Back In Black | 21st Amendment Brewery
Brewed by:
21st Amendment Brewery
California, United States
21st-amendment.com
Style: American Black Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 6.80%
Availability: Rotating
Notes / Commercial Description:
ABV varies around 7%.
65 IBU
Added by tpd975 on 11-23-2008
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 2,406 | Reviews: 717
Reviews by beerdrifter:
More User Reviews:
4.36/5 rDev +17.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a 12 oz can,into a Cigar City spiegelau IPA glass.
Pours a deep brown forming a creamy dark khaki colored head,that stands 1 finger tall.Very nice head retention,and beautiful lacing.Dark brown / deep amber colored body,with distorted light showing through the glass.Very light carbonation.
On the nose I get dark roasted malts,and some citrusy tropical fruit hops.Also getting some caramel,and coffee notes.
On the palate I get mostly dark roasted malts,coffee,caramel and toffee,balanced with a nice solid piney hop flavor.This is a very nice beer.
The body is thin with a moderately dry finish.
This is a very nice beer,not sure why it didn't get a higher rating,although I admit I am a sucker for dark beers.This is my first time trying a black IPA,and I definitely look forward to trying more of them.
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look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Poured from a 12 oz can,into a Cigar City spiegelau IPA glass.
Pours a deep brown forming a creamy dark khaki colored head,that stands 1 finger tall.Very nice head retention,and beautiful lacing.Dark brown / deep amber colored body,with distorted light showing through the glass.Very light carbonation.
On the nose I get dark roasted malts,and some citrusy tropical fruit hops.Also getting some caramel,and coffee notes.
On the palate I get mostly dark roasted malts,coffee,caramel and toffee,balanced with a nice solid piney hop flavor.This is a very nice beer.
The body is thin with a moderately dry finish.
This is a very nice beer,not sure why it didn't get a higher rating,although I admit I am a sucker for dark beers.This is my first time trying a black IPA,and I definitely look forward to trying more of them.
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5/5 rDev +35.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
really tasty and good beer
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look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
really tasty and good beer
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4.07/5 rDev +10%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
This is my first black IPA for what it's worth. Pours opaque black. Overwhelming grapefruit in the aroma. So much so that I can't get anything else. Thin creamy head, disappears quickly but leaves lots of lacing. Taste: lots of grapefruit but some pine. Thick mouthfeel, almost like a Russian imperial. Bizarre (and has some palette dissonance) to have this palette with the hop profile. Back end has a peculiar combo of hop bitterness and stout bitterness. I love this beer. Well balanced. I would drink this any time. Awesome.
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look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
This is my first black IPA for what it's worth. Pours opaque black. Overwhelming grapefruit in the aroma. So much so that I can't get anything else. Thin creamy head, disappears quickly but leaves lots of lacing. Taste: lots of grapefruit but some pine. Thick mouthfeel, almost like a Russian imperial. Bizarre (and has some palette dissonance) to have this palette with the hop profile. Back end has a peculiar combo of hop bitterness and stout bitterness. I love this beer. Well balanced. I would drink this any time. Awesome.
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3.06/5 rDev -17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Jet black pour into a Brooklyn Pils glass with a slight fizzy cap that quickly deteriorates. Sweet malt aroma, a surprise after having read the label "Black IPA". Bitter first sip. Not citrusy, not piney, more astringent than anything else. I cannot get a bead on any hop character, just a bitter flavor. The bitterness dissipates and gets overwhelmed by candy sweetness, which is just inconsistent with the style attempt. The fizzy thin mouth feel finishes a pretty unpleasant drinking experience. Good thing that I bought the can as a single. Don't think I'll be going back for this one. I have not had great experience with 21st Amend. but I really enjoyed their Fire Side Chat and Monks Blood. Those two successes will keep me trying their new projects in the future; this effort was simply not their finest effort.
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look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Jet black pour into a Brooklyn Pils glass with a slight fizzy cap that quickly deteriorates. Sweet malt aroma, a surprise after having read the label "Black IPA". Bitter first sip. Not citrusy, not piney, more astringent than anything else. I cannot get a bead on any hop character, just a bitter flavor. The bitterness dissipates and gets overwhelmed by candy sweetness, which is just inconsistent with the style attempt. The fizzy thin mouth feel finishes a pretty unpleasant drinking experience. Good thing that I bought the can as a single. Don't think I'll be going back for this one. I have not had great experience with 21st Amend. but I really enjoyed their Fire Side Chat and Monks Blood. Those two successes will keep me trying their new projects in the future; this effort was simply not their finest effort.
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4.46/5 rDev +20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
3.1/5 rDev -16.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine Issue #43 (Aug 2010):
You know a beer style has made it when it has been canned. This beer has excellent lacing but is not as black as expected. It has a sweet, hoppy resin and malt sweetness in the nose. It's very smooth, with a faint roasted maltiness and some char when the beer lingers on the palate. The hops are doing their job, but the malt just lets go. This brew has a semidry finish with some faint roast and hop bitterness flavors to deal with. It seems a bit confused. Perhaps the contract brewer lost touch with the end goal here? It's decent at best, though a good pick if cans are your only option.
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look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine Issue #43 (Aug 2010):
You know a beer style has made it when it has been canned. This beer has excellent lacing but is not as black as expected. It has a sweet, hoppy resin and malt sweetness in the nose. It's very smooth, with a faint roasted maltiness and some char when the beer lingers on the palate. The hops are doing their job, but the malt just lets go. This brew has a semidry finish with some faint roast and hop bitterness flavors to deal with. It seems a bit confused. Perhaps the contract brewer lost touch with the end goal here? It's decent at best, though a good pick if cans are your only option.
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4.32/5 rDev +16.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
5/5 rDev +35.1%
I always liked black IPA's, and this one solidified that. Just a great brew. Straight outta the can is quite nice. Good amount of hop flavor (65ibus) but great balance. This is one of the most drinkable black IPA's you'll find. Sits light on the stomach, and goes great with chicken and spicy peppers.
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I always liked black IPA's, and this one solidified that. Just a great brew. Straight outta the can is quite nice. Good amount of hop flavor (65ibus) but great balance. This is one of the most drinkable black IPA's you'll find. Sits light on the stomach, and goes great with chicken and spicy peppers.
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3.75/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.22/5 rDev +14.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Pours a nearly opaque brown with a tan, long-lasting head that leaves a lot of lace.
The aroma is a combination of citrus and roasted malt with a hint of something vegetal/grassy.
Taste features plenty of hop bite right up front, plenty of citrus and pine followed by dark chocolate and roast coffee notes that finish the sip on a bitter note.
Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy.
Quite enjoyed it.
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look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Pours a nearly opaque brown with a tan, long-lasting head that leaves a lot of lace.
The aroma is a combination of citrus and roasted malt with a hint of something vegetal/grassy.
Taste features plenty of hop bite right up front, plenty of citrus and pine followed by dark chocolate and roast coffee notes that finish the sip on a bitter note.
Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy.
Quite enjoyed it.
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3.37/5 rDev -8.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Seen this alot at ;my local, finally decided to pick up a 6-er @ $10.99.
Not as dark as I expected it to look.
Smells more like a porter to the nose. Upon 1st sip...yup, this is a porter, not really an IPA. A hoppy porter at that, tho.
A bit of smokey bitterness that lingers after the sip. At 6.8%, a bit more boozy (& boozy tasting) than expected too.
A disappointment if you expecting a dark IPA, but not bad if you think of it as a hoppy porter.
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look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Seen this alot at ;my local, finally decided to pick up a 6-er @ $10.99.
Not as dark as I expected it to look.
Smells more like a porter to the nose. Upon 1st sip...yup, this is a porter, not really an IPA. A hoppy porter at that, tho.
A bit of smokey bitterness that lingers after the sip. At 6.8%, a bit more boozy (& boozy tasting) than expected too.
A disappointment if you expecting a dark IPA, but not bad if you think of it as a hoppy porter.
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3.5/5 rDev -5.4%
The Alstrom Brothers state that "You know a beer style has made it when it has been canned." I could not agree more, however don't think that it is a knock. The fact that we can get a quality Black IPA canned is a greajt thing. Back in Black pours opaque and has light malt notes in the nose. Plenty of nice hop flavor throughout each sip. It's very smooth and a dry finish. It is a decent quality canned option.
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The Alstrom Brothers state that "You know a beer style has made it when it has been canned." I could not agree more, however don't think that it is a knock. The fact that we can get a quality Black IPA canned is a greajt thing. Back in Black pours opaque and has light malt notes in the nose. Plenty of nice hop flavor throughout each sip. It's very smooth and a dry finish. It is a decent quality canned option.
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2.61/5 rDev -29.5%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
A- A deep brown though definitely far from black. A one finger head of small white bubbles falls slowly leaving no lacing. This one is also clearly not filtered and contains lots of brown and white yeast that I wasn't expecting in a canned beer.
S- American hops (cascade) are up front in the nose with a little bubblegum and pine and a touch of caramel rounding out the heavy citrus. Would like more "dark beer" traits but smells like an IPA.
T- Flavor is sweet with the caramel and some bubblegum standing over a refrained hop character. Finishes with a rush of moderate bitterness. As an IPA it fails with little hop flavor, as an american brown it's just ok.
M- Moderate in body and fairly low in carbonation, it's not hard to drink but is not nearly as dry as an IPA and without any roastiness there isn't much of an excuse.
D- In almost all respects this one just feels like a lazy attempt at an over hopped brown. By no stretch of the imagination would I call this a black IPA as it isn't black, it isn't dry and there's practically no hop flavor. The thick layer of yeast sediment was also offputting in the glass and really uncalled for in a can. It was hard for me to give this brewery another try with how much I hated the watermelon wheat, now I know to stay away for good.
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look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
A- A deep brown though definitely far from black. A one finger head of small white bubbles falls slowly leaving no lacing. This one is also clearly not filtered and contains lots of brown and white yeast that I wasn't expecting in a canned beer.
S- American hops (cascade) are up front in the nose with a little bubblegum and pine and a touch of caramel rounding out the heavy citrus. Would like more "dark beer" traits but smells like an IPA.
T- Flavor is sweet with the caramel and some bubblegum standing over a refrained hop character. Finishes with a rush of moderate bitterness. As an IPA it fails with little hop flavor, as an american brown it's just ok.
M- Moderate in body and fairly low in carbonation, it's not hard to drink but is not nearly as dry as an IPA and without any roastiness there isn't much of an excuse.
D- In almost all respects this one just feels like a lazy attempt at an over hopped brown. By no stretch of the imagination would I call this a black IPA as it isn't black, it isn't dry and there's practically no hop flavor. The thick layer of yeast sediment was also offputting in the glass and really uncalled for in a can. It was hard for me to give this brewery another try with how much I hated the watermelon wheat, now I know to stay away for good.
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Back In Black from 21st Amendment Brewery
Beer rating:
54.4% out of
100 with
2,406 ratings
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Dark brown, nearly black pour with a two finger beige head with good retention and great lacing. The nose was a bit subdued for the style. Roasty up front with hints of black licorice, mocha, and soy sauce with a touch of citrus and pine emerging as well as a touch of smoke. The taste is a bit more bold with roasty coffee and chocolate complemented nicely with citrusy, piney hop notes with some cola on the finish. The mouthfeel is a tad bit fizzy and a little thin, but has a nice finish. Overall a solid Black IPA, but not quite up there with Sublimely. Very sessionable though...
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