Devils Tale Black IPA
Devils Backbone Brewing Company

Devils Tale Black IPADevils Tale Black IPA
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Devils Backbone Brewing Company
 
Virginia, United States
Style:
Black IPA
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.79 | pDev: 8.18%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
34
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 08, 2017
Added:
Jan 21, 2015
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  4
We decided to switch it up a bit and brew the east coast version of Devils Tale as a Black IPA! We thought it would be cool to do two different versions of the same beer, added some additional black malt… collab Coronado Brewing Co.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by brocktune:
Photo of brocktune
Rated by brocktune from Virginia

3.72/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Mar 14, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.5 by duvel1979 from District of Columbia

Feb 08, 2017
 
Rated: 3.86 by RBorsato from Virginia

Jan 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.94 by dazedman from Virginia

Aug 27, 2015
 
Rated: 3.52 by Loveyourbeer from Virginia

Aug 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4.03 by Navalartichoke from Virginia

Jul 26, 2015
Photo of Treyliff
Reviewed by Treyliff from West Virginia

3.92/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Boned on 2/12/15, 12oz bottle poured into a tulip

A- pours black with a bit of light crying through, creamy off-white colored head retains for a while, eventually settling to a ring around the edge

S- citrus & piney hop aroma up front, underlying brown bread malt, with just a hint of smoky char

T- citrusy hop flavor up front with some piney flavors following, Underlying toasted brown bread crust and caramel malt with a hint of chocolate

M- medium body with medium-low carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel and a clean finish

O- so many beers of this style are too unbalanced, but this one does a great job of balancing the hop bitterness with a toasted malt background, well done
Jul 06, 2015
Photo of Beejay
Reviewed by Beejay from Virginia

3.74/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
A: The body is black with dark brown at the edges, and a somewhat small tan head on top.

S: Hoppy with grapefruit and orange peel. Perhaps a little of the malt aroma in the background, but not much.

T: Aggressively hoppy with sweet orange peel and a touch of tropical fruit. The malt blends well with the hops and adds a caramel sweetness to the dissipating orange flavor. The bitterness is nice and evenly balanced..

M: Medium in body with fairly high carbonation. It feels pretty clean with a touch of a linger from the bitterness.

O: Just damn tasty. A fine example of the style.
May 20, 2015
 
Rated: 3.64 by csnyder83 from Maryland

May 16, 2015
Photo of Jason
Reviewed by Jason from Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12oz brown bottle, sample from the brewery.

Roastiness stays to a minimum though leaves a flavorful layer of dark bread and chicory on the palate. Ample hop bitterness and flavor to keep the IPA theme alive. Fruity and toasty in the middle with a warming mildly estery finish. Its what is expected of the style.
May 16, 2015
Photo of cjgiant
Reviewed by cjgiant from District of Columbia

3.7/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Bottle:
Pours a deep brown, but a little thin looking. Head rises nicely, however, stays around, and leaves light tan lacing on the glass. Nose is a bit weak, but has some tropical fruit notes and some roasted grain notes, as expected from the style.

Taste exposes the dark grains a bit more, sort of a cola taste when combined with both the sweetness of the malts and the tingle of the carbonation. The bitterness I the beer is lightl astringent and seems to from the dark grains - sorta coffee bitterness. There is a light fruitiness to the beer later in the taste, sort of sweet tropical.

This beer is solid, straightforward, and hitting the spot at this time. A re-review might be more critical.
May 16, 2015
 
Rated: 3.65 by RobertColianni from Pennsylvania

May 13, 2015
Photo of Pantalones
Reviewed by Pantalones from Virginia

4.05/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Second bottle from the Devil's Backbone collaboration variety pack; bottling date is February 12, 2015.

Color is, as the name suggests, black! Well, actually a very very dark brown (as you can see by shining a light through narrow parts of the glass, or holding the beer up to a light), but normally it looks black. Head is a very light tan in color, and shrinks away fairly quickly (leaving a ring around the glass and a bit on top) -- though I recall it hung around a bit longer in my first one when I didn't pour as slowly. Leaves a nice little pattern of trails behind as the beer level in the glass recedes.

Smell is mostly piney hops, which I could pick up right away while pouring. There's also a bit of fruitiness, and occasionally a hint of a roastiness, though that's definitely harder to pick up than the hops. Smell is definitely weaker than the flavor here, despite that initial burst of hoppiness upon pouring.

Taste is primarily a dark-chocolate/roastiness right away, and then the hops come in, and they are mostly piney with a bit of fruitiness. I noticed the fruity aspect more the first time I had this one -- maybe grapefruit? there was a citrusy aspect to it along with the pine, but didn't stand out as orange/lemon/lime, the citrus fruits I'm more familiar with -- and I think I prefer the "more fruity" version to what I'm getting today, but what I'm getting today is still good (it's just "4/5 good" rather than a bit higher than that.) On the first sip the chocolate/roast is much more noticeable; later on the balance swings back toward the hops. Bitterness is present, but I would've never guessed 75 IBU if the bottle hadn't told me -- there's a bit of a bitterness that hangs around in the aftertaste (along with a good bit of chocolatey/roasty flavor and some pineyness from the hops), but it doesn't stand out as being strongly bitter to me at all. I suppose the dark malt's presence balances that hop bitterness out a bit. Overall it actually kind of reminds me of a dark chocolate candy with a hop-flavored filling, as weird as that sounds (it's not super sweet/sugary like that description suggests, but the general flavor of "hops wrapped in super-dark chocolate" still applies.) It's an interesting combination, hops and chocolate/roasty malt -- not one I've had before trying this beer, but it's one that I may seek out again in the future.

Mouthfeel is pretty nice overall, too. Absolutely nothing about it stands out as harsh or unpleasant in the least, and it feels substantial enough that I can't compare it to water while also being drinkable enough that I can take multiple sips (or gulps!) in quick succession. There's just a bit of stickiness on the lips after drinking, building up a bit over time. Alcohol presence is definitely not noticeable despite being 7.5% ABV -- there's no "mouth warming" as far as I could tell or anything, unlike most other 7%-range beers I've had.

Overall, this one is -- like its relatives in the collaboration pack -- a tasty beer that I'm glad I had a chance to try a few times before it's all gone. I've seen a lot of complaints about the roasted/black malt and hoppy characteristics of "Black IPAs" clashing with each other rather than working together, but for me personally, I actually am really liking the combination of the two in this beer!
May 01, 2015
Photo of HattedClassic
Reviewed by HattedClassic from Virginia

3.91/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
The beer has an interesting appearance. The beer head is a dark cream colored while the beer itself is a very dark brown that is actually clear when it's raised in the light but opaque when viewed from a distance. The effect is pretty cool actually.

The beer smell is not up to the same standards as other ABAs but still decent. The smell has a nice sharp pine smell that mixes well with the roasted smell from the malts. The final mixture is nice with the malts neither overwhelming the hops or vice versa. Personally, I think the malts could stand to be a bit roastier and some sweetness added.

The taste is pretty good and decent. The resin hop note from the smell is present in the taste as well as the malt. the main difference is that there is also a fairly nice chocolate sweetness underlying the roast but the sweet note is pretty week.

The mouthfeel is a bit light for an ABA and could use some more texture. The carbonation is biting which gives it some texture.

Overall, a decent collaboration and pretty good. Worth getting every once in a while.
Apr 28, 2015
Photo of obywan59
Reviewed by obywan59 from Virginia

3.67/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
At first it appeared black, but when I held it up to my computer screen, I could see througk it, barely. Held up to a bright light, it was a dark ruby in color, and had a 3 1/2 finger tan head that showed somewhat quick recession.

The aroma off of the hard pour was at first exuberantly hoppy, but that dissipated, and it became more of a sweet roasted malt aroma backed by ripe citrus.

The taste was more subdued than the aroma. Maybe a hint of dark chocolate, with semisweet malt and moderately bitter hops.

My first glass seemed more smooth with low carbonation, and maybe a bit flat, but the second was crisp and almost frothy on the swallow.

A sleeper as far as the alcohol is concerned. Not noticable in the taste, but by the end of the first glass, I was mellowed out. Deceptively smooth and easy drinking at first, but in the end, the beer won.

Moderate in body
Apr 27, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by PGVG from Virginia

Apr 26, 2015
 
Rated: 3.98 by MisledTitan from England

Apr 22, 2015
Photo of rjs246
Rated by rjs246 from Virginia

3.71/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This brew looks and smells fantasic. Taste didn't quite match up to the presentation but was still totally drinkable. Will have again.
Apr 17, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by robebo44 from Virginia

Apr 13, 2015
 
Rated: 4.11 by cm1165

Apr 09, 2015
Devils Tale Black IPA from Devils Backbone Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 34 ratings