The Cadillac Black IPA
Great Northern Brewing Co.

 

Poured from bottle into a pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a dark brown, nearly black color, with a two finger head of a rocky looking brownish colored foam. The head has a decent retention, fading over time to leave big islands of rocky lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma of the beer is heavy of a roasted malt smell with a decent showing of a coffee smell as well. Along with these aromas comes some lighter notes of chocolate as well as a decent showing of a hop mix of earthy, herbal and pine smells.

Taste – The taste begins with a roasted malt flavor as well as some moderate chocolate and molasses sweetness. Coffee flavors develop soon after the initial taste, bringing more roastiness to the flavor profile. Some light hop flavors of pine and earth are present upfront with these getting stronger and being joined by some herbal hop tastes as the taste moves forward. More sweetness of a caramel and molasses flavor come at the end, and with an increase in the earthy and some grassy hop flavors, one is left with an odd mix of sweet roasty and dank hop tastes to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is average in terms of thickness with a carbonation that is a bit high for a heavier dark IPA. Even more thickness and less carbonation would have been better for this brew, likely melding well with the dank hop and sweeter dark tastes of the brew rather well.

Overall – This is not really an all that well crafted and easy drinking Black IPA in my opinion. It had a nice hop profile, but the dark tastes were too sweet and the mouthfeel was a bit weak. Not one I will go back to any time in the future.