Night Shift
Fierce Beer

Schooner from Fierce Bar, Edinburgh (£4.40):
Opaque body & jet black with a thin, foamy lacing that sticks to the glass & is a tan brown colour. Dark malts & roasted notes open the nose with some pine hops sneaking through & a little chocolate to add some sweetness. It's quite a dark, bitter taste too with lots of chocolate malts & roasted flavours balanced against strong pine hops with a coffee bitterness showing at times too. The body is medium & smooth, very dry & bitter too but the balance is good with a lingering hop bitterness & roasted malts; a decent black IPA.

330 ml bottle, from Oddbins Aberdeen City. ABV is 6.5%. Black colour, large beige head. Aroma of piney and grapefruity hops, on a background of roast malts . Slightly dry flavour, roast malts with notes of coffee, plenty of piney hops.

330ml can.
L: Black with a big, foaming, milk chocolate head and lots of lacing.
S: A nose full of blackberries, liquorice and charcoal.
T: Similarly rich & fruity with a bitter edge.
F: Medium body, light carbonation, bone dry.
O: An assertive, astringent Black IPA that nonetheless permits the fruit to shine through. Good stuff.

In rubric styles such as American Black Ales, it is good to recognize regional creativity. For that, Night Shift gets good marks.
It Looks like I want to drink it (I have average standards based on Looks; resulting in me giving too many beers a chance.)
Smells improve as I am a malt-head and there are these intriguing and unfamiliar herbs (Scottish, I presume wafting at me.)
Tastes indicate a balanced brew. I am a fan of Scots using heather and whatever else grows up there in lieu of hops.
This is a good beer to let sit in your mouth and imagine what is in it.

I went on Fierce's website to see what they are about. I didn't get as much info as some (including I could not find Night Shift on the site.) But, they seem dedicated to the craft and -- while claiming to be hop-forward -- they actually are not by American standards. And this suits this American palate just fine. Keep those herbs coming, mates... whatever they are.

Canned in a crafty craft can and picked up from the local Bargain Booze
pours a jet black body with big foaming tobacco stain coloured head
that BIPA smel of charred citrus and saltpetre
like an alcoholic dandelion and burdock with a hint of liquorice
good stuff

 

A 330ml bottle with a BB of Jan 2018. Purchased a little while back from the Brewdog webshop. The label describes it as a black IPA for when the day shift is over....

A: Poured into an IPA glass. Bottle conditioned. A very dark brown hue that appears pitch black in the glass. Yields a huge head of creamy light-brown foam that hangs around for a while before reducing to a persistent surface layer. Some lacing.

S: Aroma of rich roasted malt with hints of burnt grain, coffee, cocoa, subtle molasses, a twinge of dried fruit, ale yeast and stewed hops. Very nice; however not much hop character for a black IPA.

T: Tastes of intense roasted malt with notes of coffee, burnt grain, cocoa, mild molasses, ale yeast, stewed hops and a hint of pine. A strident, malt-driven bitterness upon swallowing.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly, with prickly carbonation and great body. Aftertaste of bitter roasted malt, coffee, faint cocoa, stewed hops and ale yeast.

O: A very tasty dark brew - the only problem is that it isn't very black IPA-like. Looks fantastic, while the aroma and flavour are replete with dark malt, coffee and yeast. Lovely body. It's a superb brew that goes down like a dream, however it more closely resembles a stout. There is virtually no hop aroma present, and even the bitterness seems primarily due to the dark malt. Perhaps this has aged too much, or just an off-batch? A excellent beer that would have scored even higher if it had been to style.....