Hopothesis D
Freetail Brewing Company

 

 

Had on tap at Freetail.

A - Pours a dark brown with a nice fluffy sand-coloured head. Good sticky lacing and decent head retention

S - Strong bitter, piney hops. Some dark crystal malts bring out a smoky charcoal chocolate.

T - An interesting beer. There is definitely the piney hops but they aren't at the forefront as one might expect out of a Black Ale. There is a strong, bittersweet chocolate note that seem to predominate. I pick up some pepper, lemon, and a touch of coffee

M - Quite smooth and creamy. Nice

O - An oddball beer. One minute it fits the style, next it seems to be something else. A lot of flavours going on. Would have again. Good beer, just not fantastic

12 oz. pour into tulip, $6.50 (not on Tuesday happy hour $2.50 list) 4.19.11.

Dark brown body under 1/2 finger brown head, no visible carbonation due to hue, quick dissipation resulted in thin layer of head on top of body. Aroma is dominated by roasted coffee, some sweetness in the middle with citrus and resiny hops which became more pronounced as the beer warmed. Taste mirrors nose, quite a bit of crystal malt enhanced sweetness and balanced the big hop bill, fairly complex. Medium mouthfeel but not a lot of effervescence, pretty boozy, a bit sticky. IMO this is more of an imperial porter with a big hop profile, more so than a CDA.

Kind of like an amped-up DFH Indian Brown Ale, which I love, so I really love this. Very predominant espresso flavor, with cloying sweetness. Lingering bitterness on the tongue. Velvety. Good preservation in the growler. This is the 3rd day and it's holding up well. Alcohol well-hidden; it will creep up on you. Classified on the menu as "Experimental Dark Ale." Might be a combination of a barleywine, coffee porter, and a black IPA.

I know that the hopothesis series is Freetails experimental brew, but with D they need to make this a regular in their circuit of beers. Very dark brown in color with a nice caramel colored head. Smell of very aromatic hops and sweetness of the malt and burn of the alcohol tantilize the nostrils. This bitter sweet smell carries over into the taste. For the dark color and taste the beer is very medium bodied, and has a nice balance of carbination and good bite with 9% ABV. Overall a very good beer, hopefully they make this a regular brew at Freetail.

Many thanks to lnashsig for sending this my way. Poured from a fresh well chilled 64oz growler into my Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

Opaque, seal brown liquid with three fingers of light khaki cascading foam which slowly recedes to a lasting pillow of soft peaks. Sticky cracked-ice-patterns of lacing coat the sides. Very light legs. Excellent retention (especially for the serving style!).

Rich malt with brown bread, faint chocolate, and coffee in the nose. Plenty of hops give off a tell-tale aroma of earth and forest floor. Maybe a touch of diacetyl, though it could be caramel.

Chocolate ganache, burnt sugar, and espresso beans meld with spicy earthy hops which impart a touch of mint in concert with the spread of alcohol mid-palate. Moderate bitterness that builds slowly to it's full 100 IBU by the end of the glass. The sweetness gives way to specialty malt and darker roasts in the finish, while hops variously suggest scallions/chives (probably from CTZ) and chocolate covered candied orange (Amarillo, Summit, and Centennial are in here too). Excellent balance between dark malt and high alpha-acid hops.

Medium-bodied, well carbonated, and mildly astringent and sticky. Warming, but the alcohol helps the flavors bloom rather than obstruct their presentation with heat.

Definitely more of an "Imperial/Double" rendition of this increasingly popular (trendy?) style. While well balanced, it does leave me wanting either a Double IPA or a nice roasty porter on their own rather than mixed together. That said, I don't think I'll have a problem finishing the growler...