IPA Black
The Kernel Brewery

IPA BlackIPA Black
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From:
The Kernel Brewery
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
Black IPA
ABV:
6.8%
Score:
89
Avg:
4.03 | pDev: 8.68%
Reviews:
12
Ratings:
22
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 22, 2015
Added:
Jan 16, 2011
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.85 by samEBC from Belgium

Aug 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by psm90 from England

Apr 01, 2015
Photo of ghostwalker
Reviewed by ghostwalker from Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Found this one at Oddbins, London Bridge Station, August 2012

A: Brown body, thin head.

N: Green hop nose

F: Tart and tangy hops. Light flavor coming in from the malt.

M: Sharp and astringent

O: Not my favorite style, but well done.
Dec 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Mack from Canada (QC)

Oct 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by TheBrk from Sweden

Sep 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3.8 by Evil_Pidde from Sweden

Sep 13, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by TwoBeers from Washington

Aug 04, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by DaPan from Canada (ON)

Aug 14, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Pelicanrocks from England

Oct 27, 2012
Photo of beerdrifter
Reviewed by beerdrifter from Germany

4.42/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Picked this up at the beer store at Brouwerij De Molen. BB date of 7/7/13. Dark brown, almost black pour with a two finger tan head with decent retention and great lacing. Very aromatic nose with a great balance between the roasty, chocolatey malt and the resiny, citrus hops. The taste is big and bold with in your face pine, citrus, and resiny fresh hops. Although the balance leans towards the hops, there's plenty of coffee, mocha, and bitter chocolate maltiness to even it out nicely. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with a bit more carbonation than some of the Black IPA's I've had. The finish is slightly dry with a great tangy, bitter hop bite. I could drink this all night! So far Kernel has not disappointed and is definitely a brewery I will seek out next time in London. Black IPA's are currently my favorite style, and this is easily in the top 5.
Apr 20, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by bobbo_

Apr 09, 2012
Photo of jazzyjeff13
Reviewed by jazzyjeff13 from England

4.42/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A 330ml bottle with a BB of July 2013. Bottle conditioned and ABV stated as 6.9% - previous forum discussions on this subject suggest that this is due to batch variation. Acquired from my local beer specialist. I like Kernel's minimalist labels.

Poured into a Delirium chalice. A deep black hue - revealed to be a very dark brown when held to the light. Yields a large head of tan foam with a fine consistency - this lasts for a few minutes before subsiding to a surface layer. A vast amount of sediment remains in the bottle - I've never seen so much yeast left behind. A powerful fruity hop aroma; notes of citrus, grapefruit, tropical fruits and hints of pine.

Tastes overwhelmingly of aromatic hops - stacks of flavour with a surprisingly restrained bitter finish. Notes of grapefruit, citrus, tropical fruit and a piny bitterness upon swallowing. Subtle hints of dark malt, coffee, cocoa and dry yeast undertones. Mouthfeel is tingly and spicy, with a nice body that is neither too thick nor thin. Very astringent - dries the palate. Aftertaste of citrus and pine.

Excellent - a fantastic black IPA. I'm not sure if you could pack more aroma into a beer. The blend of fruit flavours, malt and spicy mouthfeel make this close to perfect. If you chance across it - buy it!
Nov 21, 2011
 
Rated: 5 by brotherliam from California

Nov 18, 2011
Photo of thepeter
Reviewed by thepeter from England

4.22/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours Black with a slight brown/reddish hue in the light and a decent tight head. Aroma is a bit of citrus but heavier on the roasted malt, coffe and cocao. Taste is similar as it starts off with a citrus pine flavor, then goes a bit soapy for a second, an dends with coffee, malted cocoa with the pine sap coming back with the aftertaste. Palate is lighter than I expected. Could be richer and a bit more effervescent than I wanted. Still very good and overall one of my favorite in the style. I am a bit biased with the Kernel but know tha tthey do a great job and continue to get better.
Oct 30, 2011
Photo of Boozecamel
Reviewed by Boozecamel from Canada (BC)

3.88/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Poured dark black with a slight off-white one finger head. Well carbonated.

Smell: Citrussy hops with a slight coffee and caramel smell.

Taste: Upfront citrus and pine with a bitter slight coffee/caramel finish. Coffee aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Light mouthfeel, slightly resinous.

Overall: Great Black IPA. Had some excellent Cascadian Dark Ales and this isn’t far off the mark at all. Could drink this all night.
Oct 01, 2011
Photo of Zimbo
Reviewed by Zimbo from Scotland

4.3/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Drunk at BrewDog Edinburgh on Friday August 5, 2011 at the recommendation of a like minded just met fellow beer aficionado named Stephen.
The label claimed an ABV of 7% though in the past I have seen it listed at 6.8, 6.9 and 7.2%. With the advice of a few other UK BAs I've decided just to review this here as opposed to entering it as a new beer assuming that the recipe is still broadly the same.

And just gorgeous to look at when poured. A bit forboding too in its full black Imperial Stout like colour. Nose however tells differently with virtually none of the expected roast malt flavour escaping the black mass. Instead a piney Americanesque hop nose and a creamy dense thickish magnolia head. Hops dominate the initial taste with an immediate assertive bitterness before the beer's roastiness makes an appearance before merging back into a finish reminiscent of that initial bitterness.

Truly amazing how this works. Such incredible poise complimenting what would seem to be two opposing styles in one glass. Boy does it work without as much as a muttering of opposition.
An impressive display of Negative Capability.
Aug 08, 2011
Photo of AgentMunky
Reviewed by AgentMunky from New York

3.96/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Poured from a 33cL bottle into a Teku glass at the BrewDog bar in Edinburgh. Best before 9 March 2013. From notes. Reviewed 29 May 2011.

A: Brief creamy head atop a shockingly black beer. Opaque, impassive, and impressive.

S: Crazy hoppy. Acerbic American hops...Chinook? Slightly vegetal and very nice.

T: Deepish, full-charactered, bitterish, strongly hoppy, and always pleasant. An odd, pleasing roasted character. A very nice bitter aftertaste. Good beer.

M: Solid, pleasant, robust, lightly/hoppily drying.

O: The beautiful black colour and the roasted finish really set this IPA apart. Recommended.
Jul 01, 2011
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.8/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Very good black IPA. Great smell, very black,unfiltered strong on Cascadian hop. A big head. Pineapple and slightly tangy, chocolate, mildly roasted coffee, anise, mollasses, citrus.Above average mouthfeel.
Bang on the style.Love to have again. Doug's bottle.
May 08, 2011
Photo of liamt07
Reviewed by liamt07 from Canada (ON)

3.82/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Bottle shared by Doug, 12oz into a tulip. Best before January 28, 2013.

Pours black, with some shades of mahogany when held to the light. Opaque body for the most part, with a khaki couloured head that's both creamy and relatively dense. Solid retention. Nose has pine, some orange that's subtle but detectable and a general darker malt character that's difficult to distinguish. Taste kicks off with some lemony hop bitterness and pineapple, mixed in with a general roasty character. Light feel and fairly high in terms of carbonation. Reminiscent of their IPA CSC in some regards, and adds an interesting twist on it with the roasted and dark bread character.
May 06, 2011
Photo of ReluctantScooper
Reviewed by ReluctantScooper from England

3.36/5  rDev -16.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Bottle from beermerchants.com

Black IPAs or whatever the hell they're called this week are still en vogue. Though I'm still waiting for an all-Citra BIPA that straddles both bandwagons.

It's a fair beer; it's fairly black, there's a fair bite to it with fairly robust citrics. It just doesn't shine as much as other Kernel IPAs; it's more the moody teenager than the ebulliant toddler.
Mar 22, 2011
IPA Black from The Kernel Brewery
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 22 ratings