Freak State
BrewDog

Pours a black color. 1/2 inch head of an off-tan color. Great retention and decent lacing. Smells of spicy hops, slight citrus hops, slight alcohol, sweet malt, hint of roasted malt, and a hint of resin. Fits the style of an American Black Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of spicy hops, slight citrus hops, slight alcohol, sweet malt, hint of roasted malt, and a hint of oatmeal. Overall, great blend, good body and feel, not hop-centric.

 

 

12 oz can, came in a boxed variety 12 pack

3/14/18 stamped on the bottom

Pours the advertised "Ink Black", moderate mocha cap leaving some spotty stickage.

Nose of dark and caramel malts

More of the same on the palate, dark and roasty grains, more rich caramel notes. Musty, gritty and grainy hop notes in the finish providing the counter balance...enjoyable stuff, that's worth a try

 

 

 

 

12 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 3/14/2018. Pours nearly opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky light khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, mango, melon, berry, citrus peel/rind, light pepper, pine, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, spicy rye, toasted dark/brown bread, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and moderate dark/roast/bready/rye malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, mango, melon, berry, citrus peel/rind, light pepper, pine, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, spicy rye, toasted dark/brown bread, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, grassy, roast bitterness; and rye spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, peach, pineapple, passion fruit, mango, melon, berry, citrus peel/rind, light pepper, pine, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, spicy rye, toasted dark/brown bread, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and moderate dark/roast/bready/rye malt flavors; with an awesome malt/bitterness and rye spiciness balance; with zero acrid/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from hop/roast bitterness and rye spiciness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, fairly sticky, and slightly resinous/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 6.6%. Overall this is an awesome black IPA. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and moderate dark/roast/bready/rye malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly bitter/drying finish, never aggressive. Loved the Chinook, Simcoe, Citra, and Columbus hop profile as expected. Very juicy and fairly dank hop complexity; nice roast/rye malt backbone, that still lets the hops shine. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.

 

 

 

This is a delicious, very accessible black ale. It provide the extra body and roasty taste you would expect, nicely melded into an easy drinking treat.

It pours nearly black with some decent head that dissipates. The aroma is a fresh roasty hoppy smell. Very appealing.

The taste is a subtle version of what you usually get in the style. None of the nasty overtones dominate, just a nice, roasted malt flavor with plenty of hops, all working in unison.

Highly recommended. Now I have two everyday beers I like from this brewer (with Elvis Juice).

 

 

Canned on 3/14/18. 12oz can poured into a tulip. Pours almost black with a creamy light khaki head that sticks around leaving great thick retention and sticky lacing. The aromas have some roasted malts, citrus and cocoa. The flavors basically follow the nose for the most part. More roasted characteristics. Some grapefruit along with some subtle hints of pine. Hints of chocolate. Moderate bitterness. Malts do their thing without dominating. Alcohol goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is nice. It's medium-bodied with active carbonation. It's pretty smooth and easy to drink.

This is a solid "black IPA". It's nothing too crazy, but it's not bad at all. It's more/less what you would expect from the style. It's clean and actually refreshing. It's enjoyable and fun to drink.

12oz can, date stamped 03/14/18. Pours a cola-like dark brown with a tall tan head that holds good retention. Aroma is a combination of piney and citric hops, along with some roasty malt. Big & bold hop character with pine and zesty citrus; malt backbone is roast, chocolate, and caramel. Medium body, ample carbonation, finishing pungently bitter and semi-dry. Really solid beer here and definitely recommend trying it.

12 ounce can, canned on 03/14/18 by BrewDog USA. Served in a BrewDog pint glass, the beer pours dark brown/black with about a couple inch tan head that stuck around for a long time. There's a good amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like citrusy and pine/grassy hops, roasted malt, coffee and bittersweet chocolate. I think the taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some dark/stone fruitiness noticeable too. Lingering bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit coating with a moderate amount of carbonation. I thought this was a good all around brew, glad I picked this one up!