Lawson's Finest Liquids - Toast

Toast is a 5.9% ABV Black IPA/Cascadian Dark Ale/whatever from the good folks at Lawson's, who love their hops and i love them for it. I'm under the impression that this was brewed once, in the spring (and yes, I did drink it in the spring, but as you can see I've been really awful about posting my reviews lately, so sorry) and it was sent to me from a friend on the East Coast as part of a big box of delightful hoppy treats from Vermont.

Appearance: Deep brown that is nearly black, with a thick, mousse-textured tan head that is retained for several minutes and leaves sticky lacing on the sides of the glass. Very attractive pour.

Smell: Exactly how I like a black IPA to smell -- dark, roasted character from the malt, lending a robust espresso character, plus a more sweet, floral and resinous hop note that tempers the acidity from the dark malt.

Taste: The dark roasted malt dominates the palate. The hops come through a bit, but they aren't as present as they are on the nose, so the most obvious flavors are those of coffee and chocolate. Where I can detect hops, I get more of a citrus character than I picked up from the nose. As the beer warms, it becomes more astringent.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, with the moderate carbonation one expects from an IPA. Because I think the roast character wasn't as well balanced with the hoppy notes I'd want from an IPA, this more effervescent mouthfeel works against the beer. With this kind of flavor profile, I'm programmed to want a more creamy body like in a porter or a stout. It's not a bad mouthfeel, but the whole synergy is off.

Overall: This is a style that people are divided on. Myself, I like it when it's done well. Firestone's Wookie Jack and the Stone 15th Anniversary beers (not to mention Stone's Sublimely Self-Righteous, which I also like, but not as well as the former two) are my favorites of the category. This one is a good tasting beer, but does fall a little short in the exact balance and seems to be tipped more in the robust toasted malt flavor. Not bad drinking, but not my favorite effort.

3/5

Firestone Walker - Wookey Jack

Wookey Jack is Firestone's black rye IPA, which is made periodically, and it is 8.3% ABV. Firestone has good national distribution, and my understanding is that everyone in their normal distribution areas had access to this beer.

Appearance: This beer is dark brown, very nearly black, but not completely opaque. It pours off a tall, light tan head, that leaves dense lacing around the sides of the glass.

Smell: Floral and earthy hops, a touch of rye, slight hint of roasted character and chocolate.

Taste: The taste is primarily roast and rye at the foreground, but a grassy hop bitterness washes through in the mid-palate and persists in the finish. As the beer warms, the rye becomes more and more dominant throughout the whole body of flavor.

Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied, and smooth. The bitterness from the hops adds a bit of perceived prickliness to cut the overall thickness.

Overall: This was a really tasty beer, and another really nice black IPA (with rye, which is a nice touch.) For some reason, this didn't really light my fire, but I certainly liked it, and it is definitely a solid beer I would recommend (particularly if you like black IPAs.)

3.5/5

Stone, Ninkasi, and The Alchemist - More Brown than Black IPA

This was a one-time collaboration between these three breweries that was distributed through Stone's collaboration series (a new one ever few months.) It's simply labeled "India Pale Ale" on the bottle, but it's clearly meant to be a lighter version of a Black IPA/Cascadian Dark Ale/whatever you'd like to call it. Though it's lighter in color and not as robustly roasted as a true Black IPA, it's still not light in alcohol and checks in at 7.4% ABV.

Appearance: It looks exactly like Coca-Cola. Chestnut brown, with a thick brown-tinged head that's about 2-3 fingers in height. Lots of visible yeast suspended -- I didn't pour carefully enough, I suppose.

Smell: Floral and tropical fruit hop aroma, including mango. I can also smell sweetness and a very faint roasted character, and toasted biscuit.

Taste: Right off the bat I get roasted characteristics and a bit of sweetness, like sweetened coffee. This bottle is a little bit old, so the hops have faded, but there is still a note of bright fruit that comes through on the palate after the roasted flavor. It blends nicely, and though the hops still contribute bitterness, its more of a fresh bitterness rather than the lingering, often stale-tasting bitterness that coffee can leave behind.

Mouthfeel: Very creamy mouthfeel and a nice, dry finish. It's light to medium bodied. Very pleasant.

Overall: I had this fresh and it was very good; even now it's still not bad at all! The flavors are very nice and the mouthfeel is great. The nose is the only thing that's average -- it's certainly indicative of what the beer tastes like, but it doesn't leap out at you in a living, inviting way. Other than that complaint, this was a nice one to kick back with on a Friday.

3.5/5

Ska Brewing - Toasters 30th Anniversary SheBeen Black IPA

ABV Unknown
I know nothing about this brewer or this beer! It was purchased and consumed in Vail, Colorado -- likely a local microbrewery.

Drinking beer out of a wine glass... I'm so FANCY!

Appearance: It looks like a porter. Deep black and opaque. There is some nice lacing.

Smell: All I get is roasted coffee.

Taste: There is a slight hop bitterness, and also bitterness from the roasted (almost burned) coffee character. Overall it's just bitter and acerbic.

Mouthfeel: Medium and smooth bodied, with light carbonation.

Overall: I was really not impressed by this. There was no depth of flavor or balance. It was just coffee and bitter both on the nose and the palate. It wasn't gross or horrible to drink, just very basic.

2/5

Stone - 15th Anniversary "Escondidian" Imperial Black IPA

As the title says, this is an imperial "black" IPA -- a relatively new term (also sometimes known as "Cascadian Dark Ale" or "India Black Ale") -- to describe a beer with all of the hoppiness of a (double or Imperial) IPA except that it is black in color. Generally, a dark brown or black beer has that color because roasted malts were used in the process of brewing the beer, and those roasted malts have characteristic flavors that are more commonly ascribed to stouts and porters (the traditional "dark" beers.) So, the "black" IPA will have some of the roasted malt character of a dark beer, but those flavors are really supposed to be bit players in the overall taste, leaving the hops dominant. It's a bit of a trendy brewing trick with varied results.

Appearance: As the name suggests, this beer looks like a stout to the unsuspecting eye. It's a deep black in color, with about two fingers of mocha-colored head that leave thick, sticky lacing on the sides of the glass. It's completely opaque, and there is no visible carbonation in the glass.

Smell: The dominant smell is resiny, piny hops. There is a vague hint of a smoky chocolate from the roasted malt, and a less dominant residual hint of acidic fruit from the hops.

Taste: This is a big beer. Hops are predominant, as expected from an imperial IPA, but the roasted malt provides an intriguing and solid backbone to the punchy, piny hops. I've mentioned before that I'm not a huge fan of overmalting an imperial or double IPA to balance it, but roasting the malt is an interesting trick that allows for a strong malt profile without making the beer (to my palate) sickly sweet. I do get a bit of an alcohol bite as the hop characteristics transition to the malt, which is neither unpleasant nor unexpected in a beer as strong as this. One thing that was lost in this hybrid style, for me, are fruity subtleties that can usually be detected in a hop-forward beer. Though I was able to faintly smell some fruit on the nose, perhaps pineapple or grapefruit, the extra bold roasted malt overpowered a bit of the softer characteristics of the hop, leaving behind only the resiny bitterness.

Mouthfeel: The beer was medium bodied, and very appropriately carbonated given the huge taste. At the front of the sip, the carbonation lightens up the beer, contrasting nicely with the huge flavors. Further back in the mouth, the beer is creamy, which gives the contrasting flavors the opportunity to meld on the palate.

Overall: As you can see from the lengthy (or lengthier than usual) description, I found this to be a very unusual and exciting beer. I've only had the opportunity to try two other black IPAs ever, and I've found the three (including this) to be similar; however I think that, despite not doing a detailed profile of it at the time, there was a black IPA offered by Kern River brewing that is probably my favorite, based on memory alone.

If the internet is any indication, there is a bit of contention among beer geeks if this style really deserves to be called its own style. Some feel that there is no reason why there can't be such a thing as a hoppy porter or stout. Though I'm really only a (mediocre) taster and not a beer historian or label expert, it kind of seems to be that this argument is really just a reversal of the current name -- IPA with roasted malt vs. porter/stout with extra hops. If this ends up being a style that grows and isn't merely a trendy brewing idea that dies out within a few years, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be considered its own style. After all, even within IPAs, there are "American-style" IPAs, "West Coast" IPAs, etc. You get the picture. And the way that styles are today, I wouldn't think that it would be appropriate to just call this an IPA or a porter/stout. It's truly a blend, and as such, deserves its own moniker.

But back to this particular beer. For the time being, I'm going to say I love this. It's easily the most acceptable way that I've had of allowing the malts to have a front-and-center performance in a beer that otherwise showcases hops. I love that the chocolate notes lent by the malt becomes bittersweet chocolate when the hops have had their say. And obviously, I just love hoppy beers in general. I'd love to see with time how this holds up -- if other examples of the style are going to eclipse this in my memory of favorites, or if this is going to remain at the top of the list. As of right now though, all I can say was that for me, this was truly different and great, even if it won't be drinkable for people who don't love hops (because let's face it -- Stone never shies away from hoppy-ass beers, and this is no exception.)

5/5