3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20 hayduke (3926) - Eureka, California, USA - SEP 28, 2015
Sampled at GABF. In the glass this was dark red with a small beige colored head. Nose of roasted chocolate malts, some fruit, and citrus. Medium in body. The flavor shows a lot of dark malts but is well balanced with the citrus and fruit. Long bitter rye finish. Good.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20 Strykzone (5819) - Wood River, Illinois, USA - SEP 24, 2015
Sampled at gabf. Quite dark. Nice fruitiness here. Citrus and some tropical. Bittetness is moderate. Not much "blackness" but a little. More IPA than black. Nice.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20 gunnfryd (13005) - Kristiansand, NORWAY - OCT 15, 2014
Can. Dark red brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is chocolate, citrus, orange, peaches. Flavour is roasted malt, hop, coffee, chocolate, citrus, orange, peaches. Medium body. Nice beer.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20 brokensail (13782) - Orange County, California, USA - SEP 25, 2014
Can @ home. Very dark cola colored beer with off-white foam. Nose is pretty decent. A lot of grass and pine. Slight lemon peel, grapefruit, and orange rind. Roasted malt and a bit of caramel. Flavor is less hop forward and has more of a bitter coffee and roasted malt character. Some decent herbs and pine. Mild citrus. Slight malt sweetness.
3.8 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20 decaturstevo (5538) - decatur, Tennessee, USA - SEP 23, 2014
Brown pour with tan head and lace. Aroma is resiny hops with some toasted malt. Flavor is sweet malt, roasty, with a good bitter finish. Medium body with good carbonation.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20 fonefan (39783) - VestJylland, DENMARK - SEP 23, 2014
Can 1 pint.
[ As Piney River Masked Bandit IPA ]. Clear medium to dark black brown color with a large, frothy to creamy, good lacing, fully lasting, off-white to light beige head. Aroma is moderate malty, roasted, chocolate, moderate to heavy hoppy, grapefruit, light grassy. Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration, roasted, dry, grapefruit, hoppy. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20140517]
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 13/20 Finhead (1407) - OFallon, Illinois, USA - JUL 15, 2014
Black pour with some reddish highlights and a frothy, tan head. The aroma is grassy along with some pine notes. It has a medium body with smooth texture and soft carbonation. The taste is mildly bitter with a slightly roasted finish.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 12/20 jandd1983 (3261) - Florissant, Missouri, USA - JUL 10, 2014
Sampled at the RBSG 2014. It poured a black color with a tan head. The aroma was of roasted malts with chocolate, citrus and hops. The taste was similar with plenty of hops. Very nice.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20 phaleslu (7831) - Cincinnati, Ohio, USA - JUL 6, 2014
16 oz. can from RBSG. Pours a deep brown color, just about opaque, with almost an inch of tan head that leaves some of the stickiest lace Ive seen in quite some time. Notes of piney, citrusy, somewhat earthy hops, dark chocolate, roast, toast, and burnt sugar. Light-medium bodied, with a bitter, smooth mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. Good black IPA, though as Frank says, it might be more accurately thought of as a really hoppy porter.
3.5 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20 Frank (3541) - Chicago, Illinois, USA - JUL 2, 2014
This is sold as a black IPA but to me its more of a hoppy porter, which is something of a positive in m book. It is a deep garnet brown color, nearly black with a solid head of mixed sized bubbles and lots of lacing on the glass. The nose is all hops, mostly pine. If I had to guess the variety, Id guess simco but I am never right so take that for a grain of salt. There might be a slight hint of roast grain in the but that element really comes out when you taste it--which is also why I say this is more of a hoppy porter than a black IPA. This is a medium bodied beer w/ moderate, creamy carbonation that lends a certain smoothness to it. It finishes w/ a lingering orange-zest hop bitterness in the finish. This is definitely a solid brew whatever style you think it is. My can is apparently four months old and you would barely know it by tasting it so great quality control, esp. for what I presume is a rather small operation. I am hoping and looking forward to the time when I get a chance to try this brand fresh.
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