R.J. Rockers Black Perle
The first brew in the new "Ales From The Dark Side" series, Black Perle is 90-minute, octo-hopped, dark IPA that weighs in at 9.5%abv and named for the German bittering hops, Perle, that were addede during the beers unusually long 90-minute boil.
3.6
212 reviews
Spartanburg, United States
Community reviews
Pours nearly black from the bottle with a thin tan head that dissipates to a slight ring around the edges with very little lacing. Aroma is dark chocolate and alcohol. Fizzy carbonation in the mouth with tastes of dark chocolate (a ton!), roasted malts and a hint of dark fruits and a pinch of citrus. This feels more like a stout than a black IPA. This very good but not what I expected. I really thought this would be more bitter.
From old notes - bottle at a tasting -- Dark brown with ring. Dry woody (illegible) coffee aroma. Cleen coffee woody dry clean dry finish. Medium palate. Better than expected. (This was back i the day I was still adjusting to Black IPAs). Very good.
Pure black pour with tan head. Aroma is roast malt and hops. Taste does not come up to the standard the aroma set. Bitter and sweet. Chemical bite ruins it for me. It is good, but could have been great.
Black pour with tan head and lace. Aroma is chocolate and coffee. Flavor is sweet chocolate, abv, light coffee, and a good bitter finish. Medium body with good carbonation, good beer
bottle @ Habersham Beverage / Savannah GA --- Absolute 100% appealing aroma of roasted malt and hops. As good as it gets. Taste is roasted malt and full floral hops that moves smoothly to a well-balanced lingering finish. A terrific brew, worth seeking out.
On tap at the brewery.
Black and opaque with an excellent tan head.
Aroma has both medium and dark roasted malts, clearly leaning to the dark side.
Flavor is a way more hoppy and has notably more earthy/herbal flavor. Medium-high bitterness (IBU = 80).
Bottle: Sweet roasted malt start, hoppy, a touch of soy. Sweet on the tongue. As it warms a bit of pasture does come out. Has a bit of a Necco wafer sweetness also. Comes across as fairly sweet. Yeah, sweet Black IPA for sure. Hoppy finish with a sweet roasted malt background. For as much roasted malts as there its, its not stout like. Huge sweet hoppiness is how I would describe this one. Decent Black IPA... could stand to actually be more hoppy versus sweet. Thanks Brad!
Pours a deep reddish brown with a thin white head and decent lacing. Aroma of roast coffee. Taste is nicely sweet up front with chocolate notes mid palate followed by a deep dark bitter finish.
Draft at HoTb. Huge chocolate roasted malt aroma. Thick texture. Medium heavy body. Creamy texture also. Pretty solid beer. Bitter finish. This is more of a stout than a black ipa. Id call it a bitter stout.
Bottle shared thanks to Dmac. Pours out black with a tan head. Aroma is of cocoa, light roast, coffee and some light citrusy/floral hop notes. Taste is light chocolate, coffee, some citrusy/floral hops, more semi-sweet chocolate and toast.
bottle as shown .. dark brown .. mild foam .. burnt hops .. light in all facets, needs work .. . I can count how many times I used a condom on one hand. The answer is ’zero.’ You put them on your penis, not your hand.
Draft at Lost Dog Dunn Loring. Poured a pitch black, like oil with a small but dense brown head. Aroma was dark, chocolate and roasted malt, touch of pine and hops. Flavor had a nice balanced malt to hop character, something missing in a lot of black IPA beers, as the bitterness is pretty well balanced out in this. Alcohol is masked almost entirely in this one, no boozy notes at all.
Black opaque bod with an inch of tan head that sticks around for the duration. Aromas include roast and chocolate first, followed by some hop and pine character. Pretty tasty brew here. I wouldn’t have guessed it was nearly 10% abv. Medium bodied and well balanced. Moderate bitterness but not overpowering. A nice sipper.
22oz bottle pours a hazy, mahogany black with some thin, beige head. Nose of bread crust, pine, vegetal, toast, soap. Flavor is roasty, toasted bread, a little coffee, light black pepper. Roasty finish.
P: A choppy billowing sea of midnight and crowned with crashing waves of thick bubbly espresso tinted foam.
S: Loads of roasted malts, baking chocolate, cocoa powder, oak, vanilla, sweet prunes, figs, barley and coffee. Aroma is similar to a chocolate forward porter with a tickle on the nose.
T/M: Taste follows the nose but brings more bitterness to the party. Bitter cocoa and spices flow over the roasted malts. Velvety feel that coats the tongue and lingers bitter cocoa and natural spices.
O: Super lush and flavorful. Love the rich chocolate and bitterness orchestrated into a well balanced brew. This is a must try. Cheers!
22oz wax bomber from MOTORHEADTODD, THANKS BRO!! Poured a good looking solid black body of medium density and an average sized thick creamy dark beige head. Aroma of green leafy veggies, bad chocolate, dough. Flavor is chocolate, dark toast, grains, touch of coffee grounds some roasted pineapple and grapefruit. Medium to fuller body, creamy, aversge to stronger carbonation. Solid beer.
Bottle. Rich aroma of vanilla, licorice, smoke, and caramel. Full mouthfeel, with dark fruit flavors and a bitter finish.
Hmmmm, where to start. Pine tar and oak ash aroma with a sneaky bit of molasses hiding out back. Dark and oily on the pour with a soft carbonation. The lack of hop bitterness and aroma make me question the style, although it has the caramel and biscuit flavors of a good IPA. This IS a very good ale more akin to an sweet stout or a hoppy porter. Sparkle City has a gem here!
One of the best black ipa’s around. Black in color large tan head. Tons of hops and malt hit your nose then your tongue and stays on plate.
Bottle. Pours a near black color with almost no head on it. Nose is hoppy up front, then a bit of chocolate hits, then some dark fruit comes through. Taste is very roasty and slightly bitter. Very smooth and pleasant to drink.
Bottle shared at Sander’s in NYC. Pours deep brown with a creamy beige head. Rich dark malt nose, lots of burnt marshmallows. Medium sweet flavor, more burnt marshmallows, strong roast, torched wood, chocolate. Medium bodied with fine carbonation. Well roasted malt finish, some milky coffee, roasted marshmallows, milk chocolate. Pretty damn tasty.
Mama Joy’s, Brooklyn tap: Pours black with a small tan head. Aroma is roasted malts, chocolate, and a bit of hops. Taste is not out there with sharp contrasts like many black IPAs have. Rather, this is a somewhat hoppy stout type beer. Alcohol is very well covered. Smooth.
22 oz bomber. Pours a black cola with a huge foamy tan/light brown head. Aroma of light pine tar, oats, hops and malty citrus. Taste of oats, pine tar notes, citrus and malt. Excellent obscure brew.
Bottle. Was on sale for $5 a bomber because it probably wasn’t selling at $9. But I don’t know why. This beer is a pretty fantastic black ipa. Pours pitch black with a creamy rocky tan head. Awesome. Pretty nice lacing. The aroma is hoppy with some nice black patent malt. Pine? The flavor is a hoppy but balanced with black patent malt ipa. Quite good actually. Medium bodied and balanced with carbonation. Charred finish.
A really fantastic beer! Poured dark with a nice frothy head in my imperial pint glass. I wish I would have used my Bells snifter, but maybe that gives me reason to get another bottle. The aroma gives a very nice malty body to the nose followed by a small hop aroma. Lots of earthy aromas with cigar, dark rasin and a hint of banana. I like that the malt bill seems large in this beer instead of a beer all about the hops. I hope to find this again!
Bottle. Dark brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is hop, coffee, chocolate, roasted malt. Flavour is sweet, hop, coffee, alcohol, chocolate, roasted malt. Bitter finish. Full body. Nice beer.
Serving: 22 oz. bottle from Total Wine Sterling. Who in the hell thought it would be a good idea to put wax all over a cap? It’s a pain in the ass to open. Finally, it pours black with a small tan head. The nose is more subdued than I thought it would be with a little earth, pine cone, roasted malt, The flavor highlights the roasted malt, smoke, and a little bit of sweetness. The hops add some earthiness and a hint of pine, but it’s really a stout, not a black IPA. Full bodied, smooth and oily on the palate. A surprisingly good offering from R.J. Rockers.
1 Pt. 6 Fl. Oz. Bottle. Pours black with a nice tan head and lots of lacing. Aroma is not too strong and is mostly roasted coffee, maybe some chocolate and some citrus/piney hops. Smokey taste, malty sweet well balanced with hops (very good tasting beer). The ABV is noticeable but well hidden and not overpowering. Overall a very good beer.
If you get this in a bottle, be careful - it tends to foam. At least it doesn’t gush like champagne, but you should be ready with a towel. Pours an opaque dark-chocolate brown with a very thick and quite persistent fluffy tan head. Aroma fills the nose with smoky, molasses, hoppy, earthy and licorice notes - it all but says "Drink me!" to one who loves black IPAs. Smoky, earthy, nutty, hoppy and licorice notes make themselves known as they dance across the palate. Firm texture imparts plenty of sass and fizz. Come to the dark side - we have great beer!
A: I couldn’t really smell anything here.... really rather shallow and pedantic.
A: Looks pretty good I guess.. weird it pours like a full bodied stout or something. creamy head which disipates quickly. Oh also, the wax bottle is way to hard to open. I have to battle with this thing for like 5 minutes to get it open...
T: Tastes alright but I dunno. It tastes like a slightly more hoppy stout or something but there isn’t any smokiness or chocolate or coffee or stuff like that. Really tastes more like a stout than an IPA. Not terrible.
P: Sits surprisingly well on the palate. Medium full body. Smooth mouth feel.
Overall this is an interesting beer that I guess falls way to directly between too catergories. It’s like a stout with some extra hops in it but not enought to be an IPA. If I didn’t know better I would think this a stout, however, it may be due to cellaring. I’ll have to grab a fresh one and check that out. It’s a pretty solid beer but nothing mind blowing. Oddly easy to drink.