Aussie Ozborne
Melvin Brewing

 

man this is great, a style i think we may be in fear of losing, what happened to these anyway? love this one, its a great take on a black ipa, love it being stronger and super bitter both from grain and hops, way to be bold here, its what i want out of these. shiny obsidian from the tap with a short but lasting light brown head, looks pretty fizzy, not overly viscous. the aroma is wicked, super roasted almost burnt dark barley along with some spiciness that was unexpected, maybe from some rye malt, maybe some noble type hops just absurdly dosed, tough saying but its impressively complex even before the hops. the hops smell more citrus forward than pine, which i think is somewhat uncommon in these but maybe underutilized, not without some spruce and juniper notes but for me its much more zesty lemon and pithy grapefruit, really cool, very fresh, oily too is seems. the flavor rocks, licorice and smoke and black pepper nuances among all the malt depth, no real sweetness to the grain at all, an ashen almost volcanic mineral profile, high carbon, just an awesome base for this, all kinds of body. now i get more lime from the hops, could even be galaxy hops hence the aussie part of the name, but im not sure, still more intense than i am used to from those, a little herbal, still some pith, and now almost essential orange oil or something in the hops, permeating the tongue, very intense and plenty high alpha too, love all of what i am tasting here. no real alcohol presence, smooth feel, palate coating but particularly heavy, super robust overall. really one of the best melvin beers in recent memory for me, loved every drop and highly recommend this. please come back black ipa, please come back!

Draft at Hops & Bottles. Dark brown pour, filmy beige head, rings of lacing. Light roasty malt aroma. Taste is light roasty bitterness, faint chocolate. Looks beautiful but feels a tad thin.