Boss Black Blackcurrant Edition
Boss Brewing Company

Pours a light black, with a tan head. Pours just like a coke, the head audibly fizzes and recedes into a black nothingness within 15 seconds. A small ring stands around the edge. Aromas pleasant, roasted malts and coffee, edges of blackcurrant.

It’s a pretty typical English stout for the palate and that can either excite you or feel boring. Regardless, it is what it is. More subtle flavours with dryer character, occasionally slightly thin and watery. That said, there is a mild lactose sweetness and edge to the palate. Again, very mild chocolate notes intermingle with roasted coffee, slightly sweet but toasted malt, a bit of a fruity spin with blackcurrants, which adds maybe the lightest touch of astringency/earthiness to the fruity aspects of the beer. Balanced with the typical dryer roasted flavours of English stouts, it’s at the very least a unique spin on the style. I haven’t had the base beer so I can’t judge that specifically but this is, going by the regular flavours, a seeming improvement.

Light-medium bodied, decent carbonation with tiny bubbles, lightly prickling the palate. Dryish finish, semi-smooth sipping experience.

Unique, but nothing crazy. I must be honest when I say I typically enjoy very strong stouts, but this is certainly fine. Certain flavours will come out as it warms, compared to some other stouts and beers it plays well with warmer temperatures, opening up the lactose sweetness and roasted, chocolate flavours which I found more muted when it was cold. Worthy of a try I think

 

500 mL bottle from the LCBO; best before Dec 2020 and served barely chilled. I enjoyed their Boss Black stout only a few days ago - then as luck would have it, this variant showed up on the shelves a day or two later.

Pours inky black, with more than an inch of foamy, light tan-coloured head situated atop. It wilts at a steady pace, soon reduced to a creamy, centimetre-thick cap and collar within five minutes or so; a narrow band of lace completes its attractive look. The blackcurrant definitely comes through on the nose, adding a fruity, berry-like character alongside notes of milk sugar, toffee, dark chocolate and coffee; hints of licorice and grape skins.

A solid stout - the blackcurrant imparts a juicy berry note at the forefront, as well as some tannin astringency that asserts itself towards the back end. The remainder of the profile mostly consists of dark chocolate, coffee and lactose sweetness; cocoa, currant and coffee linger on into a bittersweet aftertaste that leaves the palate ripe for another sip. Medium-light in body, with relatively low carbonation levels that weakly agitate the tongue; feels smooth and somewhat soft in the mouth. Average drinkability - it's tasty, but after one you'll likely be ready to move on to something lighter and more refreshing.

Final Grade: 3.89, a B+. I'd say Boss' Blackcurrant Black is a significant improvement over the original base stout, as the presence of the currants adds some much-needed depth to the brew, while also helping to blunt the lactose sweetness to some extent - which results in a more balanced offering IMO. An interesting beer that is worth keeping an eye out for: I'll pick this up a few more times while it remains in stock, and would encourage other BAs to do the same.

very smooth stout with a moderate character of real blackcurrant fruit. nice after dinner beer.served to me by the owner, Sarah John. worth a try. shwartzbier like base.