Samuel Adams Dark Depths
Another entry into Sam Adams Small Batch Series – Dark Depths. Depths is a IPA or a hoppy porter ( Need some clarification) brewed with a lager yeast for an interesting mesh of styles.
Across the cold and brackish waters of the Baltic, the English Porter was transferred, from a mild ale to a dark and complex lager that confounds definition. Immersed in dark, roasted malts and a bold citrus hop character, these big and contrasting flavors are brought together with the smoothness of a lager for a brew that’s bold, mysterious, and full of flavor. Batch #1
Across the cold and brackish waters of the Baltic, the English Porter was transferred, from a mild ale to a dark and complex lager that confounds definition. Immersed in dark, roasted malts and a bold citrus hop character, these big and contrasting flavors are brought together with the smoothness of a lager for a brew that’s bold, mysterious, and full of flavor. Batch #1
3.6
515 reviews
Boston, United States
Community reviews
Well done. It comes across as a blend between a black IPA and a Baltic porter. Aroma was a mix of pine hoppiness and roasted malts. It poured very dark brown with an off-white head . It looked like a Porter. Palate was heavier than average with a fullness and average carbonation. The flavor started off with slight bitterness and moved to dark roasted malts. The finish was mainly malty with wood and coffee notes. Well blended.
Rated on 5-26-2012 (Bottle) This beer has a large frothy tan head with a lengthy retention, transparent reddish brown body, fizzy, fast rising carbonation, and a fair amount of lacing. The aroma is roasted malt, citrus hops and alcohol. The flavor is moderately bitter, citrus hops and roasted malt. The mouthfeel is carbonated and this beer is medium bodied. Overall, this beer has a good hoppy flavor along with a good roastyness. This beer is worth trying and a beer I would drink again.
Meh this one didn’t really do it for me. Usually Sam Adams has some solid offerings, but this one just wasn’t it. It has a weird sweet aroma and I couldn’t find any hops at all. Just kind of messy in my opinion and as I drank it and it warmed up, it just became a sweet syrupy mess. There was no hop balance. I was excited to try this one but it kind of fell short.
Reviewed from notes.
The appearance was a dark brown body with a medium sized creamy tan head that died within about twenty seconds. There was some spotty lacing around the sides of the pint glass which seemed to create a small valley of dissipating head absorbing into the sides of the glass and leading to a spotty lace.
The smell had some burnt malts and rich dark fruits. Some chocolate came out, but it was very light.
The taste had the hops come in separately from the first taste but still distinctly in the background. For the most part, the taste was pretty much the same.
The palate it sat about a medium on the body with a slick and slightly creamy with a slight alcohol bite.
Overall, I could do this style, but am still pretty unfamiliar so I can’t really say too much about it just yet and will have to try some other beers of this style. Until then, this was good and I would have it again, maybe side by side with another Baltic Porter to compare. In the meantime, I’ll read and research. However, I will say this is a real treat.
How: Bottle.
Where: The Bishops Arms Bellmansgatan, Stockholm.
Appearance: Black colour with an off-white head.
Aroma: Dark fruit, raisin, spices, malt, alcohol.
Body: Medium body, low carbonation.
Flavour: Dark fruit, raisin, caramel, hops, chocolate.
Another solid Sam Adams brew - dark IPA with a chocolate/coffee flavor. Slightly sweet odor and initial taste, but with malty and bitter finish. NOt sure how its an IPA with a lager yeast (Dark IPL?) but whatever, worth a taste.
Bottle @ Bishops Arms, Gustav Adolfs Torg, Malmö. Black with a light brown head. Aroma is sweet, malty, roasted malt, chocolate and moderate hoppy - grapefruit. Flavor is quite sweet and rather bitter. Dry and rather bitter finish. 080214
Large dome head that leaves plenty of webby lace throughout the tasting. When pouring, the head ever expands with an upward cascade of bubbles (like Guinness). The liquid is dark mahogany brown, but light does shine through.
This smells closer to an IPA than a porter. That is to say that there isn’t much in the way of darker malts, but there is a decent bouquet of floral hop.
Plenty of darker malt flavor. Closest flavor is treacle or caramelized molasses. There is a touch of sweetness to the taste. The finish is balanced where the hop comes out. The aftertaste is mild but long lasting.
This is a nice blend of styles. I very much like the complexity of this beer.
Bottle from Highland Ave. Package. Dark black with white head. Smells of chocolate and hops. Taste of chocolate and very hoppy. Medium bodied and a bitter aftertaste.
(bottle) (batch #2) clear very dark brown colour with a tall brown head, aromas start with sour fruit, then molasses, stewed fruit, chocolate cake; thin and a bit slick palate; pleasant, intense balanced flavour; definitely more of a baltic porter than ipa
pours dark brown with a large darker tan head. This beer has a good chocolate and roasted flavor. There is some really good dark fruits and a sweet licorice flavor!!
Bottle at the Black IPA tasting in Beer&Beyond shop. Pours deep brown with a decent beige head. Sweet fruits and roasted aroma. Taste - sweet, dark fruits, caramel, raisins, chocolate, mild bitter finish. Medium-bodied. Nice.
The aroma is malty - caramel; hops - citrus; yeast - earthy. Pours a dark brown/black with big light brown head, mostly diminishing; clear; excellent lacing. The taste is bitter, sour and I guess umami (trying to figure that one out). The body is medium-full; the texture creamy and slick; the finish bitter with a long astringent (not something I usually like). Good but comes up short after having a Stone IPA.
Tough to be objective drinking this head to head against North Coast Old Rasputin stout. It’s good, with an interesting blend of 6 different hops & 2 malts. It’s touted as a Baltic Porter, but the hops aroma & flavor make me think it’s a dark IIPA
Thanks to HisBoyElroy for the split. Most of my Sam Adams will probably come from this Sam Adams lover. I’m not the biggest fan. I remember it being very mediocre.
This beer is definitely unique and has a lot of character. It’s not like anything else I’ve ever tasted. The immediate flavor was a strong fig/grape aroma which quickly changes into a caramel sweetness on the back of the tongue. Definitely a beer that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Pours brown with small tan head. Nose is dasrk fruit and caramel, roasted malts, marmalade. Fairly sweet, slightly oily mouthfeel that is very enjoyable.
Very good black ipa, thank you bevmo, bomber, roasty, hoppy, nice tan head, dark pour, good
I'm not a fan of black ipas. The mix of hops and roast doesn't always work. It does here though. Nice smooth beer.
On tap at Battleship. Deep brown color with a reddish hue and tan head. Aroma has thick dark malt, cream, no roast bitterness, pine spice and light licorice. It has a medium / full body that’s a bit slick with lots of semi-soft carbonation. Flavor starts with dark roasted un-bitter malt, light licorice, spice, dry citrus and pine. The finish has some roasty bitterness, earthy hops, pine, grapefruit and a fruit juice aspect. Pretty good stuff. It’s nice to see that Sam Adams can actually still make a good beer.
Pours a dark amber brown color with and off white head that leaves a decent lacing. Aromas of molasses, brown sugar and a little spice. Flavors of molasses, a little dark chocolate and malt. A great dark IPA definitely recommend this one.
This might be an okay beer if we weren’t expecting an IPA. Yes, it is supposed to be a Baltic IPA, but the beer was a complete let down. 1.5 out of 10 overall in stars.
Richly ambered with a tall lasting frothy. Smells of busty hops and sweet malt. This is more like a hopped up amber with all the caramel going on. Smooth and very easy to swallow. The finish is surprisingly mellow with a touch of citrus rind.
Dark, ipa. Decent, but nothing to write home about. Licorice flavors and black color.
12oz. bottle poured in my Ipa glass. Pours a clear dark brown color with a thick fluffy khaki head that leaves great lacing. Smells of pine, citrus, roasted malt, and caramel. Tastes of all the same things in the smell with a good hop presence in the back end. Tastes better as it warms also. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and creamy with good carbonation and a dry finish. I really like the special batch beers Samuel Adams have been doing recently. This is a nice baltic porter with great ipa elements. Both blended well together in my opinion. I will definitely buy this again.
This beer has a lot of potential, with very nice malts, but alas, it is just too overhopped for my taste. The aroma is very flowery and appealing, and the appearance is black with a billowing creamy tan head. I do think this is better after it has warmed in the glass for awhile, it makes the flavor more complex. The taste is lightly sweet and heavy bitter with a slight saltiness. Too many hops, half the amount would have been good. I don’t get this trend to overhop everything, bitter is bitter no matter how you look at it. Full bodied, slick and creamy texture, soft carbonation, and bitter finish. I thought it was a Baltic Porter not an IPA, I misread the label, they tricked me into buying this bitter bomb.
12 oz bottle served in a Sam Adams perfect pint
A - Pours dark reddish brown with a thin tan head. Very good retention with plenty of lacing.
S - Sweet roasted malts, caramelized sugar, faint dark fruit, faint citrus on the back end.
T - Actually follows the nose but with more punch. Roasted almost smoked malts, caramel, toffee, dark fruit, it’s sweet but a leafy/citrus bitterness keeps it in check.
M - Medium full body, adequate carbonation.
A nice rustic porter with an edgy hop profile. Nice fruit and good malt depth keep this interesting.
Serving type: bottle
03-24-2013
From a bottle. Pours very dark, almost black with a frothy tan head and lots of lacing. Creamy and bitter flavor. Tastes like smooth coffee, molasses, malt. Light body and medium carbonation. Smells like chocolate, coffee, cookies.
Pours dark with a light beige velvet top. Aroma is rich roasted malts with a snap of citrus hops. Taste is smooth roasted malts with citrus hop bitterness. Interesting combination, not sure if I like it.
22 oz bottle pours reddish brown with a off white head. Aroma of roasted malts, spice and grains . Taste is chocolate, malts and spice.