Bridgeport Dark Rain

This seems to be a new seasonal for Bridgeport, but no mention is made on their website. They call it a Black Pale Ale, so I’m assuming a slightly less hoppy black IPA? Anyways, it features dark Crystal and wheat malts with Nugget, Chinook, Crystal, Centennial and Cascade hops.

Stats:
American Black Ale. 5.6% ABV. 60 IBUs. Oregon.

Very dark brown in color with a little bit of head and lacing on the glass.

A little bit of caramel, toasted malts, and chocolate on the nose.

Mouthfeel is light to medium body, but fairly light and has a fairly high carbonation.

Chocolate and a little bit of caramel coming through on the palate, hint of spicey hops and a slight earthy quality. Hops come in on the finish with a little bit of pine, grapefruit, orange, and just a little bit of bitterness.

It’s not too bad. It’s a fairly typical black IPA with just a little bit less hops, but worth a buy. 85 points.

Laurelwood Ink Heart CDA

There doesn’t seem to be any mention of this beer on the breweries website, so I have no idea what’s in here. Let’s just dive right into another black IPA.

Stats:
American Black Ale. 7.3% ABV. Oregon.

Dark brown to nearly black in color. Nice tan head on this one.

Piney hops meet chocolate. Nice little nose on this one with a nice hop profile and a hint of malty sweetness.

Mouthfeel is actually pretty full bodied and has medium carbonation.

Cocoa and orange hit the palate first, then turns a bit earthy with a honey and chocolate backend. Medium bitterness on the finish, but fairly well balanced.

Another solid rendition of the style. 89 points

Pyramid Discord Dark IPA

Pyramid is getting in on the black IPA trend with this new seasonal. 2-row, C-80, Munich, Black, and Carafa II malts meet with Nugget, Zythos, Mt. Hood, and Cascade hops. The beer is also dry-hopped with Falconer’s Flight, Zythos, and Cascades. Let’s see how this one measures up.

Stats:
American Black Ale. 6.5% ABV. 69 IBUs. Washington. Available February-March

Dark brown in color with a nice fluffy head.

It’s got a nice hoppy nose with a heavy Cascade aroma. It’s got that nice grapefruit, orange citrus with just a little bit of pine and an herbal quality.

Mouthfeel is a light-medium body with a high-medium carbonation. It’s solid, but definitely on the easy drinking side.

Nice hoppy-ness with that heavy citrus and a bit of herbal earthyness. Hint of cocoa on the mid palate and ends with caramel and slight bitterness.

Pretty solid here. Pyramid has done a couple hoppy beers in a good way. It’s a good intro to the style that keeps it easy drinking. Definitely worth a try. 87 points.

Stone Collaboration More Brown Than Black IPA

Got another collab beer to try. This one is a collab with John Kimmich of the Alchemist and Jamie Floyd of Ninkasi. First of all, I want to mention that the proceeds of this beer go to the Waterbury Good Neighbor Fund, so pick one up for that. Second, this is a very interesting beer. They backed off some of the darker malt a tad, hence the name, and put in some crazy hops. It’s got Super Galena, Nelson Sauvin, Delta, Galaxy, and Citra.

Stats:
American Black Ale. 7.4% ABV.

Dark brown with a bunch of sediment. The head on this beer is insane and leaves just a ton of lacing.

Very piney nose with just a hint of chocolate and citrus.

Mouthfeel is a light medium body with high medium carbonation.

That’s a wild tasting beer. It’s altogether a huge, hop bomb. But the hop flavor is so unusual. You’ve got some pine and citrus, but it’s also really fruity. I’m getting some apricots, cherries, lemon, orange, and it actually compliments the pine flavor very well. It’s definitely got a big amount of bitterness on the back, so this is not for everyone.

I’m loving this. I’ve had hundreds of IPA’s, but I’ve never tasted a hop profile like this, and it just tickles my fancy. 92 points.

Alaskan Black IPA

This beer is apparently a more “sessionable version of the Double Black IPA” that Alaskan released. The website says it has eight different malts and at least Cascade and Centennial hops.

Alaskan’s New Spring Seasonal Black IPA from Alaskan Brewing Co. on Vimeo.

Stats:
American Black Ale. 6.4% ABV. 65 IBUs. Alaska. Spring Seasonal.

Really nice reddish hue with a tan head.

Nice nose of chocolate and orange. Reminds me of those jelly candies covered in chocolate. Hint of pine needles come through as well.

Mouthfeel is actually pretty nice. Medium body with a crisp carbonation.

Pine and orange meets that chocolate with a hint of caramel. Definitely has some bitterness, but fairly well-balanced.

Another solid black IPA here. To me, this is the proto-typical example of the style that has emerged, so why not give it a chance? 88 points.

HUB Secession Black IPA

And another Black IPA to try here. This one from the Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland. It’s a very Northwest version of the beer featuring Mt. Hood, Amarillo, Cascade, and Simcoe hops. If the label means nothing to you, it’s referring to Cascadia, which you can read about here.

Stats:
American Black Ale. 6.5% ABV. 70 IBUs. Oregon.

Dark ruby color. It has a decent tan head, but has faded.

Quite a hoppy nose with a lot of citrus peel mixed with a little pine resin and a hint of cocoa and caramel.

Mouthfeel is a nice medium body, with a lower amount of carbonation.

Pine and citrus meet with caramel and cocoa. The balance here is quite nice, with a bit of a hop aggressiveness. The bitterness is very well contained, though.

This is a lovely version of a black IPA. It’s got a bit more hop aggressiveness than many, but the bitterness is very well contained, so it’s nothing you need to shy away from. 91 points.

Oakshire O’Dark:30

Here’s a new beer from Oakshire in Eugene. This black IPA features Cascade and Centennial hops, but not sure about the malt profile. Let’s see how this example of a new style fairs?

Stats:
American Black Ale. 6.3% ABV. 70 IBUs. Oregon. Spring Seasonal.

Dark brown to ruby in color. It’s got a nice, little, off-white head and leaves some really nice lacing.

It’s got a nice hoppy nose that brings a little bit of pine and citrus, but you can also get some of that malt, which brings a nice chocolate component.

Mouthfeel is pretty decent. Perhaps just a hair light, but nothing to complain about. Medium carbonation.

Citrus and pine meet on the initial attack but then it eases into the malts which bring a chocolate and caramel flavor. The finish is long with a medium bitterness and a pine component.

This is actually a pretty delicious beer, and I’m surprised by how well the hops and malts play in here. They really complement each other and this is one of the better examples of the style to date. 90 points.

Southern Tier Iniquity

They call this the antithesis of Unearthly. Unearthly is one of my favorite beers, so I hope this is just as good. This imperial black ale features 2-row Pale and debittered black malts with Chinook, Cascade, Willamette, and Centennial hops.

Stats:
American Black Ale. 9.0% ABV. New York.

Nice dark brown color with a very nice off-white to tan head.

The nose is slightly closed, but I’m getting some piney hops mixed with a roasty and chocolately malt backbone.

Mouthfeel is very nice. It’s full bodied with a nice amount of carbonation to lighten it up just a bit.

The palate is much better than the nose. It’s got a nice piney hop profile, but still brings some chocolate, caramel, and a hint of chocolate covered orange candy. It’s got a really lovely balance and keeps the bitterness at a reasonable level.

This is probably one of the better Black IPA’s that I’ve had, but it’s no Unearthly. 88 points.

New Belgium Snow Day

This is the new seasonal from New Belgium. It’s under the American Black Ale category on BA, but originally I thought this was a Winter Warmer. It’s brewed with Pale, C-80, and Midnight Wheat malts with Styrian Goldings, Centennial, and Cascade hops.

Stats:
American Black Ale. 6.2% ABV. 55 IBUs. Colorado. Winter Seasonal.

Dark ruby in color. Tan head that doesn’t stay very long.

A lot of piney hops on the nose. It’s got a bit of spice, but it’s really all about the forest here with a lot of that pine cone coming through.

Mouthfeel is a little bit light, with some crisp carbonation.

Tons of pine, but it’s not overly bitter. A little bit of orange comes through now with a hint of cracked black pepper.

This is a pretty big departure for New Belgium, but it’s probably become my favorite beer of theirs. It’s an aggressively hopped, but balanced-ly bitter brew. It’s a hearty winter ale that takes it’s place among the other hoppy beers of the seasonal. 88 points.

Iron Horse Black IPA

This Black IPA (excuse me, American Black Ale) comes from Ellensburg, WA. Yes, there’s a lousy college there, but I’ll try not to hold it against the brewery. This beer features 2-row, medium Crystal, and de-bittered black malt with Columbus, Amarillo, and Cascade hops. Sounds good.

Stats:
American Black Ale. 7.0% ABV. Washington.

It’s on the lighter side for the style that I’ve had. Lots of red showing with a nice head.

The nose reminds me of coffee liqueur with a slight coffee and sweetness coming through. It’s also got some tart apples, plums, and strawberries. Notice how I don’t mention the hops…

Mouthfeel is decent, fairly large body.

Again, quite a bit of sweetness and fruit flavors. This has a little bit of hop presence, but I would call this completely out of the style range, despite how new it is. Slight roast on the back with brown sugar, apples, and a hint of smoke.

This is not hoppy enough to be in this style. It’s really more like an American version of a Wee Heavy than anything else. That being said, the sweetness is going to appeal to a lot of palates, especially in a college town that thinks PBR is the good stuff. 84 points.