El Diablo Del Noche
Founders Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had this on 2010-05-27 at the Flying Saucer in Kansas City, MO (from tasting notes).

A - Deep, dark brown/black with a short white head with moderate lacing.

S - Dark roast, dried fruit, fig, pine, citrus.

T - Excellent and similar to the smells with plenty of hop bitterness. Lingering sweetness, bitterness and dark chocolate. Impressive.

M - Medium body and carbonation give a mildly creamy feel.

D - Had this as my first pint before my meal. I have a two-pint maximum and with 400 beers to pick from, I had a second one of these because it was so good.

Review taken from my notes at the VIP tasting seminar at the Columbus Beer Fest.

Poured a deep black in color like a porter, but had the thin consistency of an IPA.

Strong smell of hops and mild malt on the nose.

Very bitter, this is a hop bomb. As my first black IPA I was surprised at how much hop bitterness that would still remain. The beer falls into a light roasted malt character with a mild sweetness on the finish.

Nice medium to high carbonation. The beer was strong and very bitter. I immensely enjoyed it, but I think a single pint would be enough (or at least I might need something lighter in between pints). Of the three or so black IPAs at the beer fest this was far and away my favorite (much more so than Stone's Sublimely Self Righteous).

Many thanks to Kegatron for sharing this growler with us.

A-Pours a deep brown with ruby highlights, a frothy tan head and nice sticky lacing.

S-Lots of deep, roasty, grainy malt and strong bitter earthy hoppiness.

T-Starts with some sweet malt, then a hefty helping of dark roasted malts and an assertive earthy hop bitterness in the finish.

M-Medium bodied with lots of bitterness lingering long after the finish.

D-Deliciously drinkable. A very well done black DIPA, a style that I think is very difficult to get right.

HV

On tap at Bodega. Needless to say I was very very stoked to see this one here. They said its here because of the Columbus Beer Fest this past weekend.

A- Very thick dense sandy looking head. Lots of lacing. The beer is a murky dark brown with umber highlights.

S- Slightly weak. It might be a bit too cold and I was at a crowded bar, but i picked up lots of coffee, grassy and very spicy hops and some chocolate.

T- Very bitter. Starts out like one of the best darker ales. Lots of super strong espresso and dark chocolate. It breaks into a big, bitter IPA taste. Huge amount of spice. Lots of pepper, meat tenderizer, jerky and some citrus. All throughout this beer is bitter, just a few different types of bitterness.

This is by far and away the best "black IPA" Ive ever had. I really dont like black IPAs, until now...

A- A dark brown almost an opaque black color. Nice tan head that holds nicely with decent lacing.

S- A sweet syrupy smell up front along with a peppery note that is quickly extinguished in light of a large earthy hop smell. This clean hop smell holds on strong.

T- A molasses sweetness begins the beer as it progresses into a surprisingly amount of a pepper and roasted malt taste. As the beer moves towards the end the hop profile begins to dominate the beer. A earthy and grass profile along with the bitterness becomes the focus as it finishes the taste profile with the bitterness lingering slightly.

M- Medium body, very smooth with moderate amounts of carbonation.

D- Nice black I.P.A. and very drinkable for the style. Wish I could have the opportunity to sample this again, but don't know if that will be happening.

16oz serving in a shaker pint (more appropriate glassware anyone?), pours a very dark brown bordering on black with a decent tan head that retains fine. The aroma is a little more impressive with dark chocolate, espresso and some smoke upfront along with piney and resinous hops, a little molasses, dark fruits and some alcohol. The flavor is more of the same with dark chocolate, smoke and espresso notes, piney and citrusy hops, some blackstrap molasses, fig and plum, burnt bread, and a somewhat strong alcohol bite. The mouthfeel is smooth and rich without being overwhelming, and drinkability is OK but is limited by the roastiness and alcohol. This is a very strong offering by Founders, and the only Black IPA that really comes close to Sublimely Self Righteous, it's a bit more earthy and smokey than that beer which arguably makes it more complex but probably less drinkable.

poured almost black from the tap at finchs the night after a founders beer dinner to a 10oz goblet with a strong full finger tanny head.

very strong piney nose with faint hints of citrus.

nice mouthfeel, less thick than expected. piney hops fading to a malt balance after 15min or so.

more drinkable than a > 8 abv probably has a right to be.

thumbs up

Growler thanks to StoutFest.

Pours black with two fingers of sticky off white head with good retention.

Scent of dank, weedy hops, grass, citrus, pine, grapefruit and a hint of roasted malts. Definitely a hop dominant scent, I could smell this stuff all day long.

Taste of bitter, grassy, weedy hops, grapefruit, and some earth. This is the most hoppy Cascadian Dark Ale I have ever had, the hops here dominate without question, and taste very dank and hemp-like. I wish I could drink this every day for the rest of my life, this beer is ridiculously good.

Mouthfeel is smooth and medium bodied with medium-low carbonation.

I had this at dld. Very lucky to get a chance at it.

The color of this beer is fairly dark. Definitely a black ipa. Copper brown.. Pours some darker colored beige fizzy head.

Aroma: I really am having a hard time picking up the black notes here. It is pretty straight forward a double ipa aroma. Very nice floral hop notes with some pine and citrus flavors going on. This beast is packing a solid dipa aroma.

Taste: Just like the aroma, where is the black notes. This dipa appears dark, but tastes and drinks like a regular dipa. Solid floral hop profile and citrus notes. Grapefruit sticks out a lot. One of the best in the style.

Mouthfeel: Bitterness, but not over the top. Medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation. Ends like a typical dipa would end: a bit sticky with some hop resin.

Overall, I can't get over the fact that the color of this beer is so dark. This doesn't taste anything like it looks. I guess it goes to say you can't judge a book by its cover. This is an extremely drinkable black dipa. Best dipa I have had yet.

On tap @ Founders (Grand Rapids, MI) on 4/22/10. Served in a pint glass. ABV was listed as 8.1%.

Pours black (a touch of ruby comes out along the bottom), with a tight creamy ½ finger of light mocha colored head. Nice rich flare-up around the edges on this, absolutely coating sides of the glass with heavy froth. A fresh and powerful bouquet of hops greets the nose, being floral, citric, and piney with a dash of spice. The malts are no slouch either however, being dark and sticky under the hops, with roasted chocolate, toffee notes, and a smidge of coffee character. Swirling this in the glass really gets those hops wafting up thee ole' nostrils. This was rather great.

Fresh hops are equally assertive in the taste as well, with a fresh blast in the mouth up front that gives off a solid bite of resins, spice, and bitter citrus. The hops seem to ride along comfortably on that same chew layer of dark malts form the nose, consisting of bitter chocolate roast, a dash of coffee, and some sweet toffee. The overall profile is quite roasty and bitter with a deep dry spicy finish that lingers. The mouthfeel is medium to fuller bodied, with a solid firmness to the carbonation that stays creamier on top and then much sharper towards the back. This definitely has a bigger feel to it but the alcohol is very well hidden for an 8% beer and I think the amount of hop oils present really helps with that, adding a good bit of slickness to the body and keeping this very drinkable for the size.

I've really been digging on the Black IPA style lately and this was a good one. Both the hop and malt profiles were equally aggressive and strong (with the hops especially really being showcased here) but still managed to keep this balanced despite all of the roast and bitterness that was present. Really excellent drinkable feel on this to for such a big beer as well. They really nailed this one.