Mad River Serious Madness Black Ale

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

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.

@Tampa Weekly Gathering-Thanks gillard–12oz bottle–pours a light brown head and mahogany color. Aroma is dark malt-chocolate/earthy/chalky. Taste is dark malt-chocolate/earthy/chalky-hops, ashy.

Deep brown-black pour with a tight creamy head. The nose is very chocolatey with a bit of milk chocolate sweetness. Deep rich maltiness with a bit of plum and soft licorice. A touch of heavy candied fruit. A bit of heavy tarriness toward the finish. The hoppiness is pretty intense with a touch of woodiness. Warming brings up a touch of spice. Sort of a low roast imperial stout/or a hoppy robust porter. It’s pretty nice really.

Bottle from Belmont Party. Poured dark clear brown color with an average frothy light brown head that lasted with good lacing. Moderate to heavy toasted chocolate malt and light hop aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture and flat carbonation. Moderate to heavy toasted bittersweet flavor with a moderate to heavy bittersweet finish of medium to long duration. Very good brew that I would recommend to a freind.

Bottle. Poured perfectly black with just a hint of ruby when held to light in the bottom of my snifter. The dense khaki head stuck around for a while. A strong nose of chocolate covered oranges and green wood. There was also some dry cocoa. The taste was rich coffee and dark chocolate. There was definite plum in the finish, mixed with more of the cocoa. Just some light notes of alcohol, help to make this very drinkable. A solid brew that I would like to try again with a little age.

Bottle shared by Marcus. Pretty opaque brown color with something of a light tan head. Aroma is dark roast/toast malt, with a veg aspect. Medium body with mild carbonation. Flavor is very dark. Touches of spice. It is not exciting, but it is very satisfying.

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

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.