Darkside
Granite Brewery & Restaurant

Pours a mostly clear brown color. Looks like coca cola. Thick three to four finger khaki colored head. Head settles in and shrinks a bit, but never completely. Lovely velvety layer of foam remains on the top of the beer. Aroma has notes of lightly roasted malts, pine, some creamy cocoa notes.

Taste has notes of roasted malts, cocoa, light roasted coffee beans, with a robust hoppiness on the back end. Notes of pine, dried grass, lightly spicy, and somewhat earthy. Very nice profile. Feel is medium to fuller bodied, creamy, and smooth. Dry finish.

Overall this is a very nice Black/Cascadian IPA - would happily drink this one again.

2022-03-12
22oz can served in a stemless wineglass. No date on it. Received as a prize in a LIF held by @Coronaeus associated with NBS BIF #14.

Pours black with a pretty good sized head that collapses to about a half millimeter thick lumpy layer and a thin skin going all the way up the side of the glass. Smell is roasty / anise and piney hops.

Taste is interesting. It's kind of a sweet porterish, roasty, with a bright fruity hop characteristic and fairly strong resinous bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is kind of thick. Overall, this is a very nice beer.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best Cascadian/black IPAs that I've seen from Ontario. Sampled at C'est What last week and enjoying a pint at The Wren as Toronto Beer Week draws to a close.

Pours a near black with reddish highlights at the edge of the glass; limited head and no lacing. Malt forward aroma has lots of roasted malt elements, but little hint of the hops that are requisite for the style and become more apparent in the flavour... Thoroughly enjoy the taste, which starts with dark and toasted elements before the welcoming hop influence. Coffee and citrus are one of my favourite combinations...

Well done, Granite!

Deep brown near black colour, one finger of off white head light lace. Smell is full of roast, lots of chocolate and coffee, fairly hoppy, pine and some citrus, fruity as it warms. Taste is full on roast upfront followed by punchy bitter hops, chocolate and coffee flavours, citrusy orange mid palate, finishes roasty and bitter. Lightly carbonated, medium full body, full feel. A nice roasty black ale, something I wouldn't mind repeat visits of.

Black bodied, with a cask small bubbly head. Roasty chocolate aroma, some citrus. The taste is both orange hoppy citrus with a secondary of roast and hot chocolate. Smooth drinker, medium mouthfeel. Good drinkability. its the style, and maybe even a bit better as not overwhelmingly roasted.

 

Drove down to the brewery to pickup a growler on march 3,2012.

Poured completely still, even with an agressive pour...bad bottle??

No lacing, no head,just filtered still and black. Hints of ruby red sho when held to the light, not completely opaque.

Roasted malts, mixed with sour notes and some hoppy aromas. Very thin body, somewhat sour, bitter lingering aftertaste.

Kind of disappointing, was really looking to this, my favorite style and under-represented out there.

Would give it another chance at the brewpub.

On tap at the brewpub. This was regarded as "Darkside II" but there was a "Darkside I" brewed previously under what I believe to be a similar recipe - I guess any further variations on the recipe should be listed here. Into a pint glass.

Poured a very dark brown, filtered with some deep reds around the edges with some clarity visible there. Dirty offwhite head of a finger and change. Fantastic lace. Nose of some interesting citrus and pine notes, moderate hopping and some darker malt and roasted notes. Not robust, but subtler than I've previously seen for the style. Some toasted dark breads too. Taste has lots of pine and grassier hop notes in the mix, with some darker caramelized and toffee notes. A strong earthy and roasty malt character becomes more apparent near the end of the sip. Medium heavy body with a modest carbonation and only a touch of alcohol. Some residual bitterness. Not quite an American Black Ale, but something I figured to be more of a cross with the style with an English Strong Ale. Certainly a solid offering that I'd revisit.