Wormtown Dark Day BLACK IPA

Wormtown Dark Day BLACK IPA (2013)

Limited Release (March).

22 fl. oz. / $8.99 USD / 6% ABV

About: "Dark Day refers to an event that occurred on May 19, 1780, when an unusual darkening of the day sky was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada. The darkness was so complete that candles were required from noon on. Dark Day IPA is a collaboration with Dave Richardson from Gardner Ale House. Herbal hop aroma is complimented with roasted malt character. American de-husked roasted barley does not lend a bitter acrid flavor but imparts a roasted character that melds with low level caramelized malts. Big herbal, citrus hop flavors and bitterness clash with roasted and mildly sweet malt. Try Dark Day IPA and then drive to Gardner to try its sister brew Nightcrawler IPA."

Thoughts: Poured a dreadfully dark brown color that's not completely black in the glass but is impossible to see through. The eggshell head started slow and then uprooted itself, leaving a three finger top full of small bubbles.

Smells crisp. I like what I'm getting here. Though pretty hop forward there's a sweetness to the scent that really accents the herbal, minty qualities. There's some slight pine, but it's mild and very earthy, and a hidden punch of citrus behind that mint.

There's a lot of roasted malt to start off the taste. It was hardly evident in the scent, very background stuff, though with a black ale you know it's gotta be there. Aside from the boost of roasted dark malt, the taste is pretty consistent with the smell. It's got a potent herbal tone that flows through from start to finish. At the end of the gulp a slow rising bitterness builds and forms a minor haze of leaves and smoke. It's a pretty weird blend of flavors but they all intermingle nicely. After warming it gets a little bready and some caramel notes start to shine through. The aftertaste kind of tastes like raw sourdough that's been charred with a blowtorch.

The mouth feel is very light and bubbly. This stuff pretty much immediately turns to foam once it enters the mouth. I guess we can say that it's an airy situation. This is a decent black ale. It could have used some black licorice and some barrel aging, but at least it didn't reek of chocolate and coffee. Dark Day is my second beer from Wormtown and won't be my last.

Clown Shoes Hoppy Feet 1.5

Clown Shoes Hoppy Feet 1.5 First Anniversary Ale - double black india pale ale (2010)
Brewed and Bottled by the Mercury Brewing Co., in Ipswich, MA. USA.
Limited Release (Brewed Once)
22 fl. oz. / $9.49 USD / 10% ABV

About: "One year of brutal work and abundant shenanigans is in the books. So, we up sized Hoppy Feet (...lovingly crafted by combining Premium malt with lots of Amarillo and Columbus Hops. Grapefruit and Pine are balanced on the nose and on the palate by a nutty, dark chocolate, roasted backbone) and dry hopped it twice. The huge, complex flavors and powerful hop and malt aromas make a worthy tribute. Thank you, each one of you, for helping make our dreams real."

Thoughts: Poured a dark brown initially out of the bottle, that immediately transformed into a solid pitch black in the glass. The head was a one-finger with a khaki color and it didn't last all too long. There are puddles of foam atop the brew now.

Juicy plums dipped in chocolate sauce. It smells really strong, so I better get ready for my head to be knocked backwards. It's a hazy strong dark fruit scent with a strange background that almost like graham crackers and caramel. 

First gulp went through about four or five phases. Smooth and strong, then spicy, there's an alcohol burn after the swallow, with a grassy afterglow, and a hint of coffee at the end of everything. Mostly it's just that hazy burn, with an aftereffect of breathing some pepper dust. After warming, the overwhelming sensation of booze dies down a bit and the flavor really comes through. It's of dusty hops up front, lingering grassy hops following close behind, and dirty caramel.

Mouth is clear and pleasant, not too low or high of bubbles, and there's no lingering effects.

3/4th's of the way through and it's pretty much just OK for me. Nothing really stood out taste-wise that especially impressed me, and at the same time, I wasn't really disappointed to any severe degree. It's got the pluses and minuses, and it infected my sinuses, but in the end, it's probably just a hopped up version of their Hoppy Feet brew. After tasting this I'm bound to try many of their other brews, but not the Hoppy Feet normal release anytime soon. So we'll see...

Samuel Adams Dark Depths

Samuel Adams Dark Depths - Baltic IPA (2012)

Limited Release (1'st Batch)

22 fl. oz. / $5.59 USD / 7.6% ABV

About: "Dark, Fierce and Blustery. Across the cold and brackish waters of the Baltic, the English porter was transformed, from a mild ale to a dark and complex later that confounds definition. Immersed in dark, roasted malts and a bold citrus hop character, these big and contrasting flavors are brought together with the smoothness of a lager for a brew that's bold, mysterious and full of flavor."

Thoughts: Poured a very dark raspberry color that I've never seen before in a beer, and it was pretty cool. The head was thick and foamy right from the build, with a cream color and around the edges, a bit of light brown and a yellowish tint. Very strange and interesting look to this beer.

This smells pretty damn good. It's cold, heavy and tangy. It's mainly a tingly citrus attack, and it's a bit sweet.

Starts off with a instant sweetness and then suddenly an ultra bitterness rushes in, attacking facial nerves. There's a peppery alcohol fume after the swallow, and an almost unnoticeable caramel background once that fades.

Mouth is a medium, very bubbly... yet easily swallowed and leaves a clean trace.

I liked the initial smell of this beer more than the taste. I let it warm and the malts start to come through a lot more, not that the hops were standout or anything when it was cold. It tastes a bit soapy to me though. I've read reviews where people describe a soapy taste, but I've only experienced that one other time (with Dogfish Head Hellhound - Review on the way). That was a bit of a dish soap taste though, and this one is more like a bar soap like Dove. I don't know if I would say that it tastes "better" once it warms, but the taste is more obvious.

Sadly, I'm not really a fan of these two new brews that Sam Adams put out. The tastes of both are well, unique, but they didn't make me happy so I'm leaving them for other beers. It would have been cool if they had four new Batch 1's instead of just two and Batch 2's of Griffin's Bow and Tasman Red... but those two were the best of all six of these so I can see why. It still should have been four new ones this time, and then 2n'd Batches of the other two. Meh.

Uinta Crooked Line Labyrinth Black Ale

Uinta Crooked Line LABYRINTH Black Ale - Ale brewed with Licorice Sticks and Aged in Oak Barrels (2011)

Brewed and Bottled by the Uinta Brewing Company in Salt Lake City, Utah. USA. 
Year Round Beer
25.4 fl. oz. / $12.89 USD / 13.2% ABV

About: "Enter the Labyrinth, a multi-dimensional black ale. Discover the complex intermingling of black licorisha nd toasted oak. Seek the subtle hints of bittersweet chocolate. Flavors are enhanced when served cool, not frigid. / Labyrinth Black Ale, from Uinta's new Crooked Line, was triumphant in its first competition since it was conceived earning a Gold medal in the Imperial Stout category of the competition at the 2010 North American Brewers Association Awards. Aged in rye barrels."

Thoughts: After about five minutes of pacing back and forth between trying to pry this fucking cork out, I wiped the sweat from my brow gave it one last tug. It didn't even pop, either. This one must be playing hard to get with me! Labyrinth poured a nearly pitch black straight out of the bottle. That's rare. The frothy head is one of the darkest I've seen as well, resembling a rich brown cocoa color.

Smells heavily of chocolate malt, very boozy and there's a little bit of that black licorice underlying there. It doesn't really smell fruity, but rather just a bit tangy.

Hmm. I actually expected a bite of my first sip, but things remained calm. Interesting. This is very, very malty. On the second gulp there's a tingling of fumes, and that subtle black licorice taste. Confession: I love black licorice! Can't stand the red shit. It's pretty mellow in this beer though... like way too mellow. I'm going to let the second half of the bottle warm up while I type this review to see if it stands out more later. After a few gulps and breathing in for a while, the oak barrels that this was aged in becomes more apparent. There's some light sawdust smoke on my tongue. Better keep drinking. Fifth gulp and I got major alcohol haze with this one and a lot more wood. That's pretty much it.

Mouthfeel is very rich and creamy. Thick. Mouth coating and a little bit astringent.

I enjoyed this Black Ale / Stout, but was disappointed with the lack of black licorice tastes here. I was hoping that it would stand out a lot more than it did (I had the same minor problem with the Maple Syrup in the Dogfish Head / Sierra Nevada collaboration Life and Limb). Maybe I'm just hard to please. This is my first Uinta beer, and I'm sure I'll be trying two or three more of their Crooked Line sometime soon. The artwork on this bottle is really cool and eye catching, and of course, I can never pass up a Black Ale. Next time I lay down thirteen bucks, I want double that licorice though!

Southern Tier Imperial Iniquity

Southern Tier IMPERIAL iniquity - black ale (2011)

Everyday Availability.

22 fl. oz. / $7.49 USD / 9.0% ABV

About: "The hexagram talisman has been used around the world for centuries to invoke magic and good luck. The six–point star is also the customary symbol of the brewer, representing the essential aspects of purity: water, hops, grain, malt, yeast, and of course, the brewer. Wishes of good fortune often collaborate with the brewer’s creativity to yield dramatic results. We carefully chose the name for this Imperial India Black Ale, Iniquity – a word opposing goodness. Why? This beer is contrary to what one may expect from an IPA; this is an ale as black as night. It is the antithesis of Unearthly. Some may consider it an immoral act to blacken an ale. We suggest they don’t rely on conventional standards. Allow the darkness to consume you!"

Thoughts: Iniquity black ale poured a not-so-much black but rather a rich, dark brown and after the pour a caramel like near dark. The brown eggshell, one finger head maintained itself very well, never completely fading away.

First hint of scent was a strong, dry hop. It's mainly citrus and grassy. Then a really malty tone flowed in, almost near chocolatey, but not exactly. The toasted malts don't remind me of coffee thankfully. One thing's for sure, this smells really tasty!

Very malty starting off, malty in the middle, then bits of hops flow in and a hazy bite of alcohol hits. It almost tastes like one of those chocolate oranges you see at gourmet candy shops... almost. It tastes better than that actually. There's a really cool mingling of flavors and different style beers here, is this an IPA or a Porter? Who gives a shit as labels piss me off. There's a lot of malt for an IPA, and while I'm not all too fond of stouts or porters (for the most part), this brew is leaving me pretty damn satisfied.

It's a bit syrupy and even a bit fluffy feeling. Heh. Fluffy...

There's a little bit of that dusty candy taste once it's all gone. I'm getting used to that. It's not as bad this time around compared to some other brews, and it's definitely not a problem here. No complaints from me with this beer. I dig the whole "Black Ale" thing too.