Mad River Serious Madness Black Ale

Brewed by Mad River Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Blue Lake, California USA

Sampled during Dark Lord Day 2009 at table 1 from 12-oz bottle. Pours an opaque dark brown colored brew with a thin beige head that slowly dissipates and leaves behind some nice lacing. Aroma of toasted dark malt, dark chocolate, caramel, roasted nuts and a touch of yeast. Taste is full bodied, flavors of toasted dark malt, a hint of coffee, some alcohol presence, roasted nuts and a hint of black licorice. Finish is semi-sweet with a dark pitted fruit and toasted dark malt aftertaste. Nice alcohol warmth.

Pours a dark mahogany color, slightly translucent at the edges. A small, frothy, khaki colored head quickly settles to a small gathering of fat bubbles random, broken flares and scattered spots of lacing mark the glass. The nose is quite roasty, notes of mated chocolate and scorched caramel showing strong, with a coffee overtone, earthy hops, and traces of sweet lactose. Flavors include mocha, dry cocoa, roasted caramel and barley grain. Earthen hops add further bitterness to the roast, while the creamy lactose and dark residual sugars balance things out well. Traces of licorice and dark fruit lend depth. Medium bodied, with lively carbonation, the roastiness is dry and slightly ashy at the mid point, but finishes with a slightly sticky mouthfeel. Pretty tasty stuff overall.

Bottle and served in standard pint glass: Pours black with a slight ruby highlight topped by a stunning creamy beige head that left outstanding lace upon the glass. The aroma has notes of charred, chocolate, and caramel malts, plum and liquorice, walnuts, and some leathery earthy yeast esters. The taste is quite malt driven but not overly sweet due to the bitterness of the black malts and the hops. The taste is a nod towards the classic black ales of Europe but has everything super charged including the shocking 8.6% alcohol. Hint of coffee, dark fruits and anise round out the profile. The mouth feel is soft and a touch chalky, not has refreshing as I hoped and the alcohol is somewhat noticeable. This is honestly a borderline Imperial Baltic Porter... Overall it is well done despite some small flaws. Would drink again

33 cl bottle, Fargo, ND, USA via Omaha. Jet black, inky aroma, warm nutty flavor. Some bitter flavor, nice and chalky. Interesting but not what I thought for the style.

In the bottle from Beertopia. Black in color with a very nice thick beige head that forms delicate concentric rings of lacing along the walls of the glass. The aroma has a nice strong chocolate roastedness. The flavor is good, but I had expected more from such an expensive beer (about $12 a 4-pack, I think). Definitely overpriced and perfectly scored here at 3.5 in my estimation.

Bottle… Dark cola-colored ale with some off-white floaties/sinkers sitting at the bottom of the glass and a mid-sized, wispy, khaki head. Collapses down to a small, tight, creamy cap. Chocolaty, nutty nose with lots of deeply roasted notes – smells a bit like chocolate pudding. Medium to full-bodied and creamy with gentle carbonation. Leans on the bitter side of balance. Pretty simple, deeply roasted flavor. Not a whole lot going on as no specific characteristics jump right out at me. Lengthy, fairly bitter finish.

chocolate, roasty, dough, licorice, black, aminimal head, light sweetness, medium body, creamy, average carbonation, long finish. A strong, deep roast beer with some meaty, doughy yeast factors. It’s enjoyable and with character.

bottle - Pours near black with a thin light tan head that leaves some lacing. There’s a roast malt aroma with some chocolate. The flavor is much the same. It’s medium bodied with a bubbly mouthfeel. Alcohol taste is minimal. It’s decent, but didn’t overly impress me.