Black Ale
Prancing Pony Brewery

 

Purchased from Purvis Beer in Melbourne in December 2023 and drunk a couple of weeks later.

L: The beer pours a very dark ruby red, with a fluffy, mocha-coloured, persistent head that leaves lacing. Lots of very small carbonation can be seen streaming up the glass. It's a good-looking beer!

S: The smell is bitter chocolate and very sweet but strong raspberry, with cola rounding off the nose.

T: Lovely, bitter dark chocolate and raspberry, very much following the lead of the nose, with the addition of tobacco and tea leaves at the end. That tobacco leaf note helps the bitterness become acrid, and that bitterness, in turn, stays long on the tongue, rounding off the beer beautifully. This beer will not last long in the glass!

M: Carbonation and carbonic prickle are low. The acridly bitter end compensates for what could have been a less-than-stellar mouthfeel.

O: This is a good example of a criminally under-utilised style, and one I'd gladly drink again.

Cheers!
#396

 

 

 

Mt. Barker? I have relos from near there, small town too... Anyway their Amber came highly recommended from Plonk, though they only had the one free taster bottle - so Black Ale it is - if Prancing Pony can’t brew a good Stout, especially as a South Australian brewer (the home state for Australian Stouts - don’t ask why, just accept what I say as gospel) then what are they good for apart from prancing... with ponies... doesn’t sound like the worst idea ever... cleaning the old nonic pint now.

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a nonic pint.

A: Presents a cloudy deep brown, almost cola coloured body with a MASSIVE 1.5 inch tan head - guess I shouldn’t have agitated it before the pour... this head is German beer proportions... so yeah *checks watch* should be drinkable without a Belgian dip soon... actually it’s dropped down to a nice tight 1 cm head now. 8/10.

S: Dark fruits, unroasted coffee cherry and a hint of tobacco leaf round out a well-balanced “black ale” aroma. Hints of a sweet malt driven experience throughout. Overall aroma could use a bit more intensity (I suspect some wateriness in the texture) but it is otherwise on solid ground. 7/10.

T: Roasted coffee, chicory, a touch of smoke, lingering dark fruit notes and an earthy tobacco leaf hop note to finish. After taste is a touch on the bitter side for a Stout. Flavour is mid-range in the Stout/Old Ale profile. Lacking in intensity here, again, but it is an otherwise tasty Stout. An addition of oats would probably raise this to another level, however it certainly doesn’t disappoint either. A run of the mill Aussie craft Stout then. 7/10.

M: Medium bodied, slight watery consistency, with a near flat carbonation. Nothing to write home about [which is why I’m writing to you about it - I’m saving you the time of thinking of writing home about it you see? Yes...]. 5/10.

D: I’ve had worse Stouts for sure... I’ve had numerous better too... it’s right there in that meaty part of the Stout bell-curve... hard to get that excited about a Stout like this after so many good Stouts before it - Panhead kills this... even 4 Pines Dry Stout is around this level - this has a touch more flavour happening. What 4 Pines dominates this brew on is price: $9.99 for a 500ml bottle? GTFOH! This is way overpriced for what you get [I think I’ve upset the ponies now, but screw them]. 5/10.

Food match: Shepherd’s pie or kangaroo steaks, braised in some sort of wine jus, with stuff on the side.

 

 

 

 

 

330ml bottle shared with me by @LaitueGonflable.

Pours brown—definitely brown—and very hazed, which makes it seem darker. Body has a touch of weight to it, and allows fine streams of carbonation to permeate. Head is thin but fine, and beige in hue. Lace forms in fine specks. Looks decent enough.

Nose has a slight nuttiness to it: a bit of brown bread, some flowery hops making an appearance and an odd sweetness like marshmallow. Actually, overall it's a touch sweeter than I expected, but it still finds a sense of balance and order.

Very light entry on the palate, with almost no initial flavour. It's not until the mid-palate that I start to get some of the darker notes, with a touch of toastiness and a hint of aniseed. Subdued roast on the back, a little sudsy and some butter nut. Aftertaste is clean, but with a subtle clinging bitterness. Feel is rather light, but it's not bad overall.

Overall, this is fine from a drinkability standpoint. I think it's the best of the Prancing Pony lot that I tried. It's still a little bit generic and uninspired, but it certainly has some character, and it certainly has *more* character than some of their others.

Not really sure how to classify this one, so feel free to update and correct.

Pours a dark-brown rather than black. Head is beige, bit thin but nice revival with a swill. Looks pretty decent.

Smells a bit pungent and funky. Bit burnt, bit peppery, but a noticeable petroleum kind of character as well. Caramel malt underlying; OK.

Tastes decent, actually. Fair chocolatey malt, bit of cocoa and a touch of light toast. Hint of peppery spice and herbal notes, some fennel and dill towards the back.

Smooth, full, nice body.

Bit confused as a black. Kind of sweet, some more malt would be nice. Kind of dark but kind of not, as well.