Black Iron
Milwaukee Brewing Company

 

 

Pours black with a creamy tan head. Lacing sticks.

The smell is of citrus/pine with chocolate.

The taste is hop-forward. Chocolate cake supports it and blends well with the tropical fruits and hint of pine. It has an herbal, bitter finish.

It hits full-bodied, though the carbonation is slightly aggressive. Still it does have a smooth character.

Hop-forward, but with a firm dark malt backbone. It blends well (which it doesn't always do with this style, IMO.) Pretty complex. Nice long finish. Well-done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 oz. bottle, with no apparent bottled on date present. Another new beer to me from Milwaukee Brewing Co. I think this might be my fourth beer from them. Expectations are less than excellent based on my previous run-ins.

Poured into a clear balloon snifter.

A - Pours a dark woodsy chocolate brown; opaque black in the glass with a finger and a half of thick fluffy mocha head. Decent head retention. Scattered lacing. Looks pretty nice.

S - Smell is of dark barley malt roast, hints of chocolate, caramel malt, herbal spice rack notes, and some earthy / herbal hop presence.

T - Taste is of bittersweet chocolate / cocoa, hints of vanilla / cream, lactose sugars, coffee bean roast / bitterness, some burnt / char elements, and mild hints of earthy / herbal / piney hoppiness.

M - Feel is smooth and crisp, with some dark bitter roast lingering on the palate. Mildly sticky finish. Medium-bodied with good carbonation.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this offering from Milwaukee Brewing Co. Nothing extraordinary or groundbreaking, but a solid, well-made example of the style. Of all the beers I've had from this brewery so far, this one is probably the most likely contender for repeat drinking.

Milwaukee Brewing Co. Black Iron ---4/5.

 

 

 

 

This is a decent black ale, they call it "IBA," the meaning of which is somewhat obscure but the idea seems to be a so-called "black IPA."

Black, it has a big tan, creamy head slowly shirnking to thin rocky top, some lace - it looks very good.

Aroma is carmelise burnt toast, toasty barley - simple.

Taste is also a bit simple and lacking in character other than bitter burnt toast and hint of bitter chocolate. it has a slight grainy flavour, a bit hot/boozy and spicy, slightly bitter, but decent.

Pours dark black with a 1.5 finger tan head that has great retention. Looks decently thick.

Smell is good Some chocolate like roasted malt give this a nice creamy character to it overlaying some more roasted malt, piney and floral hops.

Taste follows the nose with nice rich chocolate like roasted malt and a mild a spicy piney hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel is good, medium bodied with moderate carbonation and some slight roasted bitterness and hop bitterness. Velvety and smooth.

 

A: Two finger head with good sustain poured from the bottle in a darker khaki color and laced the side of the glass with a thick coat. The beer, opaque black in color, no light shines through even when held to a light source, only a dark dark red brown hue.

S: Roasty and baking chocolate dominate the nose along sweet caramel/toffee malts. In the background sits some pine and earthy hop notes.

T: A strong chocolate sweetness washes over first with clean assertive bitterness. A piney, slightly tropical hop flavor balances out the sweetness in the middle, but the end it gets over powered by the chocolate and roasted malts. As it warms up the chocolate comes out even more making it more stout like than IPA/APA.

M: Thick and chewy with lower carbonation. Just a slight mouth drying affect when it warms up, but its not harsh.

O: What every you want to call it IBA, BIPA, BPA, ABA, the beer to me was more like stout with a more noticeable hop presence (but I guess that's the idea.) Not a bad beer but when I want a stout or and IPA I'll have one and not mix.. I may change my mind if I have a better example, but it was worth a go either way.