Hoppy Total Eclipse Black Ale

Brewed by Hoppy Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Sacramento, California USA

Dark brown with surprisingly light head. Aroma is freshly ground coffee and quite a bit of woody hops and some tobacco notes. Light oxidation/cardboard evident. Flavor is lightly chocolately with substantial roasty bitterness and a lot of hoppiness. Really a quite unique beer, though not necessarily my favorite.

(22oz. Bottle) Pours a black body with a large long-lasting tan head. Aroma of roasted malt and nuts. Flavor of roasted malt and mild fruitiness with a dry, somewhat bitter finish.

22oz bottle from Bev Mo in La Mesa. Pours a very very deep brown....pretty much black. Head was light and offwhite. It poured almost as a soda would, the head dissapaited very quikly. Nose and flavor of toffee, caramel and chocolate....some dark fruits such as plums and raisens as well.

09-Apr-06 (22 oz bottle:$2.99 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) This is a dry, roasty, yeasty, minimally sweet porter. The dry roast is bitter and coffeelike in flavor, but not in smell, where roast and yeast dominate. Medium-bodied, dry, well-carbonated on the palate. Ashy finish. Black in color, but ruddy at the edges when held up to bright light. A huge, billowy, light-tan head makes it impossible to pour more than a few ounces each time. And while the head shows excellent retention and acts as one big, unpliable, foamy glob, it leaves plenty of foam on the glass. Full of flavor, but ultimately not the kind of flavor I prefer in my porters.

21-Oct-04 (22 oz bottle) I guess calling this a porter or stout would hurt their marketing campaign because it’s too beer geeky or something, so they’ve called it a black ale instead, which sounds way cooler! Whatever, the flavor is dark roasted coffee, mildly sweet, a bit salty, and quite bitter, with a fairly strong yeast component throughout. The flavor and balance remains fairly consistent from start to finish. The nose is roasty, yeasty and even a bit smoky. Yup, this "black" ale is pretty black in color. Medium bodied with a very dry and moderately carbonated palate, despite the massive head. Creamy, light tan head is huge during the pour, but is more or less just one big mass that seems unable to bend or break apart. Retention is excellent, maintaining the pillowy head for ages, but the head slides down the glass in unison rather than leaving any lacing. (7, 4, 6, 4, 13 = 3.4)

(22oz Bottle 04/2006). Light aromas of dark malts and chocolate. Black. Whitish head that dissipates quickly. Very rich flavor profile. Medium-full bodied. A nice beer.

Aroma of a rauchbier light. Dark pour with edges of the glass you can see light through. Smoke and coffee bitterness up front, some malt sweetness in the finish. Very thin mouthfeel, as thin as a lager but with hints of a dry stout.

Opaque black color with a huge, neverending tan head. Seriously, pour yourself another beer to drink while you wait for this one! Nice very roasty smokey aroma. Dark roasted coffee, wood, and slightly sweet malt, chocolate and bread flavors. Medium feel, soft carbonation (small bubbles). Really nice!

Opaque black color with a massive, frothy light brown head. The aroma was slightly metallic with some good burnt wood, charcoal, cocoa, and roasted coffee bean tones. The flavor was full of huge roasty/burnt tones with a nice cocoa and coffee background. The feel was slightly too thin...soft carbonation...wet finish. Not bad.