Evil Octopus
Mayday Brewery

Very complex in flavor: malts, chocolates, smoke, & citrus. My first black IPA; really liked it.

On tap at Miller's Ale House, served in a shaker pint glass

The beer is a deep, almost black, mahogany color with about 2 fingers of tight beige head. Decent head retention with a good amount of lacing

The aroma leans more toward the malty side with a lot of chocolaty & caramelly notes. The hop aroma is more subdued and consists of some floral and citrusy notes. A nice mix of malty and hoppy aromas make this beer very inviting

The taste follows the aroma with the dominant flavors being chocolate and caramel followed by the citrusy hops. The hops are brighter that the aroma would lead you to expect. The flavors meld well together, even though I would like to see the hops shine a little more. There is also an almost smoky/charred aftertaste, not overwhelming or offputting, but it is definitely there.

The beer is also just a bit fuller bodied that I like to see in the style, it is starting to lean into the hoppy porter territory rather than black IPA. I would prefer it to be a bit lighter bodied and maybe a bit drier as well.

Overall the beer is enjoyable and I would definitely order it again if I see it available, though it is not my favorite example of the style.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm trying this at the brewery. It poured a clear deep nearly opaque amber. The scent had hints of floral hop. The taste leaned malt with chocolate presence....with slight bitter finish. The mouthfeel was medium in body with good carbonation. Overall it's ok.

 

 

 

 

Tried it at Pinewood Social in Nashville, too far from the Murfreesboro brewery. Lots of malt. And also plenty of citrus. A small aftertaste charred barrel. Almost like a hoppy Porter

 

 

 

 

Served at burger republic Nashville in pint. Dark brown to black color with thin head. Aroma is least impressive feature about beer with mostly dark malt aromas. Taste is nice mix of bitterness from floral hops with smokiness from dark malts. Overall a nice black IPA that could use a little more hops.

 

a very very black black ipa, almost a hoppy porter in some ways, minus a little body. it comes out of the tap very dark, and has a hop aroma that can be picked up from across the room. it smells like hop pellets, dissolved barely, green and new still, and i think thats a bit of a flaw. like it smells more like the ingredients its comprised of than some synergistic or cumulative whole. fortunately the taste is a lot more integrated than the nose, and the hops seems bright and fresh rather than pellets right from the bag. the dark malts are bitter too, and sort of take over from the middle onward, with coffee and even soy notes for a second, before the bitterness rounds it out. some more body would be useful here, the flavors are bold and dont quite seem to have enough to cling to, maybe a handful of oats would help. i like the flavors quite a bit though, and was impressed with this offering from a brewery i had never head of before. i only had two of their beers, but i liked this one a lot more than the blonde, which despite being well made, was rather boring.