Black Donelly IPA
Great Lakes Brewery

Based on the pour, a more accurate name would be Very Dark Brown Donelly IPA. A creamy and long-lasting off-white head lasts the entire duration of the pint and laces prolifically. The nose has great notes of chocolate and citrus with light roast in the background. The flavour leads off, and is dominated by, creamy chocolate malts, though grapefruit hopping provides a bracing bitterness, and there are also hints of pine and coffee. Really neat, and seemingly more malt-forward than previous incarnations, which works excellently. Smooth cask mouthfeel is spot on.

Great Lakes are hitting their stride, and this is a credit to them. A black IPA that works by fgiving prominence to chocolate malt over coffee. Nicely done!

My kick-off of St. Patrick's Day at Volo...

I believe this was actually called the Black Donnelly IPA, ostensibly in reference to the feudin' 19th century Irish-Canadian family...

This beer appears a muddy chocolate brown hue, with one finger of creamy light tan head, which leaves a tight star trail of lace around the glass as it recedes. It smells of mild, fresh grapefruit, and light roasted malt. The taste is grapefruit citrus, and bready cracker grain. The carbonation is low, the body smooth, and on the full side of medium weight, and it finishes off-dry, with a fruity hoppiness.

A very good cask IPA, all points nailed.

On the handpull at Volo.

Pours a cloudy dark brown, almost black away from the light, very tight and thick off white head head, very creamy, great retention, looks pretty good.

Smell is nice, big citrus nose, grapefruit, pine, alcohol, some floral, light caramel sweetness, not a lot of malt character but some pretty solid hops.

Taste is similar, big hop blast, grapefruit and pine, resiny, some malt in the middle, lightly sweet, but almost no malt character at all, big bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low carbonation, pretty drinkable but unbalanced. I think the point of black IPA's is to have a bit of malt kicking around.

Ontario' Great Lakes Brewing has garnered well deserved local attention recently by brewing small batches, usually casks of great beer. This one reminded me of Southern Tier's Inquity, and was an exellent cask beer. Enjoyed at Bar Volo's St. Patrick Day lineup. Black body with wonderful white foamy head, and lots of lace. Definite hoppy aroma, hoppy taste. Average mouthfeel. Just as good on tap at the brewery 10 months later, good head and black coloured body.