Ne'Tra Gal
Southern Tier Brewing Company

Ne'Tra GalNe'Tra Gal
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From:
Southern Tier Brewing Company
 
New York, United States
Style:
Black IPA
ABV:
4.6%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.67 | pDev: 10.9%
Reviews:
13
Ratings:
15
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 02, 2012
Added:
Nov 30, 2010
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.75 by generallee from Virginia

Sep 02, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by fmccormi from California

Nov 14, 2011
Photo of billzav
Reviewed by billzav from Florida

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Ne’tra Gal is dark mocha in color with rich notes of chocolate and piny hops complimented by toasted malt and raisins. Although categorized as a black ale, it has the feel of an English ale or dry stout, and its ABV of under 5% is a lot lighter than typical beers of this style. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this eclectic ale.
Jul 11, 2011
Photo of bobsy
Reviewed by bobsy from Canada (ON)

4.2/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
Thanks to my buddy Eric for sharing a growler of this. I think it was a mere $10 at Consumers, which is phenomenal value. New York State only release.

Pours a dark brown, but not black, as is clear once you hold it up to the light. A finger of light tan head kicks up and has good sticking power, leaving globs of lace on the glass. The nose is neat - mostly grapefruit, but with some chocolate and torrefaction subtly entering the fray. Immense drinkability, as the grapefruit brings a mild bitterness that works well with the dark chocolate and caramel notes going on in this beer. As mentioned somewhere before, this drinks more like a hoppy dark mild, and is none the worse for it... I could polish off this growler no problem, and at 4.6% I'd still be standing (I believe Eric's second choice was Bigfoot). Medium-light body with a smooth carbonation.

Hey, Southern Tier do a good lighter beer. Stop the clocks folks!
Feb 05, 2011
Photo of ritzkiss
Reviewed by ritzkiss from Canada (ON)

4.2/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
Growler filled at Consumers in Buffalo, drank 2 days later. Pours a dark brown with hints of garnet in the color. Still plenty of carb and a finger of light tan head forms on the pour.

An immensely drinkable beer, a growler would be a pleasant amount for an individual. Nose reveals a pithy bitterness, hints of grapefruit and pine. A light roast and coffee notes, reminiscent of a good porter but much lighter. Hints of cocoa and dark fruits, molasses and some caramel. Nice medium bitterness with a long finish, smooth body which leans to the lighter end of the spectrum. Difficult not to gulp this down. So light and drinkable yet stacked with flavor.

It maybe doesn't stack up against other, bigger Black IPAs but at 4.6% you don't expect it to, this is a good session ale. Southern Tier is known for their hefty, huge ABV beers and, with this one, they show they have a deft touch as well. Worth trying.
Feb 03, 2011
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.63/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
On tap at Mr. Goodbar, served way too cold. Not as good as their previous black IPA, this was a decent beer. Only getting anundertated bitterness and average mouthfeel, getting more yeast and spicyness. Dark brown colour with a small head, lace rings left. Yeast in aroma.
Jan 21, 2011
Photo of Billolick
Reviewed by Billolick from New York

3.63/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
10 bucks for a growler @ DeCicco's, Ardsley, NY

Pours the advertised black, alright near black, under a thinner, loose lite mocha head, minimal retention, goes to a thin film, and collar , then leaves nice fine and coating lacing.

Subtle chocolate malt nose, leads to an equally subtle sip. Some chocolate, some earthy hops. Fairly lite mouthfeel wise.

Others commented that this seems more like a dark mild ale then an Black IPA. I agree. A pretty tasty one...
Jan 11, 2011
Photo of dogfishandi
Reviewed by dogfishandi from New York

3.93/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
i seen this on tap at abbott rd. consumer's for 9$ and had to fill a growler. at fridge temp poured into an SA perfect pint glass.

pours out a clear dark brown with some ruby red hues. 2 fingers of fluffy off white head with some nice retention and some decent webs of lace.

the aroma shows a nice balance. citrus, light tropical fruits, and dank raw pellet hops mingle with metallic, lightly roasted malts. not huge, but not exactly lacking either.

the taste display the same balance in flavors as the aroma. some nice lightly resinous citrus and light tropical fruity hops balanced by metallic, lightly roasted chocolate malts. decent amount of bitterness which sticks around for a bit.

medium to light in mouthfeel, average feeling carbonation.

great drinkability and truly a great session beer at 4.6%. kind of amazing they can pack so much flavor in such a low ABV beer.

overall: not sure if this can really be considered a black IPA, to me its more of a india brown ale, but this is entirely subjective. but still a very nice beer with a great balance and some decent hops. recommended from me.

edit: went very well with buffalo's best pizza (IMHO) "Imperial Pizza". as another reviewer mentioned, i also thought this might be the second runnings of iniquity.
Dec 31, 2010
Photo of Axic10
Reviewed by Axic10 from New Jersey

4/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On-tap at the brewery.

Appearance: Pours black with a thin khaki head.

Smell: Malty aroma with a nice bitter hoppy nose.

Taste: Roasted malt, some chocolate and bitterness from the hops.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with nice carbonation.

Drinkability: I was surprised that this was only 4.6%, a very flavorful beer for a relatively low abv. Definitely would get again.
Dec 31, 2010
Photo of lstokes
Reviewed by lstokes from Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
I tried this beer at the Pony Bar in New York, and it came to me with a one-finger tan head on top of a dark brown beer.

It smells citrusy and earthy, leading me to expect hops that I didn't get. There's some very light grapefruit/orange rind notes, a little bit of chocolate malt, some roasted barley, the bitter hops show up at the end and in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is somewhat thin and drying, although there's a nice zippy carbonation.

Ultimately I agree with other reviewers who say this is more of a schwarzbier, there's not really enough of a hop presence for this to be a black IPA. An interesting beer, totally sessionable, but I'm not sure I would actually go for it again.
Dec 30, 2010
Photo of r0nyn
Reviewed by r0nyn from New York

3.15/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Poured from a growler into my Otter Creek nonic.

For the uninitiated, "Net'ra Gal" means "black ale" in Mandalorian. Yes, it's a silly made up Star Wars language, but there you go. Pours a dark mahogany hue that's translucent in the glass. Amber highlights around the edges. Quarter inch light tan head that quickly dissipates into a wispy thin layer of whitish bubbles around the rim. Leaves some very loose, spotty lacing. Smell has that citrus-y hoppiness that's come to be expected of IPAs, but it's pretty subdued. There's also some sweet malts towards the end.

Light and malty to start off, with a bit of roasted barley lingering on the palate. Slight hoppy bitterness shows up on the back end and stays for a little while into the aftertaste. On the whole, a very clean, if straightforward taste. I would have preferred a bit more citrus and complexity in general, but oh well. Mouthfeel is pretty light, with not a lot of body to it and an overall feeling of watery-ness. Finish is a bit drying with a decent amount of carbonation.

Drinkability is only about average. Isn't big in body or taste, but isn't entirely deficient in both cases either. I'm just disappointed because I think Southern Tier could have done so much better, especially with a beer like this. I don't think a Mandalorian would drink this on a regular basis and they couldn't be blamed for it.
Dec 22, 2010
Photo of david18
Reviewed by david18 from New York

3.5/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I'm pretty sure this wasn't listed as either a black ipa or a cascadian dark ale at the amsterdam ale house, where I tried this beer. (Incidentally, I like the name, "Cascadian Dark Ale). I also like the idea of a black ipa, or any ipa that's that low in alcohol. I wasn't crazy about this beer although I always applaud ST's attempts at so many unique recipes.

Appearance, as advertised, is black with a lightish, almost white, head. Smell was a little roasty but not too much of anything. Flavor as well was roasty but not hoppy enough. It would have been much better with more hops. The beer is easy to drink. I'm just not sure it's interesting enough to get another one. It's almost like a schwartzbier with ale characterisics.
Dec 19, 2010
Photo of DoubleSimcoe
Reviewed by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

2.96/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Ne'Tra Gal on tap at Cole's in Buffalo, served in a regular pint glass.

Appearance: Huge frothy head, like a Guinness. Raisin-y black color, some creamy lacing.

Smell: Some nutty aromas, and lots of toasty-roastiness. Bitterness at the end of the sniff. Not impressive.

Taste: Very mild, almost too thin. Dry bitterness, barely a hint of roasted malts.

Mouthfeel: Low body. Thin all around. Needs a kick in the ass. Alright carbonation, very dry finish that pinches the lips like Grandma's unwanted, pungent kiss.

Drinkability: Sure high, but who cares? I would rather drink Guinness... this is, anyway, more of an Irish Dry Stout than a Black IPA.
Dec 14, 2010
Photo of ogdenaj
Reviewed by ogdenaj from New York

2.91/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Southern Tier's one my favorite breweries and I was really excited when I saw this beer on tap in the Whole Food Beer Room. A black IPA? Sounded big, warm, and hoppy - the perfect beer for one of the first cold nights of winter.

What I found when I got home was a little disappointing. For one, the aroma and flavors seemed to be pretty lackluster. Some dank hops, some burnt toast - nothing that truly represented the fragrant bouquets of IPAs or the rich maltiness of darker ales.

The body only added to the longing for what could have been: it was thin and watery with a fizzy little head and almost no lacing. Where was the chunky white trail of the pale ale? Where was the thick mouthfeel of the stout?

In all, the beer stopped short of realizing any of the styles it was referencing and REALLY fell through in doing justice to the hybrid breed. It's surprising that a brewery with such an awesome track record of big, innovative beers could take such a cool concept and produce something this mediocre, but I won't hold it against them. I'll just grab one of their Old Man winter ales instead.
Dec 09, 2010
Photo of Kendo
Reviewed by Kendo from New York

4.1/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
**Style note: Black IPA/Cascadian Dark Ale is close but, in my opinion, not quite right. I almost entered it as an English Dark Mild Ale, but that's not quite it either. I went with the Black IPA choice based on the description of the beer on GreatBrewers.com, which has this to say:

"A hoppy black ale, inspired by those served at the Oyu'baat cantina on Mandalore. Ne'tra gal is dry hopped with crystal hops, and has the qualities of an ipa with the body of a porter. Full mouthfeel with moderate effervescence.
No more to say have we."

(The tap handle says it's a Mandalorian Black Ale, which is apparently a Star Wars reference, so no real style help there.)

A: On tap at the Blue Tusk in Syracuse on 11/30/10 - literally, they tapped the keg as I was sitting at the bar; other than the owner, I think I had the first taste. . . . . Served in an imperial pint glass, the body is clear dark brown - not black, but close - with a 1-finger light khaki head. Leaves behind good lace.

S: Not a lot going on - some basic toasty malt and a touch of hop bitterness.

T: First impression: "light." A touch of chocolate malt and roasted barley, then finishing with a hoppy bitterness. Not flavor-hops, just bitter-hops, providing nice balance and a good clean finish. I get a touch of fruitiness as it warms, but only a slight touch.

M: Call it light-to-medium in heft, the carbonation is active but not sharp.

D: Excellent. Easily quaffed at 4.6% ABV (the bartender said he thought it was lighter even, at 4.3%, but I'm going by the GreatBrewer.com site), yet flavorful while finishing clean. I like - just hope Greedo doesn't come looking for any unpaid debts while I'm putting this one down.
Nov 30, 2010
Ne'Tra Gal from Southern Tier Brewing Company
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 15 ratings