Cloak & Dagger CDA
Granville Island Brewery

Cloak & Dagger CDACloak & Dagger CDA
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From:
Granville Island Brewery
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
Black IPA
ABV:
6.25%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.74 | pDev: 6.68%
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
24
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 13, 2015
Added:
May 16, 2013
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  3
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by JasonLovesBeer:
Photo of JasonLovesBeer
Reviewed by JasonLovesBeer from Canada (BC)

4.03/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Part of the new branding by Granville Island Brewing for their limited releases. Since the 'standard' offerings from GIB have been transferred out to Molson thanks to the huge demand GIB beers have accumulated vs. the small space GIB has to brew, more time has been freed up for brewmaster Vern to craft these "Black Notebook" series releases.

This is, well, it's called a Cascadian Dark Ale here despite Steamworks' efforts to stop others from using the term. Thank you GIB, and screw you Steamworks. Also sometimes called the black IPA, this is basically a IPA hop-presence combined with roasted malts in place of an IPA's lighter malt profile.

[Notes from May 10th 2013]

A: Black, though thin. Really black. Head is only a shade lighter than a full-on stout, though thinner and less dense.

S: Bitter chocolate notes, earl grey tea. I'm looking for the hops and not really noticing a whole lot. I think the earthy tea notes are coming from the hops but that's about it.

T: First up is the bitter chocolate roasted malts followed quickly by the hops, though neither are overly punchy. The chocolate / espresso malts are slightly oily and the hops is earthy and drying, taking care of the oiliness quickly.

M: Thin but still a little creamy. Oily and coating and first, dry towards the finish.

This is one of the better CDA's I've had, beating some that I wanted to like more (like Parallel 49's Black Hops).
Aug 18, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of BigBry
Reviewed by BigBry from Canada (AB)

3.77/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Another little suprise on tap at Craft.
This beer poured clear, dark brown, with a tight beige head. Thick lace lines, foam lasted through out, shrank but never disappeared.
Smelled for hoppy, citrus and pine, than I was expecting. As it warmed the caramel and chocolate came out more.
Taste had some dark malt, cocoa, dark roast coffee, and charred/burnt notes.
Citrus hops at the end, dry finish.
The body and mouth feel are medium, wouldn't want it want thicker.
I would definatley like to try this again, knowing the style.
Aug 13, 2015
Photo of Mehinaman
Reviewed by Mehinaman from Washington

4.46/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Stopped at this brewery while on vacation in Vancouver BC and was really impressed. Tastes or sweet malt, pine and chocolate. I would buy this if the bottles were available in Seattle
Aug 03, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by Malone47 from Illinois

May 29, 2015
Photo of CalgaryFMC
Reviewed by CalgaryFMC from Canada (AB)

3.65/5  rDev -2.4%
Bomber poured into a shaker pint glass. Fits the black ale moniker well, almost pitch black with little in the way of a colored halo and a copious amount of beige colored froth. Aroma is driven largely by dark malts: Coffee, dry cacao power and a hint of ash, with the hops in the background ... I am getting an elusive grapefruit citrus and a stronger element rather like watermelon hard candy. This is one CDA where the term "black IPA" probably does not fit (see Steele's book on IPA for a brief discussion of how these are probably distinct styles), with the malts dominating the proceedings while the hops are unassuming, low key, and perhaps a tad neutered. Some chocolate, coffee, and cola notes are pleasant enough and there is also a grape juice like fruitiness lurking in the background along with more of the melon from the nose. Body on the thin side, pretty fizzy, and its only in the finish that one gets a little pine resin. Unidimensional. Nothing super offensive here but this is boring for what's promised on the label and provides yet another example of this brewery leaving me underwhelmed (if that's a word).
Aug 21, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by FadetoBock from Canada (AB)

Apr 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by KStark from Canada (BC)

Mar 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by smekermann from Canada (BC)

Mar 04, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by andrenaline from Canada (ON)

Nov 06, 2013
Photo of joemcgrath27
Reviewed by joemcgrath27 from Canada (AB)

3.79/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
A - dark cola black with just a little light coming through the bottom, tall creamy mocha head retained very nicely at one finger
S - coffee, licorice, cola, with hints of pine and fresh greens
T - big malty hits of dark roasted coffee and cola with some nuttiness, pine and earthy hops shine through toward the back half
M - rich and full up front, creamy smooth, hop bitterness builds toward a nice finish
O - a nice entry into this style, this one has big yet balanced flavours, and I enjoy that the hops are sneaky but come through in the end
Oct 18, 2013
 
Rated: 4.2 by ZachT from Canada (BC)

Aug 27, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by artemh from Canada (AB)

Jul 31, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Kmat10 from Canada (AB)

Jul 18, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Drknight from Virginia

Jun 23, 2013
Photo of souvenirs
Reviewed by souvenirs from Canada (BC)

3.73/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
650ml bottle.

Appearance: black/brown, about the colour of cola, with a reddish hue when held to the light. Clear. Lots of light brown foamy head.

Smell: malted grains, some sweetness, maybe a hint of chocolate. I'm not really picking up the hops much.

Taste: chocolate, caramel, dark roast, sweeter than I expected, but also bitter.

Overall, pretty good. Not amazing, but I'd give it another go.
Jun 17, 2013
Photo of leaddog
Reviewed by leaddog from Canada (AB)

3.49/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance - Pours a dark cola brown with two fingers of creamy mocha head.

Smell - Lots of roasted malts, chocolate, slight hops, light citrus.

Taste - Roasted malts, a little bit of citrus and hops that leave a light bitterness at the end.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation.

Overall - Lovely appearance. The bitterness is restrained for the style and could be much more present (this feels very malt strong). A good effort at this Cascadian Dark Ale.
Jun 08, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by schopenhauerale from Arizona

Jun 05, 2013
Photo of wordemupg
Reviewed by wordemupg from Canada (AB)

3.79/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
650ml bottle poured into tulip 27/5/13

A very dark reddish brown with enough clarity to see half way under the foam, big three finger head quickly falls to a thick film and then sits there long enough to leave a couple rings of lace followed by some random patches

S melon, gummy bears, faint citrus, with lots of soft caramel and a little chocolate and coffee, not the hop profile I was expecting from Cascadian Ale more English to me

T very faint pine and slightly more citrus but still more melon, caramel and dark roast then anything, I don't mind it but like but not as West Coast as I'd like

M medium bodied, just enough bubbles to cream it up a little, slight bitter bite with more melon and some chocolate and faint char on the finish

O decent beer but I seem to remember loving the last CDA Granville put out, this ones missing just a little something but still well worth trying

I'll need to go back and look at my reviews but I seem to remember giving the last version a much higher rating. more of a overly hopped English stout in my books, either way it went down pretty fast
May 28, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Sokool from Washington

May 28, 2013
Photo of CookstLiquor
Reviewed by CookstLiquor from Canada (BC)

3.48/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Poured from 650ml bottle. Pours a brownish black with reddish highlights. Nice colour. Apart from the big bitter finish, there's not a lot about this that seems "Cascadian." The aromatic are strangely muted, so all you can really detect on the nose are dark grainy malt and chocolate notes. The taste is like a porter without much in the way of hop flavour. Yeah, it's bitter and yeah it's dark, but it doesn't really do the style justice. Not a bad beer, just not as promised.
May 27, 2013
Cloak & Dagger CDA from Granville Island Brewery
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 24 ratings