Smokestack Black IPA
Smoketown Brewing Station

2/2/24 On tap at Pies and Pints, Morgantown, WV.

I was very interested in trying what i thought was going to be a "smoked" Black IPA.... Was disappointed that this isn't "smoked", but still turned out to be a fairly decent BIPA. It's very hard to find BIPAs, so I am pleased with this offering. Certainly not the best I've had, but definitely drinkable.

Aroma is an odd milky aroma(according to Leah). I get that on the taste a little bit..... Strange.

It is roasty a bit, and has a bit of hoppy bite.

Pretty deep deep copper look. Nice lacing.

Again, since BIPAs are so rare I'm glad to have try this again.

Ok

Taster pour at Smoketown. Near black pour, small bubbly brown head. Smoky, roasty aroma, detectable bitterness. Taste is roasty, burnt toast, coffee, bitter.

Poured from the can into a Spiegelau IPA glass.

Deep brown walnut body, with light reams of tan bubbles which seem to rise fast. Creamy fulfilling head, reaching an easy four fingers with control and formation. Rock hard retention and staying power, not a budging or movement in sight. Bold and aggressive with an excellent look and presence.

Nice aroma. Touches a light milky chocolate with faint hints of coffee. Creamy like sensing faint sweetness really accents the malt nicely. Still unfortunately there is minimal sense of a hop profile on the nose, but the beer smells very good.

Palate slightly misses the mark. The aroma does sort of hint at what is to be expected. Nice malt profile that is actually quite diverse, with a mid palate that is rich in soft milky chocolate and even coffee. Large bitterness that is indistinct though, which is nicely accenting a char-ing finish. Bit of a wet body with just a generic hop bitterness that doesn't have any distinct character. Flirts with smoke and char particularly, but just doesn't bring the hop character, but then a touch of citrus just peaks out mixing with a chocolate angle that saves it.

The mouthfeel on this is lacking, and the hop profile really needs some distinction, but everything else is just in the right ballpark. A great beer is lurking here with some tweaking I think.

 

pours dark with firm head = nice matlty taste

 

12 oz can

pours black in color, but light gets through the edges of the glass when held up to the light. thick cream colored head. good head retention. aroma is roasty malt and earthy, resinous hops. taste is similar, fairly bitter. sort of an odd finish though. medium bodied.

 

Beautify black beer with billowing tan head. Aroma has weird chemical aroma to it. Taste is the same, like a soapiness to the flavor...something wrong here. Not sure what is up but I can't really recommend this beer. Its really nice to look at in the glass however, but that is where it ends.

Coffee stout taste... hints of maple... dark color...asphalt after taste

The beer pours a nice off-white head with a hint of brown to it that dissipates quickly. The beer itself is a good looking dark chocolate brown that is obviously opaque.

The smell is good. It has a good light roast to it and a chocolate note. There is a light hop bitterness too but it mainly gets concealed by the darker notes.

The tastes is pretty good. It still has a nice light bitter roasted note but comes mostly in the finish. The bitter orange hop note comes out a bit more but they are still relatively the same.

The feel is good. It has a medium body but with a bit of thinness to it.

Overall, a decent Black IPA and worth getting.

Every time I drive through the little town of Brunswick, I see this brewery on the main drag in an old fire station. Seems like a cool place, I have been meaning to stop in. This black IPA pours jet black with a big head and a fudgy chocolaty nose laced with hops.

Big chocolately flavor dominates like in the nose, with citrus bitterness again kind of on the margins. Oily and satisfying in the aftertaste. Kind of mellow than an IPA usually, this seems to be part schwarzbier.

Not aggressive or heavily bitter, this is a very servicable black IPA.