Murder Of Crows
Refined Fool Brewing Co.

 

 

Pours black like a stout, thinner head. Has certain stout-like attributes, roasted malts, smoke on the nose and the taste. Mouthfeel is a bit thin, but I keep comparing it to a stout, which it isn’t. Overall a decent black IPA
Aug 21 2020

 

 

 

Appearance: poured a viscous black liquid with no translucence and with two inches of light brown head. The foam dissipated slowly, almost looked like it was on nitro.

Aroma: very earthy hops and strong notes of malted chocolate. It mixed well together.

Taste: the earthy bitter hops comes in gently up front and finishes bitter. The chocolate is pretty much the highlight through the tasting. It's malty and sweet throughout - kind of like a milk stout but with the hops meld in. Then the hop finishes the beer off with a bitter bite.

Mouthfeel: full bodied and rich. Drinks like a decent stout.

Overall: one of the better black IPA's I've tasted. It's made in Canada, but worth drinking if you're out there.

Got this one at the LCBO this past summer

From a bomber into a snifter
IBU: 90

APPEARANCE: Clear black pour yields a three finger, medium looking, creamy tan head with outstanding retention. Black body with no carbonation. Head eventually fades to a full foamy cap and coats the top of the glass. A solid wisp remains until the end leaving piles of nice, creamy lacing on the glass as it empties. Great looking brew.

SMELL: Roasted malts, chocolate notes, piney hops and some alcohol. Bold, hoppy with plenty of dark malt character.

TASTE: Roasted malts, with bitter chocolate and coffee up front. Starts off very stout-like. Big roasted notes at the swallow with lots of chocolate, bitter coffee, burnt notes, piney hops, some citrus flavors and a good dose of bitterness. Lovely stuff with plenty of roasted stout qualities and hops all over the back end. Great.

PALATE: Medium body and medium levels of carbonation. Very creamy smooth on the palate, weighty, goes down smooth and finishes a touch dry. A roasted bitterness lingers.

OVERALL: This is excellent. Definitely my kind of Black Ale and is along the lines of the stuff I brew in my basement. This is definitely more like a hoppy stout, as the roasted and chocolate character of this one are very prominent, but no matter what you call it, it’s delicious. Lots going on here with a wonderful look and feel to support it all. Maybe the best beer of the summer for me, but certainly top 3. Drink it if you see it. Awesome stuff!

 

 

 

Undated bottle from the lcbo for around 7.50. Pretty solid actually. Would love to see this in cans at the lcbo for about 3 bucks. It's a style that is lacking at the lcbo.

Not a stout fan, although I know what I like among stouts. This one is too roasted and just tastes burned. The nose gives this away as well, which is not a good sign. No, it's not smokey, just burned.
All in all, this is a disappointment. Love the name though!

This beer looks great, pours a nice black with a lovely 3 finger head that lasts and lasts. Excellent lacing. Smell is a nice balance between hops and malts. The taste brings the hops forward, but the malts are still there. Feel is quite nice, and overall this beer is a great example of a black ale.

 

Smell: roasted grains, coffee, caramel.
Taste: bold, slightly boozy, good carbonation.
Finish: dark chocolate bitterness, dark roast coffee.
(no dates on bottle)

Great retention and colour. Aroma let's you know it's not just a stout and the alcohol is well masked. Balanced, yet intense. A Black IPA that can definitely come up behind you. Well done.

 

650 ml bomber served fairly cold into a pint glass. Purchased from the LCBO for around $7.75 CDN.

Appearance - ominously black with plenty of tan head, over two fingers worth. Eradicates light, big time head retention. Checks all the boxes that go into a good looking IPA.

Smell - some tropical notes, but mostly roasty aromas with coffee playing a huge role. Some faint caramel in behind, but the nose is actually quite light given the appearance.

Taste - big, bold and bitter. Lots of roasty coffee, nearly the recycled coffee grounds in flavor with some tropical and leafy hop flavours coming in second.

Mouthfeel - quite astringent with a creamy backing. Carbonation is expressive and works well with the flavours of the beer.

Overall - more roasty that I'd like, Murder of Crows is nonetheless a well crafted and tasty if unbalanced black IPA, with serious preference towards very bitter roasty aromas and flavours. Worth a try whol in stores, but better black IPAs are out there.

Revisited November 7, 2020 - Nose and taste were better than rated here, no real changes but slight score adjustment upward to reflect the high quality of this brew.

This beer was great! It had a wonderful aroma, and it poured with a beige/brown head that stuck around for a while. The dark roasted malt really made this a smooth easy drinker even as it was a bit a heavy weight. Then it popped with hops! It was very balanced surprisingly which made it easy to say it's one of the best black IPAs I've had.