Newport Storm '10
Newport Craft Brewing & Distilling Co.

 

 

 

Thank you Damian for the opportunity to try this one. 750ml corked and waxed bottle served in a tulip. Wax was copious and intact; however, the cork, while damp, was blackened and slightly cruddy. No carbonation pop present on the cork pull. Pours slightly darker than cola with a similar clarity and a loose, sudsy, tan-colored head that dissipates into a soapy slick and clusters of bubbles around the edges. Tiny spots and spatters of lacing are present during the tasting. Nose is not really what I anticipated - notes of cocoa, toffee, a light earthiness and perhaps a mild vinous quality. Taste consistent with nose with the addition of a light, peppery character. Taste is somewhat reminiscent of a tootsie roll. Mouthfeel is light-medium in body (but closer to light) with a somewhat still carbonation and a slightly oily texture. I have to say that I'm shocked at how much I like this beer and how well it has held up. The hops character is more or less gone and this comes off as more of an American Strong Ale at this point. Overall, this beer is well worth your time if you can still find them on the shelves. I haven't been this pleasantly surprised by a beer in a while. A real sleeper. Alcohol is dangerously well-hidden as well.

 

SAmpling a cellar temp bottle poured into a snifter. Starts of pouring with the cork disintegrating and splitting in half. Had to pull the second half out of the bottleneck. No pop, swish, fizz on removal of cork. Slightly tart smell on the cork.
Beer pours a dark brownhue, almost black, very little wispy tan head even with an aggressive pour.
Aroma is roasted malt and a little dark cocoa, I also get some booze showing up and some anice. Maybe a little earthy hop character, but in general the nose isnt overly robust.
First sip reveals a fairly thick body and very fine carbonation. Flavor is roasted dark malt and molasses, a little brown sugar and coffee ground. Booze is also present and the hops are not.
This beer has probably changed since fresh as the hops seem to have faded away. Fine with me as I like the malty brew that I am drinking now. Glad to have had the chance to consume this beer. It is drinking fairly easy for a more robust beverage too. Just dont come looking for hops.

Found this one sitting on the shelf of some crappy south boston liquor store. Figured I'd make a $14 gamble at shelf-aging. Let's see how this one turns out...

A: Cork comes out with only the slightest hiss. Pours almost pure black with just the tiniest of light brown heads, despite a very aggressive pour. Fades to nothing almost immediately. Very little lacing.

S: Get a chalky bit of char from the roasted malt. Some dark fruits to boot. Some...dusty smell? Nothing is bad, but a little alarming.

T: Hmph. Again, a dusty, chalky kind of taste but mixed in with decent roasted malt. Mostly char with some chocolate. Get some metallic twang and some cardboard on the back end mixed in. Roasty char in the finish. No indication as to the alcohol at all and no sign of the original hoppines.

M: Fairly heavy but not nearly as heavy as you'd expect for 12%. Lifeless due to very low carbonation.

O: Meh. If this beer were ever any good, I can't say. But as for a shelf-aged version, it's pretty much crap. Cardboard and metallic flavors ruin what could have been a somewhat decent beer. I drain poured it. It seems like it had potential at one point in time.

Funnily enough, no picture uploaded after almost 3 years. Figured I'd take pity and at least do that, since it has a cool bottle and all (nice color).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to someone for sharing this at the most recent Freetail bottle release party. Sorry for not remembering who provided it.

The beer pours a deep brown to black color with a tan head. I get a lot of roasted malt and chocolate notes but I also, somewhat surprisingly, get some dark fruit notes. I don't get any kind of hop notes in the aroma.

The flavor is a mix of piney and orange citrus hops with some roasted malt and chocolate notes. I also get some sweetness from the caramel malt.

Medium to thick mouthfeel and low to medium carbonation. A pretty good Black IPA.

Thanks goes out to TheManiacalOne for this brew.

750ml Blue Bottle
Corked

Poured into a Westy glass a very nice black color, very nice carbonation, nice one-finger creamy/fizzy light tan head, with some nice oil slicks, small islands, and sticky lacing left behind. The nose is very nice malty, with a very nice touch of hops, licorice, some chocolate/toffee notes, and caramel. The taste is malty, sweet, very nice little hop note to balance it out, licorice, some dark stuff, and caramel. Medium Body, nice little bitter ending, the ABV is hidden very well. Very Drinkable, this is an awesome little brew, glad I got a chance to try it. Thanks Mark.

A-Pours a very respectable black hue. Only the outermost edges of the beer yield any brown coloration. A fluffy head slowly dies away as time elapses. Laces well.

S-Powerful blast of floral and pine hops. Thick dark malts also are detectable. Some alcohol is noted as well.

T-Strong wallop of roastiness and chocolate. The bitter hop attack sets in quickly afterwards. More balanced than I expected. I get an almost scented soapy flavor as well. Booze is present but at %12 it is masked quite well. Definately a big beer. Leaves a hoppy aftertaste that lasts for quite a long time.

M-Quite heavy-bodied. Well carbonated. Somewhat resiny finish.

D-At %12, splitting one of these 750ml is the perfect amount. There is much to be said at how well the booze is masked.

Honestly better than expected. Quite happy with the result.

blackness. good finger of foam to start, and now i'm looking at a sudsy film with tan collar creeping up the glass

very dark smelling but far from astringent. almost...fruity. toffee

so...i haven't sampled many of this style. how is it different from a hoppy light-bodied porter? continental hops, it would seem: licorice, gesha root (dfh reference)? strong bitterness from whatever kind of hop produces an extremely strong effect when used heavily for bitterness

From 01/02/11 notes. Brought to a local tasting by nmann08; thanks Nate.

a - Pours a dark brown, almost black color, with an inch of tan head.

s - Smells of faded citrus hops and faded pine. Very weak and lacking.

t - Tastes of orange, citrus hops, chocolate, and roasted malts. A major step up from the nose.

m - Medium body and low carbonation.

d - An ok black IPA. I enjoyed the taste but thought the smell was faded and lacking. Wouldn't seek out or buy but if someone brought this to a tasting I'd give another shot.