Left Hand Fade To Black Vol. 4: Rocky Mountain Black Ale
That time of year when the light fades away. Brewed for the darkness, Fade to Black speaks in volumes. Welcome to Volume 4, the Beer pours pitch black with an off white head. Citrus (bergamot) and roast dominates the nose. Slight sweet malt gets pushed back by initial citrusy hops followed by powerful Italian Amaro, gentian and hop bitterness. Finishing with a pleasant duality of dry roasted malts and hop bitterness.
3.6
215 reviews
Longmont, United States
Community reviews
Dark dark brown almost black with minimal tan head poured from a tap. Medium bodied with a little coffee chocolate after taste
Poured from 12 oz. bottle after cellaring for 10 months.
Opaque, near black with no head and fair lacing.
Aroma of roasted malt, citrus and chocolate.
Taste of roasted malt, citrus, caramel and chocolate.
Medium/full body and medium carbonation.
Svart vätska med brun krona. Doft av knäck och choklad. Smaken är kraftfull med bra beska. Är normalt ingen fan av riktigt mörk öl, men denna va bra.
Comes out of the tap an opaque coffee brown with a thin tan head. Aroma had notes of roast malt and quality coffee plus a snip of hops. Flavor has rich mocha and hop notes, like the best stout mixed with the best IPA, plus caramel, nutty, earthy and licorice tones and a fruity hint. Not too sweet, not too bitter. Firm texture is quite smooth and quite fizzy, leaving a hoppy mocha finish. Don’t fade away, drink one!
Poured from bottle into a tulip. Dark doesn’t begin to describe it, as the light on my phone couldn’t pierce the blackness. Off-white foamy head that dissipated a little sooner than I would have expected based on other reviews. Smells of chocolate, coffee, plum and licorice. Burnt coffee and chocolate predominate the initial taste, but turns to hoppy bitterness that lingers. A bit of carbonation, but it really coats the tongue. I’m not really sure what this beer is trying to be. I don’t dislike it, but it feels a little muddled.
Draught@RNH. Dark brown color, small brownish head. Woody, toasted aroma. Medium-bodied. Woody hoppyness, some bitterness, coffee roasted flavors, some licorce. Quite plain Black IPA, I like this less than the ratings here.
Pour on tap, dark brownish black pour with off white head, aroma brought notes of orange, peel, chocolate covered fruit with some hints of dark cocoa, coffee, roasted malt notes, hints of grassy spice as well. Taste is a mix of dark fruit, chocolate, hints of orange peel, fruity notes with a hint of grass in there, finishing bitter, dry.
Bottle. Pours a dark brown, near black with a foamy tan head that lasts and laces. Aromas of roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, pine, and a subtle citrus. Flavor is bitter pine, roasted malt, light citrus, light coffee, and light chocolate. Medium bodied with a dry bitter finish.
Dark brown with Ruby lowlights and a very large airy Brown crown. Aroma of dark roasted malts, coffee, black licorice, chocolate and a hint of smoke. Taste of dark roasted malts, citrus, mild chocolate and a moderate bitter finish.
12 oz bottle from Evergreen Discount. Black with a tan head and light lacing. Roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, bitter hops, pine and light citrus. Medium body with a dry and bitter finish.
Sampled at the brewery. Roasted malts, chocolate, citrusy, pine hops. A roasty hoppy black ale. A bit harsh with the citrus and roasted malts.
Poured from bottle from a pack left at my place after a game. I will be donating the rest to whomever wants one. Not good.
Bottle from Voldby. Black with a lasting light brown head. Aroma is sweet, malty, roasted malt, coffee and moderate hoppy - grapefruit. Flavor is quite sweet and rather bitter. Dry and moderate bitter finish. 290913
Bottles from Capone’s and Blue Dog. Pours black with 1-finger frothy khaki head. Nose is resiny hops, roasty patent malt. Tastes roasty dark malty, with notes of bitter chocolate, molasses, hops, and blackberry. Finishes medium in palate heft, complex, and the hops balance the malt nicely.
12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 11/7/2012. Pours pitch black color with a 2 finger dense tan head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big grapefruit, orange zest, dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, floral, pine, char, and floral/roasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of malt and hop notes; with good strength. Taste of grapefruit, orange zest, dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, floral, grass, light pine, char, and floral/roasted earthiness. Fair amount of pine/roast bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of citrus zest, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, roasted malt, light pine, floral, char, and roasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice balance and complexity of hop and roasted flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a creamy, lightly sticky, and lightly chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is an excellent Black IPA style. All around great balance and complexity of hop and roasted malt flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A very enjoyable offering.
Black pour ruby hue and a thin off white to beige head with very light sticky lacing ..... aroma of roasted malts, licorice and caramel malts ..... taste is of roasted and caramel malts, faded citrusy hops and light licorice ..... has an oily mouthfeel and is thin to medium bodied .... a decent average black ale
Great citrus aroma. The beer is very dark colored. The brown head disappears in a few seconds. The taste is caramel and bitter (hoppy). Great beer.
Draft at Farmers Cabinet. Opaque pour with a strong foamy tan head. Stout flavors with a touch of smoke and sour. Charcoal pickles. Unusual. Not positive if the flavors are inherent to the beer or not. Still good stuff.
Draft at Oblivion. Black pour with a creamy tan head. Creamy cocoa, roasted malt and citrus hop aroma. Flavor also presents milk chocolate creaminess, roasted malts, bitter piney and citrus hops takes the finish. Dry bitter finish and silky body. Pretty solid.
Bottle. Almost black with medium beige head. Aroma is roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, liquorice, hop and a little pine. Flavour is malt, roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, medium sweet, hops, little liquorice, little pine and medium bitter.
12 oz bottle poured into my ipa glass. Pours a dark brown almost black color with a thick fluffy tan head that leaves good lacing. Smells of roasted malt and chocolate. Tastes is much different than the smell you get the things I mentioned in the smell but the citrus is definitely noticeable in the flavor and the hop bite is there also. Mouthfeel is medium and creamy with decent carbonation and a dry finish. This is a very complex beer, you would never tell by the nose that this is a black ipa but its definitely in the flavor. Very nice beer. I better get myself another bottle before its gone for good.
Pours a very dark near black with dark brown foamy head. Moderately roasty cocoa nose with almost no hop aroma at all. Flavor is where the great blend comes in. Citrus hop tones are muted by more chocolate. At this age, Its like a hoppy porter, than a roasty ipa. Really enjoyed this quite a bit. Can only imagine how good it would be fresh.
Flaske: Sortbrun øl med et fint skumhoved. Duft af brændt humle, citrus. Smagen er som forventet, masser af humle ovenpå den brændte malt. Mærkelig hybrid øl jeg virkelig har svært ved. Ellers ok øl.
Pours an opaque black. It has a smokey aroma with hints of spices. The flavor is hoppy and smooth. It has a bubbly mouth feel. I'll drink this one again.
Draught at BA Avenyn 2013-07-10 Göteborg
AR: peaty, roasted malt, coffey
AP: dark Brown body, frothy Brown head
F: fizzy, carame, watery, roasted malt, coffey, dry, thin
Bottle. Pours a very dark black-brown with faint red highlights. Head is high and elastic, cinnamon colored. Nose is mild for the style -- floral, herbal, and light espresso, but gentler than I expect. On the tongue, I’m not getting much hops at all -- there’s definite roasty notes, so the black is there, but where’s the IPA? A faint echo of citrus and resin is about it. Finish is long, but still lacking, though the resin does hang on for a bit. Weak.
Bottle from City Beer. Pours near black with a modest beige head and a roasty treacle aroma. There is an intense roasted malt flavor with lots of citrus and a dry peppery finish. A very unique brew.
Bottle at home from drinkstore
Strong aroma of earl grey/bergamot. Dark brown black with fluffy mocha head. At first juicy citrus, with dusty cocoa, hop bitterness, a bipa of course but a novel one. Carbonation spot on, medium bodied. Finishing quite roasted. Yum
Svart öl med brunt-begie skum. Doft: Cola, choklad, bacon, lakrits, karamelliserade frukter. Dock är doftar denna öl för lite för min smak. Smak: Kaffe, nötkola, lakrits, cola, lätt rökiga toner.
A touch of citrus hops blends with a roasted aroma, and this pours jet black with a light tan head. More roast then hop bitterness in this beer, coming across more of a highly hopped porter then a Black IPA. There’s a lingering roast finish, and a slick mouthfeel. A good solid beer.