Cold Moon Black Ale
Ten Bends Beer

 

 

16 ounce can, canned on 01/05/21, thanks to Brutaltruth for this! Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with a little more than an inch tan frothy head. Head stuck around a while and there's a lot of lacing too. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like citrusy and piney hops, roasted malt, coffee and some herbalness. Taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some bittersweet chocolate and dark bready flavors noticeable. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit creamy and coating with a moderate amount of carbonation. I liked this brew, but I'd also like to try this one fresher at some point. With that being said it's worth a try if you come across some!

So much promise from the moment I poured it to the moment I put it up to my nose - and then I tasted it. Holy hell, is this thing bitter. Not bitter as in sour, bitter as in I think they used the wrong combination of hops. I can't recall, but it was three of them and I should take a look at the can again to avoid such a combination, every again.

I'm sure there are many that will love this, but this certainly isn't for me.

 

Poured into a 16 oz Nordic pint glass. Pours a very attractive near pitch black with a 2 finger sticky brown head that leaves scattered circles of lace with good retention. 4.5

Aroma is roasty coffee, cocoa nibs, vanilla bean, pine, and grapefruit. 4

Taste follows roasted coffee, cocoa, vanilla, pine, and grapefruit really more about the darks malts, but a little hoppy bitterness in the back end. 4.25

Mouthfeel is above average, a tad dry, plenty of carbonation with a little creamy ness, and at 7% loaded with flavor but easy sipping. 4.5

Overall I really think this is excellent, makes me miss having the opportunity to purchase these when even. I will be looking for this next year. 4.25

From the 16oz can in a snifter. This solid little black IPA pours
a deep coal black with a thin dark brown highlight and a fantastical
head of light brown foam that settles to a thick ring, thin dusty layer,
and shows some very nice lacing. Nose of dark cocoa, dark black strap
molasses, char, and sticky hop notes. Flavors lightly exceed the nose
with a nice presentation of dark cocoa, black strap molasses, char, and
strong pine accentuated hop notes with earthy malt touches. Nice
mouthfeel; medium full body, smooth, coating with char and hops,
and finishing with a bitter malt and pine touched hop finish.

Overall, a nice reminder of an old favorite from Rogue---Mogul Ale.
That said, it is not your standard cup of ale and quite bitter from malt,
char, and hops.

Cheers

From a can dated 01/15/21. Sampled Feb 13, 2021.

Very attracrtive looking color of dark brown to black with a modest tan head.

Aroma of dark malts, molasses (some), dark grains, and a very distant floral hop character. But it is really dark in general.

Medium mouthfeel.

It is at first sweet as far as the taste goes and then there is a molasses and bitter end. It has a uniqueness to it that I like but do not necessarily love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured into a becher pint glass, the appearance was a soft black color with a finger’s worth of white to off white foamy head that dissipated at a nice pace. Sly messy lace. The aroma had a sharp bitter citrus to resinous hoppiness up front bursting through some gentle roast and coffee bean. The flavor makes a good effort to blend the hops to the coffee bean, but for the most part, stays separated. Crisp roasted to semi-sweet and bitter aftertaste spiking the finish with a big bitterness. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a decent sessionable trait to it. As big and bold as the citrus and resinous hops come out, their bitterness level seems to be somewhat tame here, and I’m okay with that. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt appropriate. Overall, an all around well balanced black IPA, though not an official palate wrecker like most I have encountered, this one could would be a nice early Spring time beer.