7.1

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Polish strong BIPA, thanks to Meeki for sharing. Medium thick, shred-lacing, creamy, pale greyish beige, opening head on a hazy dark brown beer with bronze hue – not quite entirely ‘black’. Aroma of old coffee filters and coffee grounds, bitter cocoa, burnt toast, wet leather, gin, dry pine needles, beef stock, bayleaf, black tea, clove. Fruity onset in a dryish way, dried fig and dried blackberries, not sweet but with a heavy umami aspect to it (beef stock, porcini), medium carbonated with a full and smooth body; toasted brown-bready malt core, toasted walnuts, eventually strong coffee grounds-like roasted bitterness, the bitterness of which is strongly enhanced by long, wormwood, spicy and herbal hop bitterness, which nevertheless remains subdued in retronasal aromatics; some warming alcohol is apparent as well, but not obnoxiously so. Softish, coffee-forward ‘India style porter’ more than true black IPA, for which it lacks expressive and aromatic hoppiness; bitter alright, but too umami-forward and lacking in the ‘hidden’ brightness I expect from a good Cascadian. Enjoyable enough, but I had better from this brewery – and I guess I am a bit of a nitpick when it comes to the difficult balancing act of producing a really good black IPA, in all still a somewhat artificial genre, seldom executed to perfection.

8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

16/III/21 - 50cl can @ ElManana’s Fourth Fire Basket Tasting, BB: 7/I/22 (2021-198) Thanks to ElManana+1 for sharing the can!

Pretty clear red brown beer, big irregular big bubbled off-white head, little stable, bit adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: very malty, grains, a bit roasted, bit dank, hoppy, bit floral, funky, cheesy, yeast. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: pretty dank, hoppy, resinous, fruity touch, sweaty feet, soft roast, lots of caramel, more roast, pretty bitter, hoppy, very dank. Aftertaste: dry, good roast, some caramel, chocolate touch, pretty bitter, more roast, onions, hint of diacetyl. Not bad, not bad at all.

7

Duzo sosnowych w odbiorze chmieli na calkiem slodkawej w odbiorze podbudowie z wytrawniejsza, nieco palona i lekko goryczkowa koncowka. Ciut karmelu w uscie. Przy czym czad, jakie to pijalne, chlalne, wchlanialne, 9% nie istnieje