Black IPA
Wonderland Brewing Co.

 

 

 

On tap at the tap room; poured into a snifter.
Appearance - black with only the slightest mahogany against the light. Thin, tan head that leaves sticky, random lacing!
Smell - dark chocolate, malt and barley.
Taste - dark chocolate, with a hint of pine, and floral hop notes.
Feel - dark chocolate bitterness to start; pine forest comes in, followed by a peppery bitterness similar to grapefruit. Finishes bitter, but tamed by stubborn malt backbone!
Overall - complex feel, beautiful look, however lacking in IPA character in the smell and taste. I dig it, just not top notch for this category.

Yummy. Has a good smell with some earthiness. Tastes pretty smooth and velvety as the menu description says. Aftertaste is not bitter. This is one I'll probably do again.

 

unimpressed by my first beer from wonderland, this one needs work. looks great though, matte finish black, round and smooth, with an almost nitro looking grayish head. the nose is a little vegetal, a little green pepper, but the hops appear fresh and the malted barley seems to have a nice roast on it without a ton of bitterness. the flavor though is just a total miss for me. green chili peppers without the heat is all i can taste, especially in the finish. the roast seems too bitter now after the mild aroma, and the fleshy green pepper stays on my tongue forever. im not sure what went wrong here, but its way off. i will give the benefit of the doubt here that this is a newer brewery still cutting its teeth, plus their other beers were much much better, but this one really needs some adjustments to be palatable. i get that there is potential here, and the mouthfeel has a nice balanced richness to it, but the flavors are all over the place, none of them in the black ipa family at all. i will give this some time and revisit it, but for now stick to the others from wonderland.