Cloak Of Darkness
Gonzo's Biggdogg Brewing

 

 

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 1/26/2018. Pours opaque pitch black color with a 1 finger dense khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of tangerine, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, mango, lemon/orange peel, citrus rind, light pepper, pine, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toasted dark bread, smoke, char, herbal, floral, grass, and roast/toasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/pine/earthy hops and black/roast/bready malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of big tangerine, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, mango, lemon/orange peel, citrus rind, light pepper, pine, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toasted dark bread, smoke, char, herbal, floral, grass, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate pine/citrus rind/herbal/grassy hop and roast/charred bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of tangerine, grapefruit, peach, pineapple, mango, lemon/orange rind, pepper, pine, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, caramel, toasted dark bread, smoke, char, herbal, floral, grass, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/pine/earthy hops and dblack/roast/bready malt flavors; with a nice roast/hop bitter/sweet balance. Light lingering acrid roast and hop astringency, but not overwhelming. Light-moderate increasing dryness from hop/char bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and sticky/resinous/rindy/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Minimal warming alcohol for 7.9%. Overall this is a very nice imperial black IPA. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/pine/earthy hops and black/roast/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV; despite the fairly aggressive bitter/drying finish. Likely Columbus/Centennial hops, with great balance of rich black/charred malt complexity. A very enjoyable offering, and great style example. Aggressively hoppy with plenty of malt presence. I like when the roast malts are well showcased in the style.