Heavy Seas Black Cannon
While the style is an oxymoron, this ale is an variation of our "Loose Cannon" IPA with an obvious dark note.
Available Jan - March
Available Jan - March
3.5
281 reviews
Baltimore, United States
Community reviews
12 oz bottle. Pours black with a thick tan head. Dark roasty aroma and cherries. Rich chocolate, dark coffee well balanced against mild bitterness. Smooth and lingering palate.
Opaque, dense lace,
Medium body, intense flavor, silky texture, balanced, long palate.
Bitter, dry but not puckering, good acidity.
Intense expresso flavor.
Very enjoyable, no faults but not very original.
Black pour with a tan head. Hoppy and roasty aromas. Flavor is like a dry hoppy stout. Black IPAs like this remind me of why I’m not a big fan of Black IPAs. Tolerable but I wouldn’t drink it again.
Black Cannon pours, well, black. The short tan head leaves nice lacing. The dark roasted malts are apparent with blackberries and cherry present in the aroma. The flavor is not overly bitter. The darker malts balance out the hops. Finish is clean and smooth. Very nice complement to Loose Cannon.
Reviewed from notes. Recvd in trade.
The appearance was a jet black color with a two finger white foamy head that dies within about a minute, somewhat soapy clingy lacing kinda all over the place, but still looks good for the most part.
The smell had roasted coffee bean with a mild light chocolate trying coat some citrus scents, slightly earthy fruitiness as well.
The taste is sweet and bitter at different times not exactly combined but a decent hop bite aftertaste with a super nice dry bitter coffee finish.
On the palate, it sits about a medium on the body with a decent sessionability to it. Carbonation is good for the style and for me indicating a decent smoothness about it nothing too harsh and nothing off putting.
Overall, not bad, glad I tried it, would I have this again, maybe if offered, but I probably wouldn’t seek it out as in my opinion, there are better American Black Ales on the market than this.
12 oz. bottle. Pour is dark brown with a good light khaki head, like a porter. Lively carbonation. Smell is dark roasted malts with piney citrus cutting through. Taste is sweet dark chocolate malt followed by a citrusy spicy hop bitterness. A bit of coffee and piney bitter hops in the finish. I'm not blown away but it is a good basic example of the style.
Cask dry hopped with extra amarillo at Classic City Brew Fest 2014. Pours a translucent brownish black with bubbly khaki head. Aroma has obvious roasted malt with a nice overlying funky diesel hop resin. Taste was a little less impressive, but it balanced nicely and made for a great beer overall.
Rated on 12-18-2011 (Bottle) When poured, this beer’s appearance is a medium sized fizzy tan head with a short retention, mostly opaque reddish brown body, fizzy carbonation, and spotty amounts of lacing. The aroma is roasted malt, pine hops and sweet. The flavor is sweet, roasted malt, citrus, pine hops, and finishes semi-dry. The mouthfeel is soft carbonation, watery and thin. This beer is light bodied. The roasted attributes take over this beer and it is a quaffable beer.
12 oz bottle. Pours dark brown with a big light brown head that lingers and clings. Aroma is piney hop and a bit of roast. Taste follows nose with a bit of caramel sweetness in the backbone and not quite enough piney hop to balance.
Best before June 2014.
Appearance: Deep garnet/brown through the edges, the exact color of a Dr. Pepper Jelly Belly actually, with opaque black through the center. The head is short and persistent with a light tan hue and a bunch of small foamy craters on top.
Aroma: The aroma is rather weak with a mildly piney and chalky aroma. As the beer warms up a bit a sweet chocolate presence is noticed. Upon another smell I smell a cigarette like smoke aroma, not enticing. The aroma smells decent, but it’s too weak to be appreciated.
Taste: The intro is mildly sweet, sort of chalky, with a slight nuttiness and a hint of chocolate. The mid-taste picks up on the chocolate slightly with a hint of burnt malts and a subtle piney hop presence and that cigarette smoke that overlies it all. The finish has a slight black licorice note that builds in presence as the beer is down the throat. Not liking that.
Palate: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation. I want a slightly bigger less carbonated body in a black IPA, this is more in line with an IPA.
Overall: I’m not a huge fan of black IPAs and this does nothing to change my mind. The cigarette qualities and black licorice really seal the deal for me not liking this. At least it’s cheap.
Draft Sample. Pours a dark coffee black with a off white head. Piney Aromatic notes with subtle roastiness. A solid but not bold roast malt backround. The color definitely is darker then the roast flavor. Aromatic piney and floral hop notes. Really does taste like a dark version of loose cannon.
Nice and very spicy. Quite thick features but easy to drink. enjoyable after many beers in a fetsival.
bottle. Black with one finger head. Solid malty base with some rich dark chocolate. Hops to match. Aboverage Black IPA.
bottle purchased at total wine in Springfield, VA March 2014
Pours deep brown almost black with a small beige head. nose is roasty and lightly hoppy. very roasty forward compared to hops in this one. smells like a hoppy porter aka Avery new world. flavors are roasty, lots of that copper penny note that i get in most beer this style. lots of burnt notes but has a sharp sweetness to it as well. not a bad representation of the style but not great either.
hoppy aroma. black in color with little head. taste has a slight malt front with a one dimentional hoppy finish.
Ok and easy to drink BIPA if nothing noteworthy or super special. Pours dark brown with ok head and lacing. Some roast malt, light licorice and piney hops. Tap at Capitol Lounge.
12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best before 6/2014. Pours pitch black color with a 1 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, lemon zest, peach, cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, toast, light char, floral, grass, light pine, and floral/roasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of hop and roasted malt notes; with good strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, lemon zest, peach, cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, toast, light char, floral, grass, light pine, and floral/roasted earthiness. Fair amount of floral/roast bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, lemon zest, peach, cocoa, roast, coffee, toast, light char, floral, grass, and floral/roast earthiness. Very nice complexity of bright hop and roasted malt flavors; with a great hop/malt balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a smooth, crisp, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent black IPA. All around great balance and complexity of hop and roasted malt flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A very enjoyable offering.
On tsp at trio in kill devil hills NC. It is a dark brown color with s slight head. The stoma is coffee and that translates to the taste with dome bitterness
Draft at several places in the past before I started rating, but finding again for the first time in a long time. One of the first Black IPAs I had. Bit sweeter than most, but still has some nice sharp dark pungent notes. Pour looked opaque at first but us probably a very dark clear brown copper. Loose big-bubble foamy head. Burnt oranges. Honey dipped pinecones. Bitter raisin pie with a heaping spoonful of molasses. Black walnuts. Slight ascetic aroma (but that could just be this specific pour). Leatherette. Sweet spicy pepper finish. Nice, but the balance is a bit off. Not my favorite of the style but much more complex than most Heavy Seas brews.
Very tasty black IPA. Hoppy enough for those who love ipa's, deliciously dark for those who like dark beers.
On draft at Trio in Kill Devil Hills NC. Pours a clear dark cola with a thick tan head. Roasted nose. Flavors of charcoal. Medium bodied. Bitter finish.
Pours a dark brown with a small and lighter head for such a dark color. Roasted malts and hops are conflicting at a distance, but the roastedness comes out on top when taken in. There is a ton going on here with a battle between the IPA taste and the darker malts. The body is medium and a little creamy for an IPA. Interesting to say the least. Kept me surprised throughout most of the experience.
Pours very dark brown to black with a fair khaki head that settles to a substantial ring, leaving plenty of splotchy ghost lace. Nose involves pine, dark chocolate, maybe some dried cherries, toasted malt, some spicy floral hops, some resiny tropical stuff. Fairly sweet, quite bitter, not excessive either way. Lighter body, softer carb, oily, bright, with a lengthy toasty bitter finish. Somewhat subtle, but the nuance presents itself. Nicely done.
Very nice looking brew, black with a tan head. The aroma has chocolate and some coffee and lots of roasted grain. The flavor has the chocolate and coffee but gives over to a hefty nite from the hops. Not at all harsh, very smooth and easy going down. Well done.
Cask (with Simcoe) at ChurchKey poured into a tasting snifter. Pours a brownish black color with half a finger of tan head. Aromas of caramel, roast, coffee, subtle leather. Tastes of dark chocolate, caramel, coffee, piney hops, roast. Medium body with a dry finish.
Bottle, purchase before June ’14. Nose is hoppy, very green and lightly grassy, but balance out nicely by the tarry and ashen black malt and roast barley; some nice mocha and coffee notes there, light chocolate, but I’d want more from the aroma hops. Pours dark brown-black with a tan head. Taste is lightly sweet (more from the hops than the grist), pleasant roasty qualities from the malt, light bitterness with a little booze showing through. Too-light body is nearly watery. This qualifies as a tame "Black IPA" in a genus dominated by aggressive scoundrels, but it’s clean and done well, and certainly enjoyable!
Appearance: how many ways can you describe black? Average size tan head faded quickly and left spotty lacing. Aroma of roasted malts and semi-sweet chocolate with resinous hop accents. After the initial taste of coffee and caramel fades, the piney, flowery hops take over. Earthy, bittersweet aftertaste. Medium to full bodied, decently carbonated mouthfeel leads to a long lasting finish. One of my favorites in this style.
On tap at Brunzies. Wonderful hop aroma, floral with apricots. Chocolate malt and caramel, roast and sweet. Dark black with foamy creamy lacing tan head. Medium chewy body with medium carbonation. Starts sweet and roast, rich malt profile with caramel and chocolate. Big hop bitterness throughout with bitter finish and after. Lingering sweetness.
12 oz. single from Big Red Liquors in Carmel, Indiana. Nice roasted/charred malt aroma from a dark cola colored body with a thin tan head. Charred notes come through immediately and deliciously along with dark and bittersweet chocolate. This is followed by a sturdy bitterness that complements the char of the malt perfectly. The body is medium and the overall effect is like a hoppy Schwarzbier. There’s a nice creamy component that also balances all the bitterness and keeps things well balanced. Finishes with more dark chocolate and a lasting but perfectly complementary charred bitterness. Really great black IPA!
Pours darker beown with a khaki head. Aroma is fresh citrusy hops, roasted malts, dark chocolate, and a slight hint of coffee. Flavor is dark roasted malt, chocolate, sweet dark fruit, citrusy american hops, and coffee. Slight hop bitterness and a very light pine aspect. This is the first black ipa ive tasted. It tastes alot like kudzu porter by back forty brewing co. Medium-thin body with soft, tingly carbonation. Very good. I’d like to try a few more examples of the style to compare. I would definitely recommend this to a friend.