BBB

 BBB is a Torontonian Imperial Black IPA with lactose. Apparently, BBB stands for Brian’s Big Black Beer, though the can rightly notes that there are actually four Bs. It’s a 7.5% Cascadian dark ale (though I think calling it “imperial” is a stretch at that percentage). Brewed by Great Lakes Brewery, BBB is sold in 473mL cans. It’s a near-black beer that pours with an extremely durable and pleasantly fluffy tan head.

BBB has aromatics that combine roasted malt and evergreen bitterness. The flavour kicks off with some mocha sweetness, but pivots to a robustly bitter finish accented with pine and espresso. The use of lactose gives the beer a very creamy texture, which is a bit of an odd contrast to the bitter flavours.

This is an unusual offering—very flavourful, with decent strength and a curious texture.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Dark Prince Black IPA

Cooking up some din for the Bitter Wife and myself, listening to a podcast, we found ourselves with 12 minutes to spare, so I decided I had enough time to review Dark Prince Black IPA. This 6% Cascadian dark ale, made by the team at Manantler Craft Brewing Co., is literally the main reason that I decided on a beer mail order from this Bowmanville establishment—I love a black IPA and the art on the 500mL bottle is dark as hell. Had to have it.

Dark Prince has a dark colour, ruby highlights, and a sudsy cream head. It packs evergreen aromatics, floral bitterness, a whiff of spice, and roasted malts into a busy nose. The flavour is spicy and heartily piney. There are some understated sweet notes and roasted malt elements, but the bitter back half is the real story of this ale.

I thought this was a damned fine ale. I’d have liked it to be stronger—7% would have  changed the game and taken it to the next level. But otherwise, the beer ticked all of my black IPA boxes. The roasted caramel introduction sets the table, but doesn’t clutter the atmosphere and hang around too long. The back end is elite. This is good beer.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Problem Bears Black IPA

A beer with one of my favourite names in the world of Ontario craft brewing, Problem Bears Black IPA is a 7.2% brew from Virgil, Ontario’s Silversmith Brewing Company. The beer comes in a 650mL bottle with a pair of snarling bruins on the label.

A dark brown ale with amber highlights and a layer of cream head, it has a sticky resin and pine nose. The flavour has loads of evergreen with some grapefruit elements and a whisper of brown sugar. The back end is gratifyingly bitter and admirably full.

Black IPAs aren’t over-represented in Ontario, so it’s great to find a solid one like Problem Bears. Flavourful, potent, and ably-named, this beer is rad. Really good stuff.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Frostbite Black IPA

Foothills Brewing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is the fount of Frostbite Black IPA, a 6.2% 74 IBU, an obsidian ale with a loose, off-white head. Frostbite has a rowdy aroma crammed full of roasted malts and dank hops. Its flavour is rich in nearly-charred malts, built on top of a very bitter and resinous lupulin body.

Black IPAs are a big ask, since I expect jumbo bitterness combined with roasty, malty elements. Foothills IPA does a pretty fair service of walking those boundaries—it’s hoppy and dank, but bold and well-rounded. I’d have liked it to punch a bit harder in terms of booze, but the IBU count is admirable, the colour is nice, and the aroma is robust.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Grimross Black IPA

Grimross Black IPA is a 6.6% alcohol number from Fredericton, New Brunswick. It's a Cascadian ale from Grimross Craft Beer. I bought a 750mL bomber of the brew, which proved to be a handsome black and amber ale.

It poured with a fluffy tan head, through which emerged a woodsy nose of pine and coffee. For flavour, GBIPA had roasted malts, licorice, coffee, a bit o'spice, and substantial hops.

Not as robust or potent as other Black IPAs/Cascadian Ales that I've tried, Grimross' version was still quite flavourful and hearty. Another good offering from one of the rising stars of the active and evolving NB brewing scene.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Murder of Crows

Beers from Sarnia, Ontario's Refined Fool Brewing Co. have been appearing at my neighbourhood liquor store and I've been guzzling them down at an immoderate pace. One such ale that turned up recently was a black IPA called Murder of Crows. The 650mL bottle and the 8% alcohol both appealed to me, but what really caught my eye were the 90 IBUs, which is just a lovely amount of bitterness.

The beer proved to be a handsome black number with a thick covering of tan head. For a strong and bitter beer, there was not a particularly potent aroma, but what was there was quite pleasant. It had a mild roasted malt scent and a whiff of resinous hops. There was definitely no shortage of flavour, though--lots of roasty notes, a bit of sweetness, and a serious hops presence.

Murder of Crows is a weighty and assertive dark ale. It's a bit sweet and boozy, but I definitely enjoyed it all the same.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Gotham

Gotham is a sinister black imperial IPA from Toronto standout Bellwoods Brewery. Twitter told me that this brew was available, and within 36 hours I was at the bottle shop picking up a 500mL bottle of the stuff (as well as a handful of their other excellent offerings). The label of this 8% ale features an imposing municipal skyline and an admonition to drink the stuff fresh.

The beer isn't actually all that dark--it's an attractive mahogany ale with amber highlights, underneath a dense and durable cream head. The scent of this bad boy is dominant, with chunky hops taking the pole position, but with a really compelling stone fruit sweetness not far behind. The flavour, too, is bitter first, but bolstered by a slightly honeyed plummy sweetness. There is also a modest splash of rummy heat.

I often rave about Bellwoods' acumen for making elite beers, but there's something really special about Gotham. What works about it is it's delicious and unusual flavour--this is an imperial IPA, a black IPA that doesn't taste like everything else on the market. At just 8%, I don't think it's quite strong enough to merit the "imperial" designation, and it's a touch too sweet, but this was a beer I couldn't put down.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.

Netherworld

I used to buy Netherworld, the Cascadian Dark Ale from Barrie, Ontario's Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery, with some regularity when I first moved to Toronto in 2010, but for years it's been pretty scarce. Recently it started showing up again on beer store shelves, so I pretty much had to buy some for old time's sake.

At 6%, this beer hits the cusp of what I'd call a "strong ale". Stout-dark and crowned with a lovely cream head, this beer is a real looker. It has a malty, syrupy nose that features dried fruit notes. The flavour is quite rich, but a tad too sweet. It has raisin elements and considerable malt in the first half, while the game concludes with a gritty, hoppy finish that has a taste of espresso.

Generally, I equate Cascadian dark ales with Black IPAs, but stuff is way maltier and sweeter than that style tends to play, particularly in the early going. Still, it tastes highly agreeable and it closes out strongly.

Something worth mentioning about this ale is its label. The 355mL bottles of Netherworld are adorned with a quartet of lurid, ghoulish hops-zombies huddled around what looks like a cauldron filled with electronics, art, a pink flamingo, and a purplish potion. Very strange. Very cool.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Wuchak Black

From Ottawa, Ontario comes Wuchak Black, classed alternately on the 473mL can as a Black IPA and a Cascadian Dark Ale. Its stats are unremarkable for the style--slightly understrength at just 6%, but amply bitter at 77 IBUs. Wuchak is brewed by the Kichesippi Beer Co. The beer is definitely dark--almost black and nearly opaque--buried underneath a froth of loose cream-coloured head.

I didn't find that there was a lot of aroma that made it through the thick, foggy head, but what there was displayed as resinous bitterness and roasted malt. Initially, the flavour packs a slightly more substantial bill of roasted malt, though this is subsumed fairly decisively by a whip crack of hops that dominates the back half of the brew. Bitterness manifests in dank, earthy notes, and the ale finishes quickly.

Kichesippi's Wuchak Black proved to be a nice ale. It could certainly have been stronger, both in percentage terms and with respect to aromatics. This is a less macho black IPA than I was expecting, but I don't see that as a negative. There is lots of room for subtlety in bitter black beers, and this one certainly had some of that. Where I found it falters a bit is in the front end, with too little emphasis on the rich flavours that roasted malts can impart. The finish, though, is really quite good. Would I buy this beer again? Oh, no question--in a heartbeat! But it's unlikely to ever be my favourite black IPA.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Bitter Waitress Black IPA

Happy holidays from the Stout Man! Have yourself a cold one, because you've earned it!

My first dance with an offering of the Shillow Beer Co., a Toronto beer-making establishment, was their Bitter Waitress Black IPA. Sold in cool looking 473mL cans, Bitter Waitress is a 6.5% ale. It proved to be a midnight black brew sporting a lush and fluffy tan head reminiscent of a stout.

Bitter Waitress displayed a bitter and slightly sweet roasted malt aroma. It's flavour kicked off smooth, well roasted, and malty up front, if perhaps a touch thin. However, the back end stormed the gates with a ribald hops profile that I found almost beguiling.

I'd never complain that the Ontario, or more specifically the Toronto beer scene is overcrowded. In the beer world, a busy marketplace is a drinker's dream. Based on the quality of Bitter Waitress, I get the impression that Shillow Beer Co. could be a welcome addition to the fold. Bitter and pushy, this black I.P.A. delivered a lot of the factors that I'm looking for from the style. The front end is a bit underwhelming, but the finish is bruising and verging on badass. Quality roasted malts throughout and dynamic hops make this beer well better than ordinary. I'll be keeping both eyes out for more Shillow brews to see whether this one was a rookie fluke or a harbinger of yet another strong contributor to craft brewing in the province I choose to inhabit.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Mountain Shadow Black IPA

 
During a voyage to North Carolina, I made a stop, with some amazing ladies, at an awesome little bottle shop called the Carolina Beer Temple in Matthews. It was a pretty righteous establishment with a wealth of beers to try. One that I opted for was Mountain Shadow, a Black IPA built in Blowing Rock, NC, by the Blowing Rock Brewing Company. Listed at 6.8% alcohol, my brew arrived coal  black and covered with a thin, off-white head.

It had a surprisingly mild aroma with roasted malt notes. The flavour is a touch more assertive: roasty, malty, and darkly hoppy. Not as IBU-heavy as I was anticipating, but still fairly bitter. There's some licorice, too.

Quite a nice little ale. If I wasn't in a beery Mecca filled with a million things to try, I'da had another. It could have been a bit more zesty, but it got the job done.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Release the Hounds

Release the Hounds, a black IPA from Kanata, Ontario, comes in a very eye-catching 473mL can. A tasty looking sheep is superimposed over the eyes of a menacing and stylized wolf. The stuff is churned out by Big Rig Brewery and contains a respectable, but not high octane, 6.2% alcohol.

Release is a stout-black brew topped with a fluffy nimbus of tan head.  It sports an aroma that partners roasted malts with dry, woodsy hops. Each sip partners roasty notes and a soupçon of licorice with a robust and faintly spicy bitterness to create a gloomy (in the most positive sense) ale that I found decidedly satisfying. It didn't leave me mesmerized, but thoroughly enjoyed my pint and lamented the lack of a second. It paired beautifully with a cheap cigar and Lucero's formidable Live from Atlanta album at the end of a long workweek.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Cabin Fever Imperial Black IPA

Taking in a little March Madness on a Sunday evening, I worked up quite a thirst watching my bracket disintegrate before my eyes. I did so poorly that it called for something strong and assertive, so I uncapped a 650mL bottle of Cabin Fever Imperial Black IPA. Cabin Fever is a 8.5% alcohol brute that pours coffee-black, beneath a fluffy off-white head. It's brewed by Victoria, British Columbia's Phillips Brewing Company.

While Cabin Fever doesn't have a strong aroma, it does give the impression that it's a powerful beer, with a suggestion of potent, dank bitterness. Here, flavour has much more depth than aroma, with pungent hops chops. It's murky and also has a big roasted malt presence.  Tastes pretty good to me.

Cabin Fever's label needs to be commented on--both complimented and criticized. On the happy side of the ledger, it's "made from 100% post consumer recycled materials. However, it should also be noted that the copy about the beer is a tad insensitive. It claims to be "crafted for the crazy in all of us", a "balanced beer for the unbalanced mind", and to have enough hops and malt to "satisfy all the voices in your head". Not exactly respectful or compassionate for persons with mental illness.

All in, it's a pretty decent imperial black IPA. Flavourful and robust. I'd buy it again if they changed the image.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Evil Conscience Black IPA

I was supposed to play squash on sunny, February Saturday afternoon, but as I neared the courts, I received a text from my prospective opponent to the effect that he'd overslept and wouldn't make it. Because he's a bum. With an unexpected few hours to fill, I first went to the farmer's market and bought some Québécois cheese, but after that, a powerful thirst drove me underground--down to C'est What?, one of Toronto's finest beer-drinking venues. Their draught list is always impressive, and after dithering for a few minutes, I settled on a cask black IPA from Granite Brewery.

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Evil Conscience Black IPA contains 6.1% alcohol and tips the scales at a hearty 65 IBUs. My pint was black as night, opaque, and covered with a foam of creamy head. I found Evil Conscience to be light on aroma, but big on flavour. It's nose had some piney bitterness, along with some roasty malt notes; both in restrained measure. In terms of taste, though, this beer let its hair down a bit more. There was a slice of espresso bitterness tangled up with evergreen hops. Roasted malt elements simmered underneath the surface as did a faint hint of anise.  A cask ale, Evil Conscience also displayed a very smooth, creamy mouthfeel.

Toronto's cask ale kings, Granite, delivered a real winner with Evil Conscience Black IPA. Packed with flavour, velvety, and lovely--I highly recommend it.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10.

Black Betty Black IPA

700 posts!  Holy blog! The eye-catching labels on the 330mL bottles of Black Betty Black IPA drew me in like a moth to a flame. They feature imbibing skeletons deep in conversation superimposed over a cool purple and black background and featuring golden logos of Beavertown Brewery. Beavertown operates out of London, England. According to its website, this punchy, 7.4% alcohol black India pale tips the scales at a portly 75 IBUs. It's a swampy, extremely dark brown ale that pours with a cowl of tan head and also a few yeasty floaties.

Black Betty packages a bitter, evergreen hops aroma in with some pungent black licorice notes. Ditto in the aggressive flavour--piney hops and licorice chops. Amply astringent, this beer will likely appeal to hops heads, but be anathema to beer drinkers who limit their tippling to pale lagers. It's very flavourful, but doesn't taste particularly boozy. The licorice gives this black I.P.A. an interesting, assertive flavour, that I suspect would pair well with a sharp cheese. All in, an enjoyable and unapologetic ale that'll help make your fridge the envy of your neighbourhood.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Darkside Black IPA

Darkside Black IPA comes from the Granite Brewery, in Toronto, Ontario. I had a pint of this 6.7% alcohol ale on tap at the glorious Bar Hop.

Darkside is a very dark. reddish brown ale. It arrived underneath a half-inch of off-white head. There was a spicy hop aroma that had an earthy, evergreen strain. Its flavour had generous, roasted malts on the front end. There was some nice, boozy warmth--for which I was quite grateful, given that my wife and I were sitting on the patio on a chilly, rainy afternoon. There's was also a good degree of bitterness, in a dank, woodsy configuration. There was a touch of sweetness, too, or rather, semi-sweetness, with a molasses nod.

Truthfully, this was not a very memorable black IPA, but a pretty good one all the same. It tastes well made. A very accessible BIPA.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Six Pints Cascadian Dark IPA

Six Pints Cascadian Dark IPA is produced by the Six Pints Specialty Beer Co., in Toronto, Ontario. Six Pints is (I'm pretty certain) operated by Molson. It is housed in the Beer Academy.

This beer comes in a 625mL bottle. It contains 5.8% alcohol and 60 IBUs. It's a black IPA and it has a snazzy, if simple, label.

An alluringly dark beer, Cascadian Dark is topped with a lush tan head. There is an understated bitter aroma with evergreen notes. The flavour moves from malt to bitter. An earthy grain and dank malt overture is quickly swallowed by a hop heavy finish.

While the front end is a bit unexciting, the finish is really solid, with resinous notes and some foresty hops vibes. This was a pretty nice brew, though I expect more alcoholic bang from my black IPAs.

 

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Dad's Little Helper Black IPA

Another brew from the fabulous Rogue Ales out of Newport, Oregon, Dad's Little Helper is a formidable black India Pale Ale. Formidable, but not overly strong--at 6.0% alcohol, Dad's isn't going to pickle too many livers--but at a piledriving 92 IBUs, there is some burly bitterness in this stuff. It's sold in 650mL bottles that features a dude wearing three neckties and has a little spiel about the founding of Father's Day.

Dad's is a dark mahogany ale that's topped with a thick fog of durable tan head. It has a pungent aroma that blends stanky, spicy hops with an earthy malt streak. It tastes much stronger than its 6%. This is a riotously bitter beer. Hops dominate the flavour, with spicy and resinous notes well displayed. The mouthfeel is both full and dry. There's a faintly sweet raisin stripe, and, in addition, I detected some notes of tobacco.

If you don't dig bitterness, you're going to hate this stuff. But if you worship the hop in all its sticky, swampy glory, Dad's Little Helper will earn your tick of approval. It has some charm, some subtext, and a loud clash of bitter. Another winner from Rogue, this beer isn't as special as Yellow Snow IPA, but it's certainly a worthy dark I.P.A.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Apocalypse Later

Apocalypse Later is a badass black I.P.A. built by Toronto, Ontario's Great Lakes Brewery. I had a 14oz. pour on tap at Bar Hop, one of the Big Smoke's primo beer drinking establishments. It contains an unyielding 9.9% alcohol, which came in handy for my afternoon drinking needs following a ballgame. It's a stout black brew topped with a nice tan head.

For a strong beer, Apocalypse Later has an aroma that is quite understated, with charming evergreen notes alongside resin and citrus. It's understated, but complicated. It has an enjoyably dank flavour that is resinous, grapefuit-y and fiercely hopped. There's even a tiny bit of porter-style espresso and molasses. While very flavourful, the substantial booze content of this stuff is deceptively cloaked--it's silent but deadly. The finish is extremely generously hopped, quite dry, and lingering.

For all of its muscle, after attending a Blue Jays game with the best brother a beer nerd could have (a 12-2 win, too), I found this brew to be wonderfully refreshing. I'd definitely revisit this little beauty.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

GLB Imperial Black IPA

GLB Imperial Black IPA is one of four brews crafted to mark the 25th anniversary of Toronto, Ontario's Great Lakes Brewery. It's sold in 750mL bottles and clocks in at a muscular 9.5% alcohol. Moreover, it has a staggering 100 IBUs!

The Imperial Black IPA looks like a porter or a stout--it's almost black and nearly opaque. It pours with an extremely durable tan head and leaves behind thick curtains of lace. GIBIPA has a huge foresty hop aroma. It boasts an incredibly complex flavour that combines molasses and espresso notes with a tremendously bitter hop bombast. While this beer is bold and hugely flavourful, the one thing that doesn't overwhelm is the booze content, which is somehow well buried.

This is easily the best black I.P.A. that I've ever tasted. It wasn't cheap, but it was well worth the expense. I wouldn't open one of these bad boys routinely, but it's a top shelf special occasion brew.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.