Basalt IBA
Quarry Brewing Company

a black ipa thats not all that black, more of a deep brown even glowing amber color in the center of it, frothy white head on it from the tap, looks lively but a lot lighter than i was anticipating in terms of color. in the flavor too there isnt a ton of that bitter charred deep roasted barley, it never really gets that dark to me, settling more in the chocolate malt range, but i think it works because the hops here are quite bitter, and more of that from the grain would limit drinkability a bit, its balanced as it is, so more roast on the malt would not necessarily be a good thing, its just a different sort of take on the style. some obvious citrus to the hops, but these arent overdone either, and seem somewhat mild for the style, like more pungent hop flavor would fit in fine, so it seems kind of less flavorful here than it could be, green and fresh and all, but somewhat reserved too, grapefruit and orange peel and pine sap all come to mind. a little thin on body here, and lighter on carbonation than the others. this one didnt quite come together for me like their regular ipa did, but a wintery hoppy beer that seems to be well enjoyed by the locals in here. for me it was just okay...

 

 

Served on tap in a pint glass

Appearance – The beer is served a brownish color with a one finger head of an off-white color. The head fades quite quickly leaving only a trace of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma of the beer is rather light overall with the heaviest aroma being that of a roasted malt and lighter chocolate smell mixed with some caramel sweetness. Being a black IPA, this didn’t really have a heavy hop aroma, only containing a little bit of a pine and grassy smell.

Taste – The taste begins with a heavy roasted malt taste along with a hint of a caramel sweetness. A little bit of a chocolate flavor is present upfront and as the taste moves on the caramel largely fades leaving a more dry roasted cocoa taste in the profile. Right at the start there is a lighter grassy and herbal hop taste upfront, with these gaining strength as the taste moves on forward. Along with these hops so to comes some more earthy and pine hop flavors, with all blending nicely with the dry roasted flavors of the brew to produce a rather dry hopped, kinda dirty (in a good way though), taste to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the thinner side with a carbonation level that is on the lower side. The lower carbonation is good for the roasted malt flavor of the brew, but the weak body wasn’t with a bit more thickness likely being slightly better for the style, allowing all the flavors to really be nicely accentuated on the tongue.

Overall – A decent IBA overall, with a nice hop blend, but lacking a little bit of depth due to the weaker body and somewhat mute roasted flavors. Overall it’s a nice one to try, but not one I will likely go back to all that frequently.

I purchased a pint and a growler of this on New Year's Eve. An aggressive fill of my growler at the brewery caused a celebratory fountain of foam. A moderate pour into a sampler at home produces about 1/2 inch of frothy, off-white head. It has lively carbonation right at first- almost like pouring a glass of coke- then settles down. The color is a deep ruddy brown with some haze.

A nice balance of sweet rich malts and hops in the aroma and flavor, with a good amount of lingering, nutty and slightly citrusy bitterness in the aftertaste. Also, a good portion of dark fruit flavors and maybe a touch of tobacco and chocolate.

This beer seems like a ramped up version of their porter and seasonal brown ale, which are also excellent beers. A great beer with plenty of kick at a totally reasonable price of 7.50 for a half gallon.