted malt and a bit of sweetness at the finish. Very well-balanced and smooth with an 8.6% kicker, An amazing representation of the style. Cheers!

Hop Odyssey Black IPA

Hop Odyssey Black IPA, Green Flash Brewing Company, San Diego, CA
(Black IPA, Rated 98)

This beauty pours nearly pitch black with a thick, lacy, beige head. Fantastic aromas of citrus, fruit, dark roasted malts, and little chocolate. Flavor is rich, full of roasted malts, floral hop bitterness, with piney resin. Extremely well balanced. Smooth finish. My love for IPAs is no secret, but black IPAs are on another level. The combination of dark roasted malts with that hop bitterness is fantastic!

Black Hatter

Black Hatter, New Holland Brewing Company, Holland, MI

Really dark black pour with an extremely large, fizzy, head. Can smell the coffee and dark malts in the aroma. Light hop start with a roasted finish. I felt the flavor got a little lost in the carbonation. Too much fizz for my liking. Finish was a bit bland. I don't like it when my expectations exceed my reality. I've had better black IPA.

Fade to Black Volume 4: Rocky Mountain Black Ale

Fade to Black Volume 4: Rocky Mountain Black Ale, Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, CO
(Black IPA, Rated 94)

Nice deep black pour with an off white head. Roasted malt and citrus hop aroma. Taste is sweet roasted malts up front that gives way to mild hop bitterness. Dry finish made me want more. I think I liked Volume 3 better.

Hoppy Feet Black IPA

Hoppy Feet Black IPA, Clown Shoes Beer, Ipswich, MA

(Black IPA, Rated 95)

Nice dark pour as expected from a black IPA. Slightly roasted aroma with just a bit of citrus. Taste is pretty much all hops with some residual roasted malts. Lots of of hop bitterness.

Hop Heathen Imperial Black Ale

Hop Heathen Imperial Black Ale, Hoppin Frog Brewery, Akron, OH

(Black IPA, Rated 99)

Nice dark pour with sweet roasted malt and chocolate aroma. Taste is like blending the dark roasted malt and chocolaty characteristics of a stout with the hop spices of an IPA. Taste a little pepper in there too.  Very delicious!

Black Iron

Black Iron, Milwaukee Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Brewing Company is one of my favorite craft breweries in Wisconsin. Black Iron is a black IPA that is part of their new seasonal line. Complex flavors but a nice smooth balance between the hops and malts especially at 7.5% abv.

MBC also has, in my opinion, one of the best brewery tours in Milwaukee. If you haven't been, you need to check it out. I'd recommend taking a cab though.

Yakima Glory (Twilight)

Yakima Glory (Twilight), Victory Brewing Company, Downington, PA

(Black IPA, Rated 98)

Big hop aroma smoothed out by rich, dark malts. Flavors of caramel and raisin. More on the fruitier/sweeter side. You definitely don't taste the roasted malts as much as you do in other black IPAs. 8.7% abv...a good drinker!

Black IPA

Black IPA, Sprecher Brewing Co., Glendale, WI

Iniquity Imperial Black Ale

Iniquity Imperial Black Ale, Southern Tier Brewing Co., Lakewood, NY 

(Black IPA, Rated 98)

I've had this special beauty sitting in my fridge for a while now, just for a day like today. This black as night ale is an amazing blend of hops and malts that compliment each other. The malty aroma as well as the malt and caramel flavor hints make this one smooth drinker at 9% abv.

Black IPA

Black IPA, Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, AK 

(Black IPA, Rated 90)

While boasting dark colors and the full-bodied flavors of a porter, there's no mistaking this is an IPA. It has a nice amount of citrus hops along with tinges of coffee and chocolate.

Komodo Dragon Fly Black IPA

Komodo Dragon Fly Black IPA, Upland Brewing Co., Bloomington, IN 

(Black IPA, Rated 94)

Dryhopped with roasted black malts, definitely heavier and darker. Lacks the usual sweetness you find in many IPA.