Crooked Knight
Bar 3 Bar-B-Q

my first from these guys, never even heard of this before i dont think, but was stoked to see this on tap, a fresh hop black ipa, not something we see very much of, so it was must, and its really good, a great first impression of this place from both creativity and execution! black pour, decent shine to it, near inch of burlap colored head, nice retention and sort of puff to it, looks pretty well refined for what must be a fairly small timey outfit. the nose is bold and fresh, like not just fresh hops but fresh overall, cool in a beer that looks this dark, some serious roast here, coffee notes to it, short of burnt and smoke character but close, espresso for sure, subtle wood almost, and ale yeast to me, almost english way back somehow, but just suggestions through the darkness, pretty neat. the hops hit the nose with a piney woodsy vibe, which i always like better than citrus notes in a black ipa, i think well selected here, not overdosed, the bitterness is apparent, some oils in the mix, smells awesome. the flavor follows, deep roast driving it, nice and clean though with good bitter bite, subtle dark cocoa to it, and then the appreciably fresh hops, juniper and spruce and some dankness but not so aggressive that its not a pint beer, which is the sweet spot i think, medium body, slightly concentrated on the hop side, some bitter pithy orange maybe at the very last instant of it, well fermented and resolved and balanced even overall, a great example of the style anyway, and the wet hops kick it up. excellent beer overall, i will have to check this place out next time i am in the area, had no idea...