Soulless
RedWillow Brewery

Pint on cask at Cask Pub and Kitchen.
Near black, but actually a deep ruby-brown with a small dense head that lasts and sticks to glass. Nose is interesting...very dank hops, sweet pastries, fruits in syrup. Taste is not what I expected. Rather ordinary and simple, somewhere between a bitter and pale ale, with just a touch of roasted notes in the background. Not bad, but just okay compared to the nose. Mouthfeel is cask...although I wonder if this might not have been better with more carbonation. Overall, good, but lacking in some areas.

 

Best before December 2015

Black pour, slightly translucent, vigorous head like the ones encountered in very fresh ales. Tons of pine aroma, together with burnt sugar and some funkiness. The taste is dominated by pine, but it's not so fresh, for some reason. Bitter aftertaste, moderately enjoyable.

 

Soulless, contrary to its name, has incredible life; it looks like there's a queen-size mattress sitting atop this beer. Seriously, I bet it's more comfortable than my bed at home. They call these beers 'Black' IPAs for a reason; this one is certainly black, but not entirely daunting.

The aroma has so much pine and bark you'd think a wood-chipper was involved at some point. A coffee maker too, and, for that matter, a pastry chef or chocolatier. This has enough roasty black malt that it takes on flavours of dark caramel, cocoa and espresso.

What's great about pine-y varieties of hops and chocolate malt is that they not only smell great, but they make for a compelling mouthfeel as well. Of all the styles, Black IPAs have arguably the most convincing textures. This beer has roasty, bitter, unrefined cocoa notes as well as resinous, oily qualities reminiscent of tree sap. Not a decimal is felt of the 7.2% alcohol.

Those with score cards won't be sure where to place the "X" along the hoppy-malty axis. Truth is it can be penciled in on either end - that's the beauty of this style. There's simultaneously lots of resinous pine and grapefruit citrus as well as drying roast malt and dark chocolate flavour.

The label says it's brewed in Macclesfield, England but you'd think it was brewed in Portland, Oregon. Soulless is the first offering I've tried from RedWillow Brewery and it's made me both optimistic and eager to seek out more. Don't be surprised if this turns out to be one of the next most popular, highest rated breweries out of the UK. You read it here first!

A 330ml bottle with a BB of March 2013. Acquired a little while back from Trembling Madness in York. The label describes it as a band-wagon hopping Black IPA.

Poured into a Duvel tulip. Bottle conditioned. A dark brown hue that appears pitch black in the glass. Yields a decent head of creamy beige foam that lasts for a few minutes before reducing to a patchy surface layer. Aroma of juicy hops and earthy, funky yeast. Notes of light fruit, faint citrus, dry yeast esters and hint of blue cheese/mould. No malt character to speak of, but the yeast is unusually intense.

Tastes of dark malt with a hoppy character and a funky, bitter finish. A weird medley of burnt grain, coffee, earthy yeast, fruity hop notes and blue cheese funk. Slightly sour and unusually yeasty (possibly infected?). A dry, malty bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth, tingly and mildly spicy, with decent body. Slightly astringent, with an aftertaste of earthy yeast, burnt grain, bitter hops and funk.

Woah - this one has some strange shit going on. There are hints of dark malt and fruity hops in the aroma/flavour, but these take a back seat to the yeast. A flavour of funk/blue cheese/mould that crowds out and dominates the character of the beer. Hard to tell if this is infected or just a yeast strain that is out of control. Not the best drinking experience - it doesn't deliver the flavour or aroma that you expect for the style. Give it a miss.