Empirical Ale
Black Creek Historic Brewery

Empirical AleEmpirical Ale
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From:
Black Creek Historic Brewery
 
Ontario, Canada
Style:
English IPA
ABV:
5%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.45 | pDev: 10.72%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
20
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 17, 2015
Added:
May 11, 2014
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by DaveBar:
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Reviewed by DaveBar from Canada (ON)

3.59/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Purchased at the LCBO for just over $3.00 for a 500ml can. Served at 4deg C in a draught glass

A- Opens well and pours a 1/2" high off white head that films out in a minute. Very dark brown color. Filtered clear

S- Light amount of hops with lots of malt.

T- A bit bitter even for an English IPA. Tremendous amount of malt. Sweetness to be found.

M- Dry and crisp

O- Pretty good but nothing to write home about. Not my first choice but I will have it again if it's around

Food Pairing

This pretty good beer went well with....... Beer battered fish and chips!

Enjoy
Apr 12, 2015
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.63 by CRObighit2 from Canada (ON)

Aug 17, 2015
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Reviewed by EricVonStein from Canada (ON)

3.58/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
rich dark cloudy amber colour with a finger of lingering head. Looks like it has some serious body to it.

Roasted sweet malts are big on the nose, lots of molasses, black liquorice, and dark rye bread.

Good deep bitter hops come in at the front before you get to the burnt grains and brown sugar. Only mildly sweet though. Lots of malt in the middle. Finish is bitter again with resiny character. Booze is also present even though its a standard 5% abv. In the end, a bit two dimensional.

Overall very enjoyable sipper. with strong balance between malts and hops. just wish it had more of a finish - for all the interesting character in the front and middle portions I find it doesnt transition well at the end and kind of fades away. Definitely worth a try though..
Jul 31, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by krome from Illinois

Jul 16, 2015
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Reviewed by peensteen from Canada (ON)

2.36/5  rDev -31.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 2.25
Deep amber-orange colour, ring of white head with no lace. Smell is buttery and malty, teas leaves and oddly some coffee as well, earthy hops and very faint fruit. Big buttery malt, mostly tastes like diacetyl and coffee grinds, bitter with tea leaves and muddy fruit. Light-medium carbonation. Either this bottle was off or this beer is just pretty bad, in any event I will never come back to this.
Jun 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.78 by Molson2000 from Canada (ON)

May 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3.33 by Long813 from Canada (ON)

Apr 29, 2015
 
Rated: 3.33 by Tyler_V2 from Canada (ON)

Apr 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.91 by andrenaline from Canada (ON)

Apr 12, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by Pmicdee from Canada (ON)

Apr 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by spinrsx from Canada (ON)

Jul 11, 2014
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Reviewed by SebD from Canada (ON)

3.36/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Appearance: It has a nice hazy golden/amber color to it. It has a nice off-white head that dies down moderately and leaves some nice bubbly lacing.

Smell: The aromas definitely give out hints of bready/toasty malts, light roasted coffee, toffee and faint earthy hops.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has some bready/toasty malts, faint coffee, light toffee and a grassy/earthy bitterness.

Mouthfeel: It has a low carbonation with a decent overall balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a smooth drinkable beer accompanied by decent flavors and aromas.
Jun 12, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by BigGruntyThirst from Canada (ON)

Jun 09, 2014
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Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)

3.55/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
500 ml bottle purchased from LCBO for under $5 CDN. Served cold into a pint glass.

Appearance - very hazy honey brown color with some red and orange hues. Thin half finger of white head is poured but sticks around for a decent while given the small frothy yield initially.

Smell - heavy on the malts, namely molasses but there's a butterscotch sweetness that cuts through like a hot knife through butter. Mild tropical fruit notes in there to namely something akin to mango or papaya. Pretty interesting and the nose is quite bold even when cold.

Taste - the molasses shows up but the sweet fruity and butterscotch element are subdued. In the aftertaste as strong bitter earthiness shows up. Momentary lapses on odd numbered sips seems to reveal the trace of butterscotch, but more than anything there's a among a rye like presence the burns and remains dry bitter and grainy.

Mouthfeel- creamy but a bit prickly due to lively carbonation and the rye like presence. Medium body and feel otherwise.

Overall - a fine beer, but a little too bitter for the sake of being bitter and would have loved for some of the fruit in the nose rise to the surface. Still there's a chance that this May grab your fancy so give it a shot.
May 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by cfalovo97 from Canada (ON)

May 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Sammy from Canada (ON)

May 16, 2014
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Reviewed by patre_tim from Thailand

3.75/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
A: Dark brown copper, slight haze, 3 fingers of slight beige head, no carbonation.

S: Coffee, Ovaltine, toffee, dark toasted malts, light smokiness, white pepper, cumin, film reel.

T: Dark and dark amber toasted malts, Ovaltine, light smokiness, film reel, caramelized onion, big dank long lasting bitterness. Garlic, chives, herbs.

M: Medium bready body, little carbonation.

O: I can only assume this to be Black Creek’s reproduction of an authentic English India Pale Ale. It taste unlike any IPA I’ve had. The toasted quality is unlike any other, the mouth feel makes me believe I am having an authentic reproduction, and all the tastes point to an IPA, though the flavor profile is so different from others I've had. I really want to hear the story behind this beer.
May 15, 2014
Photo of TerryW
Reviewed by TerryW from Canada (ON)

3.63/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
A decently made beer. Nicely balanced between hops and malt. Not quite dark amber, pours up a good head that settles to a full film. Good lace all the way to the bottom of the glass. Somewhat thin-bodied, a little soapy. Quite malty up front, sweet and toasty. Pronounced hoppy bitterness that doesn't overwhelm, but lingers nicely.
May 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by RedAleMan from Canada (ON)

May 13, 2014
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Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)

3.74/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
500 mL bottle picked up at the LCBO; best before Aug. 2014 and served just below cellar temperature. Black Creek seems to be brewing up a lot of new stuff lately – it would seem that their Historic Beers series has been successful enough to encourage the brewers to try their hand at some new offerings.

Pours a crystal clear orange-amber colour, topped at first with just over one finger of frothy white head that wilts away over the next few minutes. A soapy cap and collar remain behind, with a nice, uneven curtain of lace left clinging to the glass. Nice looking beer, with a balanced aroma that includes bready malts and toffee countered by some earthy hops. Light citrus, with a vague notion of spicy rye.

A fairly enjoyable, properly brewed English-style hopped ale - the blurb on the brewery website suggests that this is intended to be an homage to English IPAs of yesteryear, and I can live with that categorization. The malts are at the forefront, offering up notes of toffee, toasted bread and a light, fruity sweetness. The hops, while not entirely English in origin (Nugget and Cascade are the strains used), provide an earthy, leafy bitterness toward the finish, along with some candied citrus peel. The aftertaste has a lingering bitter-sweetness to it that I am really enjoying. Medium-bodied, maybe a little on the lighter side, with this brewery's trademark low carbonation giving this brew an appropriately smooth mouthfeel.

Final Grade: 3.74, a B. Like most of the beers in Black Creek's portfolio, Empirical Ale is a straightforward, approachable, balanced English-style ale that makes for a satisfying glass. The hop bill complements the sturdy malt profile perfectly, making this one of my favourite Black Creek offerings yet. If this one stays available through the summer I'll definitely be grabbing a few more bottles.
May 11, 2014
Empirical Ale from Black Creek Historic Brewery
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 20 ratings