Night Nurse IPA
Portsmouth Brewery

 

 

Look - a little thin but everything else looked as expected
Smell - toastiness but that's about it
Taste - hoppy spiced dark toastiness
Feel - medium body and light carbonation
Overall - pretty good

 

 

Not usually a huge fan of the hop/roast combination in most black IPAs, but I'm always willing to try out what my most local of breweries has to offer. Appearance is dark, dark, dark, about as close to black as I've seen. Two finger dark khaki head with tiny and tight bubbles. Head coats the glass as it dissipates. Dense hop/roast blend in the aroma, but nothing really pops. As the beer warms, something like cinnamon and licorice starts to bleed through in the aroma. Taste of earthy, spicy hops, with a little citrus around the edges. Then the roast, which consumes the finish and leaves substantial lingering bitterness. Dark chocolate, char, black coffee are the lasting impressions. A little more sweet chocolate comes through as the beer warms. The bitterness is a bit much for my taste, but I suppose should be expected for the style. The hop burps are the only reminder that I'm drinking an IPA. Feel is prickly and the finish is quite dry. It's too much of a sipper for what it is. Overall, this doesn't do anything to change my thoughts on black IPAs, but I wouldn't turn one down.

One of the better black ipas I've tasted. Great balance between the light floral juicy hops and roasted malt backbone. Not too bitter, with a light, crisp finish.

 

In an imperial pint glass the beer was black in color with a thick tan head. There was a ton of sticky lace.

Pine and roasted malt aroma.

Pine resin taste, charcoal.

Very hoppy, maybe a little bit too bitter for me.

22 oz. Bottle from the brewery store.
Pours black with dark brown hints at the edges and nearly 2 fingers of persistent khaki colored head. Aroma is actually mostly dark malts with some hops more in the background. Taste is solidly hoppy with strong pine notes; dark malts linger in the background. Solidly, but not overwhelmingly bitter with a slightly dry finish. Medium-light body and moderate carbonation, slightly creamy. Overall I think that this beer is actually more then the sum of its parts. When evaluating each part of this beer individually I found it to be above average but not overwhelming; when I took a big picture view of this brew I found it much more enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

22 oz bottle was poured into a nonic glass.

Appearance: A two finger mocha head was poured that reduced to a thin layer. It is a pitch black color with no vision of anything. Nice lacing down the glass as the beer was drank.

Smell: Resiny pine, char, roasted, bittersweet chocolate, and toasted malts.

Taste: Pine and chat folks with roasty, chocolate, earthy, and bready notes in the rear. Mild bitterness too.

Mouthfeel: Creamy smooth, medium to full bodied, char bitterness, and low to medium carbonation.

Overall: Nice Cascadian black ale. Char and pine is where this style tends to go. Not too overbearing on the ash/smoke side either.

 

 

 

 

Bottle from the Brewery Store.
Pours a solid dark brown with faint garnet at the edges and a huge creamy mocha head that lasts forever. Aromas of earthy citrus pine and resin countered with a faint roasty dark grain maltiness. The flavor follows the aroma quite well. Bitter resinous pine citrus and earthy flavors mixed with hints of caramel and roasted coffee. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and an ashy resinous almost chalky mouthfeel. Very nice black IPA right here, I enjoyed it much too quickly, and then it was gone.