Mad River Serious Madness Black Ale

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

Black and tan. Cherry, vinous nose. Definite coffee presence. Chocolate as well. Has a barley wine character to it. Burnt caramel aroma. Currants, even a hint of banana. Just a note of spicy/earthy hops. Alcohol comes through but isn’t harsh. Flavor is of plums, raisins, brown sugar, lightly-roasted coffee, bittersweet chocolate, toasted barley, maybe even some wheat. Very complex. Sweet, not cloying, cleared by the substantial bitterness. Exceptionally balanced. A barley wine with excellent dark malt depth and flavor. Full of body but not slick; sits clean on the palate. A great, great beer.

Appearance – Pours a dark amber and becomes a thick dark brown color with hints of amber around the edges. A thick, rocky 1 and a quarter finger head forms that is a magnificent tan color, like cappuccino. Smell – This smells like a porter; very roasty with hints of chocolate and coffee. There is also a little bit of a hop presence to this coming up in the rear, just a little. Taste – Wow, pretty good! A lot of the roasted flavors come through with a blast of slightly hidden tropical fruits. The coffee makes a pretty strong presence as well, but more in a mocha fashion. Mouthfeel – Nice and thick, this feels like a thick porter through and through. Drinkability – This is damn tasty, I wouldn’t mind drinking a couple of these! The flavors meld together well and make for an awesome experience.

Nice black IPA (the fact that its hoppage can stand up next to Lagunitas’ Hop Stoopid convinces me its a black IPA) Pours black with tan head. Aroma is roastiness with lots of charcoal, coffee and chocolate notes. Flavor is a nice bitter flavor that ends clean.

Damn this was a great hidden gem!! Pours a black color. Aroma is full of dark fruits, chocolate, roasted malt and the right amount of hops on the nose. This is a great winter porter. Flavors of chocolate, coffee, malt, hops and some spices really join in harmony. I would drink this again in a heartbeat!!!!

Opaque black with a thick tan head. Lots of citrus hops with notes of chocolate and faint malt sweetness. One of the better dark IPAs I’ve had.

This brew is a dark coffee color with a medium and foamy beige head that dissipates slowly. Thick strings of lacing on the glass. Aroma of roasted malt and coffee along with notes of bitter chocolate. Medium, dry body with flavors of roasted malt, coffee and spiced hops. Chocolate notes show up at times here too. The finish is roasty and mildly bitter chocolate and hops with a lingering aftertaste. Pretty good overall.

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.

darn good beer. not a huge fan of mad river overall, normally overpriced, but this one is good. tastes like a stout to me.