15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA
Stone Brewing

22 oz. bottle poured into a goblet.

Appearance - Very dark body, but not pitch black. Some transparency at the edges. It has a nice chocolate head to start, but it's gone in a flash and it diminishes to lacing. Spots of lacing remain and some sticks to the glass.

Smell - Strong citrus flavors and a plentiful roasted malt character behind it. These black ales always throw me off. The aromas just don't seem like they would complement each other, but they seem to work out in the end.

Taste - Hops at the front, much like the aroma. It fades very smoothly into the chocolate and coffee flavors in the end, but finishes just so slightly bitter. It never seems to fully materialize the chocolate and coffee flavors. They are muted by the hops, which dominate throughout.

Mouthfeel - There's a lot of booze in the flavor, it has to be said. It's heavy for an IPA and light for a stout. It's in between. I like it, but it leaves me questioning which it would like to be. Clearly more the IPA, but heavy and boozy for the style.

Overall - I like how the flavors meld in the taste, but I still feel like it wants to be either an IPA or a stout, but not both. It's surprisingly drinkable, though, just not great.

 

Had this on draft.
A: pours dark, black body with small, tan head with nice retention and lacing
S: nice, grapefruit smelling beer; nice overall
T: nice, grapefruit tasting beer; some bitterness; some roasted undertones
M: medium bodied and fairly smooth
D: nice mouthfeel and taste combo; definitely a nice drinking beer; solid IPA

 

 

From notes 8/19/12: Pours pitch black with 2+ fingers of soap bubble foamy, lasting mocha head that leaves nice webby sheets of lace. Aroma is grapefruit, pine, roast, char, and smokey with some chocolate and coffee. Taste is citrus with roast, chocolate and anise in front, pine and a dark fruit hint in the middle, it finishes chocolate in a blend of pine and citrus hop bitterness with a coffee hint. The alcohol is most noticeable the finish. FULL of roasted character.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is from the 2016 anniversary pack. Pours a black color with a thick, brown head that dissipates quickly. Smells of citrus, top soil, chocolate, and caramel. Taste had an overall citrus bitterness to it, enveloped with tones of malts, chocolate, and earth. Feel is silky smooth. Overall a very nice black IPA.

Pours black with two fingers of dark, motor oil head. The head is fizzy and disappears pretty quickly with no lacing left behind. Aroma is dark, with notes of roasted and toasted malts, with pine hops and chocolate. It's almost more of a hoppy stout aroma. Interesting. Flavor profile follows the path lead by the aroma, with roasted and toasted malts and chocolate up front, before breaking away to a bitter, pine hop bite. The long lingering taste leaves very little other than pine hops on the palette. Mouth feel is bold, strong, and filling. It has a thick consistency and texture similar to a quality stout. The thick, viscous feel keeps this beer from being easy to pound, but makes it a pleasure to sip if you love the feel of a stout, but the bite of hops. Overall, it's a great black IPA. While it may be more adequately named as a hoppy stout, it still does the job of presenting hops in an alter-ego type fashion in regards to appearance. Just be careful, as the hops are a bit brutal.

Served in a 12oz snifter.

This bottle is from the 20th Anniversary IPA pack, made in 2016.