Black Hops
Ellicottville Brewing Co.

On tap at Ellicottville Brewing in Ellicottville, NY.

This one pours a dark-ish brown color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like light roast, piney hops, and some chocolate.

This is pretty decent, but a bit watery and light overall. There's a light hoppy bitterness, pine resin and kind of floral, with a light chocolatey character. There's not enough roast here, and it doesn't pop like some of the best black IPAs out there.

This is light bodied, creamy, and very drinkable.

This is neither the best nor the worst black IPA out there.

A really nice black ipa that I wish they would bring back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growler from Village Beer Merchant. Black coloured body with little head. Very little roast, low on hop flavour.Mouthfeel is less than expected It grows on me as I drink it, all the elements are there, but rather understated black IPA all around. OK drinkability.

Pours a black color with some light around the edges. It also pours with a one finger head that sticks around for a little and then recedes. The aroma is of floral and citrus hops. A nice sweet hop aroma. The taste is of floral and citrus hops, it isn't a hop bomb but very hoppy. There is a slight roasted malt backbone in there as well. The mouthfeel is a little bit underly carbonated. Overall it was a solid beer, it was good and at the top half of the class but not best in class. The mouthfeel seemed a little off and the taste teetered between wanting to be a hop bomb and wanting to be balanced.

On tap at Cole's in Buffalo. Served in a pint glass. Frothy and thick head with thick sudsy lacing. Great retention. Aroma dominated by piney and grassy hops with a nice roasted malt flavor in the background and a touch of sweetness. Mouthfeel extremely smooth and creamy. Looks, feels and tastes like a nitro pour but apparently it isnt. Very, very easy to drink and nice flavor. Very well put together.

Had a pint on tap at the pub.

Pours opaque black, with a thick, tan head.

Aroma is citrusy and piney, with hints of black coffee. As it warms (serving temperature is too cold for proper appreciation of the aroma), a pleasant fruitiness comes in.

Hits my tongue with sweetish roastiness, followed with a solid bitter hit. Citrusy hops, dark roast, and bitterness linger into the finish.

It's fairly light in the mouth, with just a hint of dryness from the roast.

I will definitely finish this pint, and expect it will complement my burger nicely. Stylistically, this sits at the intersection of hoppy porter and American pale ale.

A just-barely-black BIPA with a persistent off-white head. Held up to the light it was very clear reddish-brown. Aroma? Hops. More hops. Did I mention - hops? Pure left-coast citrusy bliss. Maybe there was some malt there, too, but the Wall-of-Hops was pleasantly overwhelming. At this point you oughta be able to guess what the flavor was. More hop bliss. Though it was a definite dark beer, any chocolate or roastiness was either pretty muted or just lost in the hop euphoria. For being such a hop blitz, it really does not wear out its welcome nor overwhelm with a high ABV. I eagerly ordered a refill, and would have repeated several more times if I wasn't going to drive later. Perhaps I'd have wanted a bit more roastiness, but otherwise it'd be hard to top this brew.

The beer pours a translucent dark brown color with a thick frothy off-white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a very nice citrus hop nose laid over a malt base of pale and light roasted malts. It's not incredibly malty, yet it retains a solid dark brown, almost black color. The taste is good as well. Again, it has a smooth bitter hop flavor. It's not over the top, but it's well pronounced. The malt flavor is mild and consists of mostly pale malts along with a hint of roasted malts. I'm not sure how they're attaining the dark color other than maybe a dash of roasted barley. The mouthfeel is fine. It's a medium bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a very drinkable Black IPA. It's balanced and easy drinking.