Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA
Stone Brewing

 

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. Pours pitch black with a small light brown head. Smells of grassy hops with very slight dark roasted grain. Tastes of citrus and earthy hops, with nice chocolate notes. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, a very good beer.

 

 

 

Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a black color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of pine, roasted malts. Taste is dank, pine, light roasted malts, a touch of alcohol, significant bitterness. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is an enjoyable beer.

 

 

 

Pours black with a couple fingers of khaki foam. Aroma is sticky resin, with toasty and roasty malts underneath. Sticky, but dark, with earthy undertones. Flavor profile is sticky resin and mild dank hops, with roasty and toasty malts underneath. Caramel and earthy flavors build as the beer warms. It's a really sticky IPA, but with dark stout undertones. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a mild velvet, fluffy texture. Very low grit. Overall, sticky dark beer, which is always a juxtaposition, but in a favorable way.

Served in a 15.5oz Spiegelau tulip from a 12oz bottle. Reviewed from notes.

Picked up a six pack, pours almost black. Strong flavor that was great. Makes you feel great. Became my go to beer for about a month. Did my job to bring it back next year.

 

Great in between beer. I love stouts, I love IPAs. This one is perfectly in between for me.

LOOK: black in the glass with a finger of foam, opaque, coarse bubbles, lots of lacing
SMELL: super dank, roasted coffee and pine
TASTE: the perfect 50/50 between stout and IPA. Chocolate, coffee, molasses, caramel, with a nice hoppy finish.
FEEL: Heavy and dry, mildly carbonated.
OVERALL: Incredible, but not a regular drink. Super delicious for special occasions.

Deep dark brown in color.
Nice roast notes, floral.
Man that first sip is deep in roasty malt flavor and good hops too. Caramelized flavor and some char character.
Medium to full and long finish.
Boy I am glad to finally try this and I want more.

 

12 oz. can packaged 1/5/22 poured into a nonic pint glass.

Mahogany brown color with two fingers fine tan head. Full lacing curtains and 1 cm. cap.
Pine, plum, grapefruit, light toasted malt aromas.
Citrus, light licorice, raisin, dark chocolate, light char flavors.
Good bitter hop mouthfeel initially, more flavors appears across the tongue. Great lasting carbonation. No alcohol heat. Dry finish.
Great flavor combination with the piney hops and dark malt. Always a place for this beer.

 

I’m very impressed with Stone for this one—most Stone IPAs have the same exact generic bitterness; however, this one is different; this one has a balanced hop flavor, balanced bitterness, and is oh-so-smooth. Pours a dark brown like the color of the glass bottle it came in, yet looks basically black poured into a glass. Has a head you would expect from a darker beer like this…the head dissipated but still left a thin lingering layer…the lacing is wonderful. The 8.7% ABV is extremely well-hidden in this brew. Honestly—this does leave your tongue longing for more sip after sip, with the melody of flavors. I’m about 2/3 done with this 1 pt 6 oz bottle and I have no idea why I’m already feeling buzzed. Nice work on a unique brew, Stone. Try it while you can as it is a limited re-release.

 

Very different from other black ipa's. The look is the same but the hop characters are very different. Not as malty but happy and delicious. Grassy and floral but very drinkable.

 

 

 

 

Poured cola brown and looked black in the glass.
Aroma was actually hoppy for me, which was surprising as most black “IPAs” are more malty than hoppy.
Taste followed, this actually tastes like an IPA, with an abundance of malty flavors like coffee and cocoa.
Feel is excellent too, almost crushable in mouth feel, very crisp like almost.
Glad I finally found one to try, I’ll be on the lookout.

Pours black with a tan head. Smells of hoppy goodness and roasted malt. The flavor of the dark malt with the hops is outstanding. Lingering bitterness.I am glad I finally got to try this one.

This is probably the best black IPA I have ever had due to the roasted malts and chocolate undertones.

L: Nearly black with brown highlights and tan bubbles with good retention.
S: Citrus peel and roasted malt.
T: Toasted malts, citrus fruit bitter hops, chocolate and coffee. Interesting combination not common in an IPA.
F: medium body.
O: excellent and unique.

 

 

Poured from can dark black but not thick like a stout. Head was slightly tan that left decent lacing. Nose is dank like an old school IPA. Taste is sort of chocolate or cocoa, but then it fades to a bitterness that had sticking power. Took a while for the bitterness to fade (GOOD THING!) Good beer.

 

January 2022 Special Release - 6 pack
12 oz. can dated 12/22/21 - 8.7% ABV / 90 IBU
Brewed and canned in Richmond, VA
Poured into a Bell's branded tulip snifter glass

Look - Pours a thick and dense light tan head that leaves lacing. Pitch black appearance with small amounts of light coming through revealing a reddish hue.
Smell - Not getting much aroma from the beer while it's cold. Maybe some toasted malt. As the beer warms, there's the scent of pine, grapefruit, coffee, and faint dark fruit coming forth.
Taste - Initial taste is charred malt and pine that brings a nice bitterness. Getting light chocolate and citrus flavors as the beer warms. Also getting dark fruit and berry qualities. Can't detect any alcohol flavor.
Feel - Medium bodied with a sharp mouthfeel and you can feel the booze burn on the back of the tongue. Has a fairly dry finish.
Overall - Nice hop flavors that balance well with the smoky malt. Easy to drink despite the high ABV.

 

 

Clear, very dark brown, near black with a substantial foamy tan head that persists and produces some nice lacing.
The aroma is pine resin and caramel with some notes of raisin and plum.
The taste is dark roast malt, pine, caramel, plums, coffee and dark chocolate with a lingering dark roast bitterness that outlasts the hops, very bold and robust.
The body is solidly medium, very smooth, good carbonation level.
Altogether this is an outstanding example of this style and a very enjoyable brew for the hops lovers.Very nice!