Level 92
Keweenaw Brewing Company

Twelve ounce can. Body puts a dark brown like a cola.

Aroma is a nice combination of malt and pine.

Taste follows nose with the malt backbone carrying the mail. Bitterness would benefit by being a bit sharper. I like my black IPAs very bitter. YMMV. Finish has a bit of tongue tingle, but it dries up quickly.

Mouthfeel is medium with good carbonation.

Per the website, brewed with "2 row malt, crystal malts, and hops", LOL. OK. About as non descript as possible.
70 IBU, 6.7% ABV. 12 oz can. $2.39 at Blue Goat.

Pours to a sparkingly clear deep brown with garnet highlights, forming a creamy light tan head with excellent retention and solid sheets of lace. Carbonation is moderate, ~2.7 carbs or so. Nose of pine and that's about it. I suspect Chinook., perhaps Columbus. I don't get any Carafa, chocolate malt, munich, or midnight wheat character in the nose or taste, which is disappointing. Clean ferment. If they are brewing this with just crystal malts, they are doing it wrong. It needs Munich and those other malts. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with an inappropriate tart acidity and a very thin finish. There simply isn't enough malt body to stand up to the hops. Bitterness is firm but pleasant. Taste of 2 row and pine. That's about it. Metallic aftertaste.

I haven't seen a Black IPA in quite a while, really enjoy them, and was thinking of brewing one to scratch that itch. This beer certainly doesn't. Disappointed in this one. Metallic, inappropriately tart, with no dark fruits and flimsy. Would not buy again or recommend.

 

Undated can to plastic camping cup. Cola-black. Smell faint of roasted malts. Taste of malts first, then some mild hops followed by bitter hops and some charcoal in the aftertaste. Thin feel but coats the tongue slightly. Good camping beer on a cool evening.

 

I have to correct the original post, this is not a 9.2% beer. I regularly visit KBC in Houghton where it’s brewed and the chalkboard of beer selection lists the ABV next to each one. Level 92 has an ABV of 6.2%. That said this is still a phenomenal beer.

 

Looks to be an almost transparent dark brown, small light brown head fades to a ring, no noticeable lacing. Nose and the buds are in agreement, roasted malts and some pine. Nice body, decent carbs and hey! It'sa black IPA. Definitely not 9.2%, Level 92 refers to the number of levels in Quincy Mine #2. Now you know the rest of the story!

I joined beer advocate just because of this beer. I’m not a huge fan of black IPA’s. But this beer doesn’t feel black or IPA. It’s almost like a sooty amber lager.

I refuse to believe this beer is 9.2%. I have been using this website and sampling craft beers for a decade, and if this is actually a 9.2%, I almost wouldn’t believe it. It tastes like a 6% max.

With that being said, I would definitely have another.

Look - fantastic basically black with a great lasting slightly tan head and sticky lacing
Smell - mostly pine and some roasted malts
Taste - pine and roasted malts like the smell with a slight citrus
Feel - medium full body with a medium carb
Overall - pretty good

 

 

Picked up a sixer in the UP. Let’s give it a whirl. Popping the top I get a waft of dark malts and noble hops. Pours to an opaque black with a tan head. Taste is nice piney hopping up front with a spicy ness and a good belt of malt. ABV is not super evident and the 9.2 is super sneaky. Nice finish not clingy but clean. For the price point this brew is a steal.

9/22/19 can @ home

 

 

Ruby-tinted black with a finger of light tan head. Thin sheets of lacing.

Pine, molasses and red plum in the nose.

Burnt, ashy malts show first in the taste. There’s some chocolate malt, molasses and fruit behind it. Piney bitterness mixes with the char character in the aftertaste.

Very creamy feel with decent carbonation.

I can see how the ashen flavors and not-quite-to-style feel may turn some drinkers off, but it’s definitely in the wheelhouse of what a Black IPA should be and has some nice depth to it.