Black Hop
East End Brewing Company

2023-04-19
16oz can served in a footed pilsner glass. Can has no date that I can find. Received today from @ozzylizard as part of NBS BIF #17.

Pours black, with a huge, overflowing head. Possibly because it arrived via ground transportation today. Head is a light brown or a dark tan color. Lots of active carbonation. Smell is roasty with some pine resin in the background. Some coffee, too.

Taste is dark roast coffee, burnt toast, grapefruit rind, lightly burnt toffee. There's a thread of sweetness in there but it's hard to characterize.

Mouthfeel is on the light side of medium, a little bit of an airy feel to it. Resin / stickiness is noticeable, too. Overall, this black IPA is on the black side of black IPAs, and I like it.

Black Hop from East End Brewing. 16 oz can. Purchased from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA on 09/02/23 for $ 4.00 (Including tax) - $ 0.25/oz. In reefer at store, stored at 34 degrees at home. Reviewed 13/02/23 (Review 3039). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Undated Can. Served at 48.0 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 52.7 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Brown (SRM 20), clear.
Body – Deep Brown (SRM 30), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, opaque with light penetration only at the edges (Goldenrod).
Head – Large (Maximum 6.5 cm, aggressive center pour), dun, high density, quickly receding to an irregular 1.5 – 2.0 cm crown, and a heaped, rocky, partial cap. Second pour produces a 2.0 cm wheat head, regular in edging.
Lacing – Fair. Torn remnants of the crown remain close to the surface and an archipelago of bubbles near the rim.
Aroma – 3.5 – Toasted malt and some hoppiness. No yeast.
Flavor – 3.5 – Begins toasted and malty, bitter. No yeast. No ethanol (6.9 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. No gastric warming occurs. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Ends toasted and mildly bitter.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, approaching creamy, soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.5 (After deducting 0.25 point for undated container) Unremarkable but decent take on the Cascadian IPA style.

 

Great introduction to a black IPA. while both satisfying the deep hoppiness of a traditional IPA, and the stout qualities such as notes of chocolate and coffee, It generated a unique flavor that can only be described as the true flavor of a black IPA. I highly recommend this beer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A decent black ale. Kind of an odd caramel and roasted thing going on though? Has some nice oily hop stuff going on as well. Not too bad overall.