Founders Black IPA

Brewed by Founders Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

MBG Winter Fest 2008. Poured clear black color with an average frothy brown head that was mostly diminished with good lacing. Moderate roasted rye malt and hoppy aroma. Medium body with a slick texture. Medium to heavy bittersweet flavor with a medium to heavy bittersweet finish of long duration. Complex solid beer.

2008 MBG Winter Fest: Deep brown nearly black hue with a fading frothy head and spotty lace. The aroma has notes of charred and rye bread malt, piney and grassy hops, hint of pineapple and fig esters, and hint of fusel alcohol too. The taste is aggressively bitter from the dark malt and the abundance of hops. There is a subdued bready malt and fruit character as well before the spicy finish. The mouth feel is sprite and sharp, biting and astringent. A nice change of pace at the fest, another good example of the new hybrid style.

Growler courtesy of a traveling friend. The beer pours dark brown with a medium and foamy tan head that recedes slowly. Stringy lacing on the glass. The aroma is hoppy with a significant roasted malt and wood character. Medium-bodied and moderately bitter with flavors of hops and coffee, plus roasted malt and oak. The finish is hoppy with a lingering bitter chocolate aftertaste. Solid all around.

On tap at Founders. Dark brown body with reddish highlights, thick tan head. Nose of spicy Amarillo hops and chocolate malts. Bitter, dry body with coffee, chocolate, and spicy, herbal hops notes. Dry, bitter finish.

On tap at Black Party Ok ,I was expecting the nice fragrances of pine and sprtizy hops, but the distinct dark cake aroma of the dark malts was pleasantly surprising,Taste was agian all aspects of dark malts,with touchs of molaasses and licorice,lots of pine and spicey hops with a sweet and bitter finish, the malt is so unusual here and garners so much attention,it almost seems to balanced to be an IPA,more a dark version of a quality Pale Ale. Apparently this will soon be bottled. Recommended

On tap at founders harvest. Dark brown to opaque black with creamy tan head. Pine and floral hop aroma, dry but tropical, very nice. Flavor is pine, sweeter caramel, some roast, some hop astringency but not overwhelming, good ount of tropical fruit, resiny. Full to medium body with creaminess and light carbonation. Excelent. Light astringency but from the hops not the malt, excelent pine, pretty delicious.

Growler shared by Dogbrick. Black pour with a medium beige head. Hoppy aroma (Centennial?) with a nice roasty character. Bitter citrus hop flavor up front with a roasty coffee finish. Very good blend of an IPA and a porter.

black color, tiny off white bubbles for a head, some lace. nose of moslty air with some maltiness apparant. flavor is sweet malty with light piney hop notes. medium bodied, lightly bitter finish. not as hoppy as i normally enjoy. but pretty good none-the-less. on tap at founders tap room.