Night Ryder
BarrelHouse Brewing Company

 

22 ounce bottle poured into a tulip

A: Pours black with a tan colored full creamy head, lots of lacing and retention, lots of carbonation, cap popped off when I opened it, no light comes through when held up.

A: Lots of aroma, grapefruit peel, tangerines, pine, resin, rye, earthy spiciness, lots of depth and complexity to aroma, smells very nice.

T: Impressed, get loads of citrus peel like grapefruit and tangerine along with a good amount of rye, grapefruit peel and pine like bitterness, rye reemerges in the finish along with hoppy notes like citrus and pine, finish is dry with a touch of roasted malts, really dig this.

M: Medium bodied, it's very lively, finish is really dry like citrus peel and pine.

O: I love hoppy rye beers and this beer hits some solid notes, pine, citrus peel, rye, earthy notes, good amount of bitterness, touch of roasted malts in the finish, lots of hops, rye, and a good balance of malts, very nice.

On tap at BarrelHouse Brewing Co

A: Pours dark brown with a frothy tan head that settles to a firm layer and laces beautifully.

S: Roasty malt, earthy herbal notes, spicy rye, with a little tropical fruit and citrus.

T: Pine, tropical fruit, mango and passion fruit, citrus, orange and grapefruit, rye spice, earthy herbal notes, with roasted malt providing a sturdy backbone.

M: Medium body, moderate carbonation.

O: Very nice black rye IPA. Solid answer to the venerable Wookie just up the street.

2016-12-11
22oz bottle served in a large mug. Bottled on 11/23/16. Bought at Jane's in Sunnyvale. Flown home in my suitcase.

Pours black (brown around the edges) with a humongous light brown head that fades to about halfway in a few minutes, leaving huge clumps of lacing along the edges of the glass. Hard to see in the murky depths, but there's plenty of carbonation. Smell is roasty, spicy, maybe a little citrus.

Taste is roasty bittersweet up front, hoppy bitter finish. Definitely some coffee flavor. Leans a bit more overall on the porter side than on the IPA side, but well within what I would expect for a black IPA. Surprised the rye doesn't come out too clearly unless I consciously think about it.

Mouthfeel is thick, sticky. Overall, pretty good black IPA.

 

Really great example of a black IPA. Lots of hoppiness on the nose with jet black color.

 

 

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Foamy swaths of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, spicy, rye, cocoa powder, and slight citrus zest aromas. Taste is much the same with cocoa powder, bittersweet chocolate, earth, char, spicy rye, and citrus zest flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of roast and hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good beer with a great mix of cocoa, rye, and citrus forward hop characteristics all around that make this one super tasty and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle.

 

 

Unique, powerful and delicious. Can't believe they were able to make such a hoppy beer so balanced. Killer brew!

Poured from a bomber into a tulip glass. No bottle date. Should have been listed under "American Black Ale" but whatever. That's what I'm rating it against.

1" thick creamy, khaki head, recedes to 1/4" but retains nicely. Leaves some strands of lacing. Nearly opaque brownish black color. Looks nice.

Sharp, piney aromas with some grapefruit pith, fresh roasted coffee beans. A little dark chocolate. It's kind of woody too, slightly herbal.

Wood, pine, and planty/herbalness on the taste, followed by grapefruit pith and just a little fresh coffee. Some rye spice if you look for it, but it's subtle. Big pine and grapefruit on the finish. Plant stems in the aftertaste. Bitter and roasty all around, with a very subtle but good contribution from the dark malts.

Thick, chewy body but it ends clean. Nicely carbonated.

A little too much woody/planty notes, but it's good. Interesting. I would have liked the rye to have more of a presence.