Flossmoor Station Black Magic IPA

Brewed by Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Flossmoor, Illinois USA

Tap at the pub. Black with some light escaping from the edges. Nice citrus nose with plrenty of black malt roast. Very bitter and way dry. Tasty for sure.

On tap at brewpub. Pours a dark brown with decent off-white to tan head. Aroma is heavy with west coast hops and beautiful citrus punch with grapefruit, orange and lemon, nice amount of roasted malt coming through as well. Flavor is roasted malt, bitter hops, nice citrus punch and some light chocolate coming through. Towards the end of glass I was picking up a bit of a metallic note. Could be epic if there were more of a hoppy flavor. Has a good body and mouthfeel. Aroma was awesome. Solid black IPA overall and best of the 3 beers I had from the station tonight.

I had a couple of mugs of this at the brewpub in lieu of lunch. (Hell. When one can afford either good beer or food, where’s the choice?) Brewmaster Bryan told me that in a literally blind taste test, only 60% of the tasters could tell which IPA had the dark malts. I believe him. The nose has a sturdy dosage of PNW hops. What gives it away to me is that instead of the typical caramel/toffee/pale malt scents oozing out from beneath, you get a slight whiff of roasty and chocolatey sweetness. In the flavor, the hops carry the load, but the malt backbone is smoother than usual, providing a counterpoint to the hoppy tastes and bitterness rather than the boost that one usually gets from the lighter sweetness. The bottom line, though, is that this tastes damned good, finishing on a bitter citric note with light chocolate undertones. Very nice.

Very dark brown pour with minimal tan head. Nice roasty nose. Some obvious roasted notes up-front, maybe a touch of smoke, even. Then the hop bite comes up from behind...pine and grapefruit. Medium craemy texture...very easy drinking. This should sell out quickly, now that the weather has turned a bit chilly. Very good work!

tap at flossmoor. pours a dark brown with a small tan head. notes of citrusy hops, pine, grapefruit, chocolate, coffee, and caramel. very good. nice and refreshing. dry finish. If i would have had another beer at flossmoor it would have been this.

Black like a stout without the thick head. Nice aroma of citrus and light pine hops with just a touch of malt. Smooth and crisp and easy to drink. The brew starts with a caramel and malt sweetness but quickly turns wonderfully hoppy with some nice grapefruit and pine bitterness. Finishes smooth. Nice beer.

Pint served on draft at the Mug Club tapping (Flossmoor, IL). Pours a dark roasty black and brown, lighter edges, some darkness, but not opaque. A nice tannish head that dies to a film, laces decent. Aromas are pacific northwest hops, citrus and pine mix liberally on the nose, a touch of roasted and caramel malts, juicy grapefruit, lemon. Initial is medium bodied, a full coating, a nice juicy and piney hop assertiveness tempered by the roasty and caramel malts, not overpowering or strong roast, but enough malt to make a difference on the palate. Flavors grow into the body, roasty malts, toast, caramel as a nice bitterness coats as well. This strikes a really interesting balance, roasty and a bit chocolatey on the backend perhaps, an interesting sweet contrast on the backend, but still largely hop dominant. This is one of the first Black IPAs I’ve enjoyed. Not overdone with sufficient roasted and caramel malt backbone further into the brew, albeit a little underbodied.. I’d like a little more thickness in the body.