Society & Solitude #2
Hill Farmstead Brewery

 

2 months old. Can to wine glass.

L: Pours a very dark brown, almost black. The foam is fluffy and leaves a good amount of lacing. No floaters.

S: Hoppy and malty at the same time. Lemon and fresh orange cutting into roasty notes of dark chocolate.

T: Malty, roasty and bitter up front followed by fruity hop notes. Lemon and orange again, but rather candied than fresh. Grapefruit‘s also there. So are piney and resiny notes.

F: Full and smooth with a medium carbonation.

O: Not a big fan of the style, but this has to be the best Black IPA I‘ve had so far. Great balance, very complex and clearly distinguishable HF. Very good beer.

 

Canned on 1/11/23; consumed on 2/27/23

Pours a stark, jet-mahogany body topped with just under two fingers of rich, tan foam; good head retention leaves a finger of cap, moderate, frothy collar, and chunky rings accompanying a generous spatter of spotty lacing coating the walls of the glass.

Aromas of milk chocolate intertwine with grapefruit peel as nutty malt interludes see earthy cacao nibs pronounced through subtle grassiness while accents of coffee meet a touch of spruce.

Taste offers distant tones of peach pith easing to fresh coffee and a subtle, malty char upfront: a chocolatey prickle through residual grapefruit over the mid-palate finds wisps of boggy spice and wet moss on the back end as a dank kiss of dark cocoa finishes.

Mouthfeel brings a medium-light body and a rounded, moderate carbonation; a creamy silk, almost nitrogenated texturing supersedes a subdued, prickly char, drying steadily with a backing, resinous sensation through the finish.

The eclectic embrace is delicate yet extensive, cleanly displaying a quirky, even interplay of both malt and hop character; a healthy marriage of contrast at peak attenuation for a typically polarizing style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a growler into a tulip glass.

Pours a dark brown color with 2 fingers of effervescent tan head. Leaves a ton of lacing before settling into a thin sheet.

The aroma brings notes of charred leather, chocolate, and piney hops.

The flavor follows the nose. Very charred and smokey without notes of roasted chocolate, caramel, and pine.

The feel is medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Very soft, smooth and creamy.

Overall, a solid black ale. It's definitely less of a black IPA and more true to the style. It's very roasted and smokey. Not blown away by anything here but it's still well-made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a jet black body with rich thick chocolate milkshake foam head that stays around more than the foo fighters
black jack chew aroma
flavourtreacle, dark fruit and whoa

 

750 ml growler

 

 

 

 

 

Growler procured from the source.

This one pours a thick looking dark black, with a big fluffy head, and lots of lacing.

This smells more black than IPA, which works for me, as it get a deep chocolately aroma, some smoke, charred pine, and floral hops.

Leave it to Hill Farmstead to make a great version of a mostly flawed style. It's not quite as hoppy as I expected- the orange and charred pine flavors are more subtle background characters. The base black ale is excellent- creamy, lightly smoky, and very chocolatey.

This is surprisingly thick and viscous, with a killer creamy feel to it, and a very slight lingering bitterness.

This works on all levels for me. It's probably the best black IPA I've ever had.