Belgian Black
Lighthouse Brewing Company

I had this on draft October 2019.

Opaque black; dark brown only in thin sections. Virtually no head despite pouring from a height. Can't see any bubbles rising. Looks more like a very thick coffee.

Very mild scent. A tiny bit of slightly tarry dark roasted malt. Swirling the glass added a very slight barnyard. A glass of water left in in open container overnight usually has more scent than this.

Starts off with a mild malt flavor which builds as it warms up. The peak flavor is close to over-roasted with a hint of soy sauce, but this is still very dilute. There is just a touch of burn from the alcohol. The aftertaste is a medium-bitter dark roasted malt.

Low carbonation, but it still manages to get a bit foamy. Very heavy body. Somewhat oily feel.

Disappointing. The label refers to plum and dark cherry, but I didn't notice anything of the sort. The malt is simultaneously thin and roasted just past the point of being burnt. No complexity and doesn't manage to get to a desirable single-note.

 

 

 

Bottle: Poured a deep black color ale with a rather large brown foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma consists of light cherry with some roasted malt and light residuals sugars notes. Taste is a complex mix of roasted malt with some light cherry notes and some residual sugars with light dry fruits notes with candy ester. Body is pretty full with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Very interesting mix with nice balanced between all elements.

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: It has a nice deep dark brown (almost black) color to it. It has a nice beige head that dies down moderately and leaves little lacing.

Smell: The aromas definitely give out hints of dark fruit (grapes, raisins), roasted malts, Belgian yeast and some coffee.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has a some dark fruit, roasted malts, coffee, Belgian yeast and black licorice.

Mouthfeel: It has a medium carbonation with a nice overall balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied with good flavors and aromas.

 

 

650ml bottle, with a black matte finish, and one spooky skull-face pirate glaring out at us from the well-rendered label.

This beer pours a clear, very dark cola-tinged brown hue, with two fingers of puffy, cushioned, tightly foamy beige head, which leaves some low-lying mesa profiles of painted lace around the glass as it quickly subsides.

It smells of biscuity, grainy, lightly roasted caramel malt, softly spicy yeast, a subtle orchard fruitiness, and a hint of Kahlua liqueur. The taste is much more cocoa-oriented in its hefty maltiness, the toasted nature receding a fair bit, and the somewhat tart cherry and plum fruitiness ascending, with a quite ethereal yeastiness puttering about, and further dry coffee, tinged with a shot of weak generic whiskey trailing things off.

The carbonation is rather understated in its intensity, the body a decent medium weight, and generally pretty smooth. It finishes on the sweet side, as the chocolate, bready malt, and subdued coffee round it all out well, in the face of little booze opposition, especially given the proclaimed ABV.

A tasty enough BSDA, even if it does lack the complexity of fruit, malt, and yeast of the old-school progenitors. One thing that they do have in the same spade scale is a slavish disrespect for making their big booze quotient even the least bit perceptible. Bad dog, um, bad?

Bottle to tulip. No freshness info apparent.

A - Poured dark brown, settled black. One finger of light brown head.

S - Roast, chocolate, spice, cherry, Belgian yeast, clove and raisins.

T - Chocolate covered cherries, roast and spice are dominant. Lighter notes of plum and raisin with Belgian yeast and a light clove profile available throughout.

M - Medium body. Creamy. Light carbonation.