Wild Raven
Thornbridge Brewery

 

Copenhagen 3/6 2021. 44 cl can from Meny, Borups Allé, Frb. F. Black can in Thornbridge’s usual design with blue letters and golden ornaments.

Pours unclear dark brown with a red hue. Mid-sized off-white head. Fairly stable. Settles as thin but consistent layer of foam covering the surface of the beer. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is medium intense with a sweet, roasted, dark odor mingling with citric notes. Roasted dark malts. Grapefruit and citrus.

Light carbonation. Slightly thick, oily, almost flat texture.

Flavor is medium intense with a medium strong sweetness followed by a slightly stronger citric bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter with a sweet roasted undertone.

Pleasant Black IPA - nicely roasted sweetness meeting citric bitterness.

Pour pitch black with a large tan head, good waves of lacing. Lighter roasted malt supports piney hops with grapefruit. Taste adds overly roasted nuts, otherwise the same, roast is stronger though, giving more balance. Feel is the winner, full bodied, dry, smooth, clean, with good roast, bitterness and hops textures.

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Very dark brown colour, nearly black. Creamy beige head. Nice aroma of fruity and piney hops, some roasty notes in the background. The flavour is also fruity and piney with plenty of hop character, with a dry roasty and medium bitter finish. Good stuff.

 

 

**
04/22/14
On tap at Khyber Pass pub, Philadelphia .

Appearance Is dark black. Medium white head. Lasting legs.
Aroma Is floral, hops, malt.
Taste is toasted malt, almost fruity but not quite. Smoke, ash.

A nice beer. Great way to wash down my fried catfish po boy. Yum.

**

 

L - Dark brown, but not black, with a two finger white head

S - lots of pine, a bit of chocolate, a bit spicy and some citrus

T - Caramel, chocolate, grapefruit, a nice english hop presence with some spiciness

M - Good carbonation, putting the taste in the center of the stage

O - A balanced beer, getting better at each sip. Not a hop bomb, but the hops brings a good balance to te chocolate and caramel malts.

 

L: Jet black color, 2 to 3 finger light brown head, quickly dissolving lacing, high carbonation.

S: Hops, caramel.

T: Sweet, chocolate, slightly bitter and malty on the back end. Really good taste.

F: Great mouthfeel. Full bodied.

O: Superb beer. Would gladly drink on any occasion.

 

Jet black on tap, tan head, 4/5". Aroma was earthy tobacco, mild roasting.

Taste had plenty of bitterness. Lots of carbonation paired with grapefruit hop bitterness. Hopping blend was interesting. Dry. Staying away from dark fruit notes, stressing roast and bitterness. Good in small quantities but I was ready to be done with it by the end of a pint.

 

Pours semi-opaque hazy brown with a red eclipse into a tulip glass from a bottle. The beer is thick with sediment as it settles out. The offwhite head is 2 fingers high, sparse, and foamy with good retention before it drops to thick surface froth.

The nose is very sweet, with ripe tropical mango and passionfruit, floral grassy notes, sweet nectar, and something akin to elderflower. There's an almost fruit salad/black jack combination going on, those sweet, dank aromas marrying into an anise, dark malty undertone that just sits beneath the surface.

The flavour is very similar to the aroma with more of those big ripe mango and grapefruit flavours on the sip, pith, dank piney grass, treacle malts, anise, and bitter floral aromatic hops on the finish. There isn't much of a pinpoint to when the palate turns from IPA to dark ale, it seems to be all encompassing. This black IPA reminds me of a doppelbock in many ways.

It feels light-medium bodied, carbonated, and pleasantly balanced between wet and oily. There's no hint of dryness, and it's light enough to enjoy more than one.

I enjoyed this ale very much; it provides a sweeter spin on the black IPA, whilst submitting some of the lovely dark flavours we love so much in dark ales. Would recommend.

 

Pours a dark reddish brown with a big head that leaves some lacing. Nose is both piney and malty, giving an impression in-between US and UK styles. Flavor adds in a bit of roasted malt characteristics, but isn't super exciting. Crisp medium mouthfeel, carbonation high. Overall, solid but not mind-blowing.