Black Christmas
Parallel 49 Brewing Company

Black ChristmasBlack Christmas
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From:
Parallel 49 Brewing Company
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
Black IPA
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.81 | pDev: 9.97%
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
34
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 28, 2019
Added:
Nov 15, 2012
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  4
This beer does away with Vanilla and spices common in Christmas ales and delivers hops and bitterness. A new style of beer developed in the Pacific Northwest, this CDA is hopped like an IPA but is dark in colour. 100-mile local hops were used to build the hop flavour and aroma.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by souvenirs:
Photo of souvenirs
Rated by souvenirs from Canada (BC)

3.65/5  rDev -4.2%

Nov 28, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of Lone_Freighter
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont

4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks Mark.
Poured into a becher pint glass.
The appearance was a dark brown close to black color with a small finger's worth of an off-white foamy head. Slow dissipation leaves some glossy messy lace.
The aroma had some strong bittersweet piney and woody hops pushing against a roasty dark toast, dark leather and some coffee grounds.
The flavor meshes in some of the coffee grounds and dark toast with the pine and adds a brisk citrus sweet side. Mild aftertaste of the citrus, light pine, dark toast and coffee.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a good sipping quality about it. Mild carbonation hits appropriately and touches my tongue with the right amount of hop harshness for the style. Mild lingering roasty to piney/woody hoppy notes in the finish.
Overall, nicely done CDA in which I would welcome again if I could get it again.
Jun 28, 2019
 
Rated: 3.56 by IPAnicked from Canada (BC)

Feb 16, 2019
Photo of LampertLand
Reviewed by LampertLand from Canada (BC)

3.77/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Parallel 49 'Black Christmas CDA' @ 6.5% , served from a 341 ml bottle Day 13 Seasons Greetings
A-pour is a deep dark brown that turns black as a medium size tan head clings to the pint glass leaving some spotty lacing
S-lots of hops , citrus , pine needles
T-cascadian dark ale in taste , bit hoppy , bitter citrus bite in the finish
MF-medium carbonation , medium body
Ov-the grinning scrooge beside CDA on the label says it all ,
Christmas Dark Ale -or-Cascadian Dark Ale , clever Parallel 49 ,
very clever marketing , now please make better beers
prost LampertLand
Dec 25, 2016
 
Rated: 4.09 by Tivlavrie from Canada (AB)

Dec 16, 2016
 
Rated: 3.96 by Bunman3 from Canada (AB)

Dec 15, 2016
 
Rated: 4.04 by mistahmojoryan from Canada (SK)

Dec 14, 2016
 
Rated: 4.12 by Niceroad77 from Canada (BC)

Dec 14, 2016
 
Rated: 2.46 by ILOVEHAM from Canada (BC)

Dec 13, 2016
 
Rated: 3.65 by BCborn from Canada (BC)

Dec 07, 2016
 
Rated: 3.66 by Kmat10 from Canada (AB)

Mar 18, 2015
Photo of CalgaryFMC
Reviewed by CalgaryFMC from Canada (AB)

3.92/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
341 ml bottle poured into a tulip. An opaque dark black (looks brown at the very bottom) with a solid three fingers of thick frothy tan head that recalls sponge toffee. Great look. Also on board with a black IPA as a Christmas offering, as I am more than a little spiced out right now, at least when it comes to beer.

Aroma is rich with coffee, molasses, and dry chocolate chips deftly seasoned with grapefruit, mango, pine needles, oregano, and dried cherries. Kind of a dried leather fruity sweetness. Sublime. The taste does not quite reach such lofty heights but still delivers some robust dark coffee, dried fruit snack, menthol cough drop, flat cola, and honeyed caramel flavors that co-exist relatively peaceful-like. May not hang together as well as some other CDAs I've sampled but still vibrant, roasty, and darkly sweet with plenty of potent hop resins. Orange juice and crisp spicy leaf become noticeable late. Thick texture, rather creamy, with gentle carbonation. A distinct whiff of ash emerges in the dry finish.

This gets top tier scores across the board expect where it counts most. Still, a solid addition to the Parallel 49 canon and something I'd buy outside of the holiday context.
Feb 20, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by Ericbeech_87 from Canada (BC)

Jan 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.57 by bulldogops from Canada (AB)

Dec 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Larz_73 from Canada (BC)

Dec 15, 2014
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.71/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
341ml bottle, day 13 of the Parallel 49/Central City Mystery Gift Holiday Countdown.

This beer pours a clear (I think), very dark brown colour, with prominent basal cola highlights, and three fingers of puffy, rocky, and bubbly beige head, which leaves some stellar webbed jungle tree profile lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of meaty caramel malt, dank pine and leafy forest floor detritus, toasted wheat bread, grainy caramel malt, cherry menthol drops, a touch of earthy yeast, soft wet char, and further weedy, floral, and kind of perfumed hops. The taste is roasted caramel malt, muddled pine needles, spruce tips, dead leaves, a still isolated ashy char essence, a bit of flat cola sweetness, and indistinct musty, somewhat phenolic esters.

The carbonation is fairly understated in its generic frothiness and opportunistic fizziness, the body a sturdy medium weight, and full of a tattered sort of smoothness, the roast and hops not known for playing nice in that arena. It finishes off-dry, the blend of styles as apparent as ever.

While this may eschew the typical seasonal beer trappings, it does at least get it all right with the name - the blackened malt, the (Christmas) tree-borne bitterness, I'm fine with letting that all go. But, as usual, as a normal, drinkable brew - I just can't get on board with the two dueling forces here, and what they do to my various flavour receptors.
Dec 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by kjyost from Canada (MB)

Dec 13, 2014
Photo of wordemupg
Reviewed by wordemupg from Canada (AB)

3.97/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
330ml bottle poured into tulip 28/11/14

A dark cola liquid, dense of fingers of mocha foam has great retention and cakes the side of the glass with lace

S spruce, pine, melon, coco powder, a little smoke, some citrus, not overly intense but hits the right noes

T more of the same but a little more of i, the roast is darker but the hops shine through a little stronger at the same time, faint coffee and char come out as it warms

M smooth entry and creams up nicely, has a bitter bite and a little grit, citrus and char linger

O well rounded CDA, lots of hops, lots of dark roast, easy to drink, no major complaints

I wouldn't grab another advent calendar to drink one but I wouldn't mind seeing this in 6ers or bombers in my neck of the woods
Nov 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by JonnyBeers from Canada (BC)

Oct 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by Hornet2003 from Canada (BC)

Aug 19, 2013
Black Christmas from Parallel 49 Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 34 ratings