Live Free Or Die Black IPA
Woodstock Inn Brewery

 

 

 

 

From 16oz can. Pours pitch black with the nice brownish head. Roasted malt and coffee. Medium body, very smooth. Little bitter at the end. Great black IPA.

 

 

 

Poured from a 16 oz can into a tulip glass.

Pours a dark cola brown color with a finger of effervescent khaki head. The head leaves in a hurry leaving very little in the way of lacing.

The aroma brings some mild notes of chocolate, roasted malts, and booze. Tons and tons of booze. No hop aroma to be detected.

The taste gets its bitterness from charred notes instead of hops. Lots of burnt chocolate and roasted malts, leather, and chewing tobacco. Like the nose, the taste is very boozy.

The feel is medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Relatively smooth and creamy. Just tons and tons of alcohol.

Overall, a pretty bad beer all-around. It's extremely boozy and the hops are barely noticeable. Definitely not recommended.

 

From the bottle, it pours black with a modest head. The nose gets some chocolate malt and toffee and initially a bit of alcohol. The mouth gets roast and blackened malt.

From the can, the head lasts a good while and leaves lacing.

 

dont understand how this beer can even be sold... nose was straight rubbing alcohol, sadly taste was the same.
wasnt able to pick up any hoppy notes, or anything coming from the malt profile - which basically means this 'black IPA' is a massive fail. I'll say it again I dont understand how this beer can even be sold, a simple taste test would be enough to realize that this beer is basically undrinkable, and from a brewery that I have heard some good about, thats pretty disappointing. Also I guess Im just pissed off because they had a lot of beers to choose from and im assuming some of them are decent, given that theyve won awards and all ... this should be taken off the taplist at their brewery/inn.

From the 650 ml. bottle with an expiration date of October 2016.Sampled on May 7, 2016.

The pour is a deep black with a large, soft tan head that lingers and laces.

On the nose there is coffee, dark malts, grass, tobacco, ash, and only the slightest hint of grassy hops.

Medium and smooth body.

Like the aroma the malts are more forward than the hops but so is the burnt ash and tobacco. The alcohol bite is a little noticeable. It ends with a mild to moderate bitterness. But this is a lot different than any Black IPA I have had.

 

 

22oz. bottle served in a shaker pint. Pours slightly darker than cola with a loose, quarter inch, khaki-colored head that slowly dissipates into a soapy slick that coalesces along the edges. Nose expresses feint metallic notes, dark malts and a strange toffee/chemical character. Taste follows nose; however, there's also a pleasant roasted quality and some ethanol; however, the strange off aromas in the nose unfortunately translate to the flavor profile. Mouthfeel is light-medium in body with a lively carbonation that leaves a residual prickle along the tongue between quaffs. All and all, this beer really doesn't come together. Not sure if it's infected or a bad batch, but the flavors and the nose are a little off-putting.

 

On-tap 1/18/2015 at Battleship Brewhouse, in Fall River, MA, served in a snifter glass.

A: The beer is a deep dark brown color, with a large dense light brown head that fades very slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains chocolate, herbal hops, citrus and roasted malts.

T: The taste starts out with a very floral but not over-powering hops bitterness. Then sweet flavors of citrus and chocolate come in. The roasted malt character is hearty and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly hoppy and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is dry and slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, good kick, good representation of style. This is a solid beer to drink for a while if you’re in the mood for the style.