Black Mariah
Breaker Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picked up a freshly bottled sample yesterday. Strong chocolate aroma. First taste a bit strong on the cocoa taste, but after that it was subdued and very nice. Very easy to drink, well refined. I just wish it was easier to get breaker brews as every one I have had has been really nice. If you like chocolate stout type beers you will like this one. BA has this listed as a7.0 abv but my bottle says 8.5.

 

Bomber shared by grassblue and poured into a sample glass at Georgetown Deli And Beer.

Appearance: Pours black with brown folds and a nice brown crown that displays some retention and lace.

Smell: Lots of chocolate supported by roast malt / hint of coffee and a nutty quality.

Taste: Same as nose with the roast malt taking a bit more center stage. Not much bitterness from the roast malt which is a plus for this brew.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with decent carbonation.

Drinkability: Goes down easy.

A good introduction for me into Breaker Brewing Company. I'll have to try other offerings from them.

Very Impress. Open the bottle and took a smell. Chocolate aroma is present in the pour is very good dark in color cause of the dark malt use. Brings to a nice color. The taste is mild and smooth almost borderline to a stout but not tasting like a stout. There is a fruit flavor that comes out at the the end like a cherry but works well. This brewery is only a half hour from my house. My Buddy from work helps them and not bad from coming from somebody garage. A very good tasting beer. Like to try more of there beers.

From the label: "Black Mariah is a smooth and silky Belgian inspired ale. Brewed with crystal malts, cocoa and dark Belgian candy sugars, It has a chocolate bouquet finishing with a hint of black cherry."

I shared a bottle of this with a friend the other night and am revisiting it tonight. I wasn't sure what to classify this as, because as the label states it is "Belgian inspired," but as I'll get into shortly it really doesn't have much Belgian character at all. It's also not really a stout, although it's probably closest to one, so at the end of the day American Strong Ale seems like a good catchall. Anyway.

The pour is very dark brown, nearly black, more mahogany at the edges when held to the light. Gets about two fingers of creamy but also somewhat fizzy tan head. Keeps a pretty full lace all the way to the bottom of the glass and clings to the sides a bit too.

Smell is big on the cocoa and chocolate, with some coffee and roasted malt as well. There's some dark fruit here too, but really not much that seems Belgian. Some of the sweetness has a Belgian candi sugar quality to it; that's about it.

Taste also has a big cocoa flavor. It's very strong at first, although it does start to mellow a bit as other flavors come on. At its peak however it's a bit overwhelming and imparts a sort of ashy feel. More on that later. I do get the black cherry in the finish as they suggest; it's pretty strong actually and provides a nice contrast to the cocoa. Again, very little I'd call Belgian, although maybe it's the candi sugar that's producing the cherry flavor.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and has a good creaminess, but the ashy quality mentioned earlier detracts a bit from it. I think the cocoa is a bit too strong here, to the point where it's noticeable on the tongue; to say it's sandy would overstate the coarseness, but maybe helps describe it a bit. It's like I can feel the powder on my tongue.

All in all this is pretty good, and certainly better than their previous bottled offering (16 Ton IPA). I'm still not sure what to call it, and I still don't think there's much of any Belgian character at all, but it's pretty tasty. Given the big cocoa quality, however, a bottle is best shared.