Batch 3000
Drake's Brewing Co.

 

 

 

On tap at Drake's Barrel House, review from written notes.

Dark brown center, mahogany edges, collar of lace around the edges. Tan foam that leaves drippy arcs of lace here and there, skim across the surface breaks eventually.

Mellow earthy roast, citrus rind, minor hop dankness.

Flavors of resiny pine, light coffee and cocoa. Dry and bitter, finish is nearly chalky but not unpleasant. Solid ABA, something i'd drink again if they decided to produce regularly.

A black Pale Ale, they like to call it. Loads of hops. Black color, light body. Nice lacing in the pint glass. A foamy mouthful, and the pleasant mouthfeel is one of its redeeming features. Sharp and resiny hops dominate the flavors.

It's such a good gulp when the touch of malt and the rich hops hit the tongue, but then it bleeds off into Bitterland. Still, it's more interesting than a lot of pale ales, or black ones for that matter. At the Pizza Port in OB, San Diego.

A - Served a fairly dark black-brown color with some light coming through around the edges. There was a finger of frothy tannish head that faded slowly leaving behind some spotty lacing.

S - The aroma was a really nice balance of roasted/slightly burnt sweet malts and some piney hops.

T - Starts off with some growing pine hops flavor and some bitterness alongside. Tjhe slightly burnt chocolate/caramel malts come in right after. Through the middle, the bitterness gets a bit stronger and there is some coffee flavor that sneaks in. The finish is a nice mix of roasted flavors with some pine hops and bitterness lingering.

M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. The beer feels smooth with and quite dry due to the hops and roasted/burnt flavors.

D - Very drinkable. Well balanced Black IPA with the roasted flavors and hops staying really nicely balanced throughout.

Draft service into a becker glass at Blind Lady Ale House in San Diego.

A: Opaque black color with one finger of diminishing mocha-tinted foam head. Heavy lacing remains on the glass.

S: Mildly roasty with earthy hops that yield subtle leafy qualities.

T: Begins dry, with balanced roasted malt and hop aromatics of pine and mixed citrus. Metered acidity is understated, welcoming the mild and steady middle. The influence of roast is redoubled toward the finish as intense minerals surge ahead of moderate piney bitterness.

M: Thin to medium viscosity, wet on the palate and slightly astringent, with moderate carbonation.

D/O: This welcome interpretation of the black IPA style puts emphasis on ease of drinking instead of hop bitterness or aggressiveness of roast. While the current trend sees most new contributions to the style stretching the acceptable abv range even higher than that of regular IPAs, this beer aims low instead and succeeds. It could easily serve as a year-round staple for a brewery's black IPA.

Draft at Gourmet Haus Staudt. Appropriately black appearance, nearly opaque and capped by a lasting tan head.

Very balanced but hoppy nose, resin and citrus backed by notes of coffee and dark chocolate. Dark malt is remarkably well integrated here, at a very present level without clashing with the hops. Little noticeable sweetness.

Tastes even better than it smells. Resiny, piney hops, chocolate covered oranges, bitter chocolate. Light body, though it has a little heft. Pretty mild bitterness in the finish, making it easy to quaff.

Had on tap at the Library Alehouse in Santa Monica about a month ago. Reviewed from notes.

Appearance – Comes from the server with a opaque color, and mocha colored head (though a bit lighter). The head dissipates relatively fast leaving slight lacing.

Smell – Lots of roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, some nice hoppy pine notes, and ends with just a hint of caramel.

Taste – Relatively similar to the aroma. Lots of charred malts, day old coffee, and some hops. As womencantsail stated, this is more of a porter in my opinion than a Black IPA. Nonetheless, it really isn’t bad and I can say I did enjoy it.

Mouthfeel – Medium bodied, decent carbonation.

Overall – Not a bad beer – not quite to the style of “Black IPA” but decent overall.

Had on the hand pump at Toronado. Black with a thick tan head, very nice layered lacing.
Coffee and pine up front with mineral and citrus background.
The taste adds a bit of chocolate in with coffee, pine and earth, a hint of mint.
Goes down smooth and a little sticky.
I'll grab another on my next visit. For now I'll explore more beer.

On-tap at Blue Palms for Drakes/Triple Rock Tap Takeover

A: The pour is dark brown, just about black, in color with a creamy khaki head.

S: Herbal and citrus hops dominate the front end of the nose. There are some floral and fruity notes to it as well. Heavy on the roasted malt and perhaps even some chocolate aromas.

T: Really quite roasty, much more than I was expecting. Some dark chocolate, coffee, and coffee grounds give this more of a stout or porter flavor than Black IPA. Some decent hoppiness, with floral and citrus notes, but overshadowed by the roast.

M: Medium in body and carbonation.

O: An interesting take on this style. I would have preferred a more hop forward approach.