Category Archives: IPA – Black

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, IPA - Black

De Struise Black Damnation VIII – S.H.I.T.

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: IPA – Black
Other Notes: 150 IBUs. Black Albert mixed with Elliot Brew, aged in bourbon barrels. This mixture of a Russian Imperial Stout and an IPA results in a so-called Black & Tan

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A Belgian Dark IPA from Flanders aged for 2 yrs on bourbon barrels. Supreme Hoppy Intensive Thing.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.95
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 28th May 2021, with a best before of +5 years, poured into a De Struise tulip glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a one finger beige head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Prunes, licorice, grapefruit zest, pine, roasted malts, chocolate, and toffee.
Taste: Bittersweet, roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, bourbon, resinous, pine, licorice, grapefruit, and toffee.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Despite the high ABV%, this was pretty easy to drink as the booziness was well hidden, with the nice balance between the roast and the hops.

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4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, IPA - Black, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone Stygian Descent

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Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 11.6%
Style: American Black IPA
Other Notes: 90 IBUs. Small Batch Series. 2016 Series, Batch No.02. Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA Ale aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels & Bourbon Barrels. Brewed May 3, 2016, Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA practically named itself. The perfect melding of dark malts with a downright indecent amount of hops forges a complex flavor profile of assertive dark roastiness and big, bright hop notes for a singularly sublime experience. Malts – Pale, Caramel and Carafa III. Hops – Chinook, Amarillo and Simcoe. Unfiltered and aged 5 months in American Oak Templeton Rye Whiskey Barrels and Kentucky Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Small Batch Brewer Cecil Menasco thought it would be an ingenious experiment to age our dark and deeply hopped Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA in rye whiskey barrels…and he was right. This time our small batch crew, never a self-satisfied bunch, added bourbon barrels. The result is transcendent: perfectly balanced dark chocolate, oak, dried fruit and citrus tones. As it warms, the spicy rye and sweet bourbon barrel notes complete this masterful transformation.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 500ml corked and caged bottle, 2016 Series, Batch No.02, bottled in October 2016. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: Dark brown to black in colour with a two finger tanned head that had great retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Hoppy with some light roast, pine, chocolate, coffee and a touch boozy.
Taste: Roasty, chocolate, coffee, oak, bourbon, hoppy, pine, orange zest.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Despite the high ABV%, this was pretty easy to drink as there was good balance between the roast and hops, and although there was some booziness in the aroma, it was well hidden in the taste.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Eleventh Fort Brewing Co., IPA - Black, Thailand

Eleventh Fort Black India Pale Ale

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Brewery: Eleventh Fort Brewing Co.
Country: Thailand
ABV: 8%
Style: American Black IPA
Other Notes: Brewed at Kingdom Breweries (Cambodia) Ltd under the supervision of Eleventh Fort Brewing, Samut Prakan

Brewer Description: (from bottle) An intense hop flavored Black IPA brewed with black malts, sea salt and Akha Ama coffee beans.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.96
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 21st January 2020. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a two finger beige head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Light to moderate roast, coffee, piney hops, and lightly citrusy and floral.
Taste: What you’d expect from the aromas, light roasted malts, cocoa, coffee, piney hops, citrusy grapefruit and a touch floral.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A nice Black IPA with a good balance between the roastiness, piney hops and citrus.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Beerbliotek, IPA - Black, Sweden

Beerbliotek No Style Without Substance

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Brewery: Beerbliotek
Country: Sweden
ABV: 11%
Style: American Black IPA
Other Notes: Imperial Cascadian Dark Ale. #188

Brewer Description: (from can) Just in time for summer comes this 11%, black, super hoppy beverage, ‘cause you never know. #blackipa?

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.88
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 22nd June 2018. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A very dark brown, almost black colour with a less than one finger mocha head that dissipated quickly and left close to no lacing.
Aroma: Roasty coffee, chocolate, char with hints of dark fruit, plum, prunes, raisin and pine.
Taste: Sweet dried dark fruits like prune and raisin with a touch of smokey char and hoppy pine. Only hints of the cocoa, coffee, chocolate combo that I get in the aroma. The boozy character does come through here, but is not overpowering.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, although leaning towards full, with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: This was quite good although a touch on the sweet side and also a touch too boozy (granted it is 11% abv).

4 - Good (buy), Beavertown Brewery, Beer Reviews, England, IPA - Black

Beavertown Black Betty

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Brewery: Beavertown Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 7.4%
Style: American Black IPA
Other Notes: 75 IBUs. Malts – Best Pale, Caragold, Caramalt, Carafa II and Carafa III. Hops – Colombus, Chinook and Citra

Brewer Description: (from website) So it’s a contradiction in terms. A Black India Pale Ale?! The concept we came up with revolved around the old chewy sweets ‘Black Jacks & Fruit Salads’. We wanted to take a big, fat IPA and lace it with under- tones of slight roast and aniseed and blend with the huge tropical aromas of Pacific West coast hops. We gained the hint of roast by using Carafa malts from Germany. They give us the dark colour and a touch of roast but minimal bitterness, thus letting the hops fly and fly!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 1st September 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: It was a dark dark brown colour with a one and a half finger tanned head that had good retention and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Citrus peels with some nice roasty malts and cocoa.
Taste: It’s pretty much what you would expect from the aromas with nice citrus flavours, balanced with roasty malts and hints of chocolate and coffee. There is also a lingering grapefruit finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A good Black IPA that is very easy to drink. It’s 7.4% ABV but feels very sessionable. Quite a dangerous combination.