Black Science 4.0
Adroit Theory Brewing Company

A: Witchy shade of brackish brown; a chocolatey swamp color with a light khaki head that fades quickly. Tight carbonation and good legs attached.

S: Lush and toasty with hints of Frangelico, toasted coconut husk, tobacco seed, lit hemp; rum barrel and clove spice accents; herbal, floral and wood maple sweetness with a coeval of caramel. Light prune, spiced molasses bread with raisin marmalade.

M: Dry and light with a modicum of stickiness for the style. Rereshing, soft and silky feel. The heat is slow burning and absolutely perfect. Herbal bitter finish.

T: Sweet cream, smoky almonds, fibrous coconut, woodsy/herbal eucalyptus. Intricate sweetness with pure honey, brooding toffee and bright orange. Caramel, sweet rum, vanilla and chocolate bread all bounded in the fancy confines of a coffee bean.

Basic me, it reminds me of these CAO Moontrance (vanilla bourbon) cigarillos, but this drink is darker, earthier, and more robust.

From Tavour. As bought, apparently, by a few other reviewers. Bottled 6/22/20. My copy is 2888 of 3400. The quality of this limited edition almost makes a cheapskate like me believe that I got a value. Certainly the blending of three darks is unique and well beyond my comprehension of how this can be done so successfully.

Looks are hard to judge given the blending exercise. But Smells are not... tobacco is present, lit and otherwise. Tastes are well-blended: coffee, sugar/maple, chocolate... all are here and all play nice like a good dessert. Rather light Feel for a monstrous 15%. But, Black Science is all good to me (or so I think.)

As for Adroit Theory, they certainly are "pushing the boundaries of beer for Loundon County." But other than be dedicated to their craft, it is too much work for me to formulate an opinion about Adroit Theory... other than they certainly know what they are doing.

 

 

This pours muddy brown but fills to darker mahogany black with a short tan head that fizzles out quickly.

Significantly savory tobacco and cigar skin hits up front with notes of cacao, dark caramel and a touch of smoke. The middle rapidly develops further into charred brown sugar and mocha with faint ribbons of creamy vanilla coconut. Wow.

The Cubano roast creates an espresso-like mocha that is just divine, and pairs perfectly with the not too assertive presence of lightly charred barrel.

The body is fairly light relative to the potency, and has a light airy carbonation that comes to a just dry finish.

L: Poured from a bottle to a goblet. Had a deep, dark brown color and a thick, opaque consistency. There was a quarter inch of foamy, off white, fairly long-lasting head. Above average lacing.

S: A very nice aroma of coffee, booze, nuts, wood, toffee, vanilla, chocolate, and honey.

T: Tasted of a hint of vanilla (just enough), a little shot of honey (a sweet backbone), a good amount of coffee (a surprisingly dominant ingredient), some toffee (quite sweet, but not cloying), some bourbon (and its accompanying barrel), a little milk chocolate, and hazelnuts as well. This is a complex, oddly compelling flavor. Tasty stuff.

F: A fair amount of carbonation with a smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A slightly unusual, but likable beer. Drinkable.

 

 

2020-09-03
22oz bottle served in a Cantillon globe. Ghost 862, No. 3243/3400. "Canned on 06/22/20"

Pours a dark brown, moderate clarity with a lot of sediment.Head started out small to medium, faded to a very small ring. Moderate amount of ongoing carbonation, very fine and very slow. Smell is chocolate and roastiness, smoke and maybe oak, some booze. Smells quite nice.

Taste is chocolate, maybe some red grapes but not much, lots more chocolate, dates, plenty of booze.

Mouthfeel is thick and heavy but not inappropriately so. Overall, digging this beer.

 

Poured from 22oz bomber into my BeerAdvocate teku. This is Ghost 862, packaged on 6/22/20.

Appearance: rich, very dark brown hue with a finger of frothy tan foam atop. It's turbid and alluring.

Smell: the aroma has a lot of complexity. It starts off roasty with hints of coffee, and then develops a richer, toffee aroma. There's a ton of sweetness here, and it gives the impression of a well-done strong ale.

Taste: oooooooh this is delicious. Lots of rich toffee, sweet dark dates, raisins and plums, dusty tobacco, bread soaked in molasses, and other wonderful things that are bad for you. Sweet and syrupy, but oh so rich in flavor. The 15% alcohol hides well in here.

Mouthfeel: medium-rich body with a moderate carbonation, but it's extremely silky smooth with a texture that is a velvety treat. Absolutely wonderful.

Overall: the aroma was a bit underwhelming for what I was expecting, but the flavor and mouthfeel are an amazing treat. Out-freaking-standing.

Oily black body with a light brown foam head. Smell is complex: starring is coffee, bourbon, fudge, toffee, oak, honey, coconut, roasted nuts, and gentle barley. Taste is rich and complex: huge dark and milk chocolate fudge melds in layers of coffee bean, vanilla, oak, candied hazelnut, smoke, coconut, earth, barley, molasses, tobacco, caramel, toffee, char, toasted honey, all backed by warm bourbon. Feel is thick, chewy, warm, and boozy.