Pizza Port Black Lie IPA

Brewed by Pizza Port (Carlsbad)
Style: American Strong Ale
Carlsbad, California USA

Draft in Carlsbad. A dark brown beer with a thin tan head. The aroma is very malty and fruity combined with light notes of roasted malt. The flavor is sweet with notes of malt, hops, and alcohol, as well as light notes of roasted malt, leading to a dry, bitter, and roasted finish.

From tap at Carlsbad. Pours dark brown to black with a little orange glare. Aroma is dense hoppy and fruity. Solid malty and hoppy base flavour. Dry yet smoothly balanced between hops and roasted malt. Dry lingering malty and dense fruity hops flavour. Quite dry in the far finish.

Dark brown. Woody, lightly citrusy, toasty nose. Soft body with some caramel and wood. Hints of nuts and lime. Bitter, toasty finish.

Draft... RBSG... Almost pitch black with a burnt orange hue when held up to the So Cal sunshine. Nice, creamy, off-white head with terrific retention and thick, creamy lacework that clings tightly to the side of the glass. Hoppy, fruity, roasted aroma. Full-bodied with a skim-milk mouthfeel and tickling carbonation. A lot of bitterness with low residual sweetness, but near-balance is somehow attained. Deeply roasted finish provides moderate bitterness with a pinch of salt.

Draught; described by Jeff as a double IPA Black beer with orange-brown highlights, covered with a cream-coloured head. Hops, and this time no doubt US ones; fresh and leafy, some cookies. Sharp bitter, near-metallic taste with bitter chocolate flavours; long bitter-harsh aftertaste. Well bodied, but rather harsh on the throat. Not bad! Original interpretation of an IIPA.

Tap at DLD 2008: Boy was I surprised to see this, thanks Nick and the guys at FFF for bringing in this guest beer!

Nearly opaque with a small off-white head and good lacing. The aroma has notes of grapefruit and mango, piney resiny hops, a bit leafy and earthy too, some charred and caramel malt, and a hint of woody smoke. The taste is quite balanced between the malt and hop providing a few different layers of bitterness. The acidity cleans the palate and makes you really for the next taste. Mild roast and smoke towards the mineral tones finish. The mouth feel is aggressive and bright. A very nice beer overall.

Guest tap on draught at Dark Lord Days ’08. Pours an opaque dark brown brew with a thin off-white head that has some nice retention and sticky lacing throughout. Aroma of sweet grapefruit, a touch of roasted chocolate malt, some mellon, and pine. Taste is medium to full bodied, light carbonation with flavors of toasted and slightly smoked dark malts, grapefruit and some citrus zest. Finish is semi-sweet with a smoked dark malt aftertaste the slowly disappears.

Poured deeper brown with a short cap of beige head.. nice clarity to it. The aroma picked up brilliant pine and citrusy hoppage upfront with toasty caramel and sweeter chocolate behind.. very well balanced. The flavor had sweet chocolate and nutty sweetness surrounded by pine bitterness and faint black cherry tartness.. dry finish with an odd contrast between the malts and hops. Dry overall on the palate and scratchy with bitterness.. just a bit rough for me.