Ritual Dark Ale
ReaperAle

 

 

 

As good as any expensive Euro dark ale! This beer is medium-dark, heavy in alcohol content, great in taste. It is perfectly blended between high ABV and taste. It is very sweet, with a tinge of sugar. The aroma is of sweet hops and a grassy feel. This beer is excellent and I would definitely recommend!

Dark brown with red hues; off-white head with great retention and lacing. Smell was of old green vegetables, roasty, and some toffee. Bitter taste I recognize from a lot of black patent malt, hoppy flavors and bitterness still very much present. Low carbonation with less than medium body. I thought this might have withstood aging a bit better. Would be happy to try something from these guys again.

A: Poured a dark dark reddish-brown color with off tan foamy head.

S: On the nose was roasted malt, coffee,dark fruit (raisins), pine resin and some alcohol hints.

T: The flavor was dark and malty, with some dark chocolate, and fruit followed by dark caramel, molassess and a bitter dry hoppiness of grapefruit. The hopping was aggressive and dry reminding of Chinnook hops.

M: smooth with an alcohol warming.

D: Good drinkability, one bomber is plenty making for a rich dark hoppy treat.

Thanks to Imstillthegman for this one.

This beer pours beautiful dark port color with a creamy tan film that sports a few bigger bubbles. This leaves some nice strips of lace in my glass. What a gorgeous beer...

Smells of tangy cherries, prunes, dry cocoa, a soft marshmallow and a snap of floral hops.

The flavor starts with A dry kick of cocoa that is instantly over come by the fruity sour notes of black cherry that then falls into a sweet and dry pine needle. Nice change up here!

Feels just slightly sluggish with a swarm of carbonation that comes and goes.

A tasty brew with a lot going on and going for it.

Bottled, consumed on 12/25/07.

Pours a medium/dark brown from bottle but is somehow nearly jet black in glass. Gorgeous light tan head forms and lasts until bottom of glass: pillowy, fine bubbles. Aroma has sweet wine and molasses notes. Mouthfeel is watery, thin. Big flavor: roasted malt and chocolate. First sip tasted off somwhow, but all subsequent quaffs were fine. Slight hint of sour cherries. Lightly bitter (choclate, coffee) aftertaste with slight astringency.

Very good, if a tad simple.

Pours a nice dark brown color, nice carbonation, nice small creamy tannish head, there are some nice islands and sticky lacing afterwards. The nose is malty, could scent some prunes, figs, raisins, lots of caramel. The taste is very malty, slightly sweet, with a slightly bitter finish. The alcohol is hidden pretty well. Medium body, a well rounded brew. Drinkable, another tasty brew from ReaperAle. With this one done, I've had them all. I wish they would make more and other's, but I guess that will not happen. I recommend all their brew's.

Poured from a 22oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a dark reddish black color with a thin but foamy off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, dark fruit and a decent amount of hops.

T: The taste starts out like a stout with malty flavors of dark chocolate, roasted coffee and a touch of dark fruit. However, what quickly follows is a burst of hops indicative of the best West Coast hop bombs. The after-taste is hoppy and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and very smooth, medium-to-heavy body, medium carbonation, slightly sticky finish.

D: Very tasty, goes down dangerously easily, not too filling, good kick, this is a beer well-worth sticking with for an evening. It’s the type of beer that can be both a good pounder and a good sipper.

A: Dark brownish black with a beautiful, fluffy 2 finger off-white head that will leave a whole lot of lacing for sure.

S: Some nice roasted coffee with a bit of sweet chocolate. Maybe a touch of dark fruits.

T: A very interesting beer we've got here. It's like a thick porter that decided to go Belgian. Belgian strong ale that is. I definitely get roasted coffee here (with that tasty touch of chocolate), but then it quickly brings along some very Belgian-like dark fruits - rum-soaked raisins, dates and maybe a sprinkling of spice. Hops too, I realize. I like it. Very unique.

M: Great mouthfeel - tastes nice and rich, but the carbonation keeps it just light enough to keep the drinkability way up there.

D: Very drinkable. Tasty, rich and not syrupy.

Highly recommended. Of course, you can't get this any more.

Pours dark brown, with ruby highlights. A thick off-white head slowly descends to a thin cover. Some trailing lace slides down glass.

The smell is of dark malts, dark fruits, coffee and a hint of chocolate.

The taste is of dark malts - coffee and chocolate. Plenty of fruity, bitter hops give this a nice blance and unique complexity. This alchol is well-covered, with just a hint of a warming nip in the long finish.

The body is between medium and full-bodied. Almost approaches a certain thinness for the style, but hangs on. Smooth with a nice texture.

This is easily drinkable, esp. for abv level. I really enjoyed this one.

22 oz. bottle poured into a mug.

Appearance: Pours a blackish color, with a bit of red tint on the edges. Nice dense creamy tan head that leaves lace.

Smell: Roasted malts and alcohol. While the malts are quite nice, I am not a big fan of alcohol aromas in beer.

Taste: Again, malts and alcohol. The roasted malts aren't very distinct, and the aftertaste is mostly alcohol with a hint of the roasted flavor.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a slight bit of carbonation. The alcohol can be felt at times while swallowing.

Drinkability: The alcohol taste is just too much after a while...

The alcohol flavor here isn't masked at all, making it somewhat unappealing. Also, while the malt flavor is nice, it just isn't too compelling. An interesting beer, but a bit of a disappointment.

poured from bottle to tumbler at 48 degrees. Beer had a nice big head (brown) that lasted a decent amount of time. Good lacing. Beer was dark with a fruity hoppy first note then coffee. Alcohol taste was a little strong for my taste. I think it was a dent beer and that darl lovers should try it for yourself. I will not but aain though.

Appearance: slightly cloudy brown color with a nice hearty 2" head that lasted quite a while. Moderate lacing developed.

Smell: pleasant roasted malts, chocolate, and fruit sweetness.

Taste: follows the nose, as roasted malt, chocolate, prunes, black plums, and some nuttiness. Alcohol is not noticeable despite the higher alcohol levels.

Mouthfeel: smooth from start to finish. Aftertaste is very brief, as the roasted malts and fruit sweetness is gone quite quickly after swallowing. Medium bodied.

Drinkability: not a beer that overwhelms the senses, but a pretty solid beer here. Worth giving this one a try.

22 oz'er bomber with the happy guy himself on the label brandishing his hockey stick.

Pours a ruddy dark eggplant hue topped with a khaki bubbly thick craggy head cap leaving residue lace smattered.

Nose of light cranberry and smokey pie filling.

First swigs: Cherry juice, red grape and sweet red wine. Dark fruit aspects linger through the brew. Figs and some whole grain waffle meet lightly in the middle. Finish of some Dr. Pepper and grape juice.

Feel is a bit thin bodied for a big ol 8.5% ABV'er. Soft shushy feel.

Last swigs: Grape juice and some intrigue. Just not enough to be more than mildly interesting. Needs more depth and character. A fuller body would do this ritual some creedence. Until then, forgo the Lord's Prayer while chugging this daring brew. Cheap $4.50 bomber from HollingsHead.

A- 1" tan/mocha head on a cloudy very dark brown body. Lacing that covers the top and sticks to side of the glass.
S- Big citrus hops, some coffee and roasted malts in there too. They are kind of underlying the citrus hops but still present just have to look a little harder for them.
T- One sip you get a coffee malt flavor and then the other you get a citrus hop flavor which then slowly fades to the coffee taste in the aftertaste. It really is a very balanced beers of two strong flavors. Almost like a stout and a IPA got mixed. There is the underlying bitterness in taste and aftertaste.
M- Medium body with low carbonation.
D- It is a weird flavor. It's not like I don't like it but it is just strange. I don't think I will buy this again. It's is weird but it is worth a try. The body is a bit to thin for these flavors though.

Pours a very dark brown with just a hint of a reddish hue when held up against the light. Thin but lingering and frothy brown/beige head that is definitely not going anywhere soon.

Malty aroma. Coffee, nutty, and toffee present. Alcohol also noticable.

Well, the flavor is certainly a lot more complex than the smell. This brew is definitely based around the malts - bitter dark chocolate, toffee, nutty, coffee, and figs, but there's an ample bitter hoppiness infused for an excellent balance.

Thick and chewy, but a little too dry. Very bittersweet, but with a minimal aftertaste. Definitely worth a try.

Poured from a 22oz bottle -

Pours an antique stained leather color with slight orange/ruby red to the blend. Dispensed into a 16oz pint glass from a moderately aggressive pour yielded a nice head. Careful, the foam is a sleeper. It kept growing and growing... until I finally had to take a small sip of the suds to keep from overflowing.

MMM. This is good. After the head denses up a bit, aromas of classic English Porter and India Pale Ale immerse. Tastes nicely complex. Bitter IPA, lightly sweet toffee-coffee mix, hoppy and dangerously drinkable for the listed 8.5% alc. A great brew.

Pours a deep, dark amber with a full 2 finger tan head that slowly melts to thick and sticky lacing.
Aroma is bitter coffee.
Mouth feel is a little thin for everything going on in the pour and aromas, but carbonation is nice.
Taste is very complex. Bitter chocolate...bitter coffee....dark candied fruits....bitter hops. I love it.
Definately a sipper.
Bitter aftertaste. I think it would be interesting to see how this one ages, but I am enjoying what I have now.