Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 094: Belgian Black IPA
#94 Belgian-style Black IPA—This beguiling black IPA takes a tropical detour with a dose of new world hops, featuring lemony Sorachi Ace and fruity Nelson Sauvin varieties. A Belgian yeast works with the exotic hop profile, emphasizing its complex and fruity flavors.
3.7
299 reviews
Chico, United States
Community reviews
33cl bottle. Pours black with thin tan head. Floral hops, malt, bread nose. Flavour is sweet creamy coffee with a slightly bitter finish. Biscuit in there with earth and nuts. Thought this was pretty nondescript.
Bottle at Tipplers Tap. Black and thick with a lasting cream head, laces well, big hops flavours and malty hints. A big favoured beer that is surprisingly smooth.
Poirs opaque black with a 2-finger dark tan head. Aroma is mild, mostly roasted malt but with a touch of citrus. Medium body, lightly oily with a long finish. Dark, roasty malt flavor up front that gives way to citrus hops.
Persistent tan head tops the dark red body. Good body with more spice than hop. Finish is good and with the right amount of bitterness.
Bottle at the Hangover. Citrus and funky aroma, herbal, sherbert. Great stuff. Taste is equally good. Crystals! (?) Lemon and weird, tropical fruit touches, light roast, lots of biscuit.
Pours out a deep dark almost black color with tan head. Lots of lacing on the glass. Has a nice Belgian floral aroma, dark roasted malts in the background and citrus hops. Smells amazing! Tastes a bit funky at first but has a nice bittersweet citric finish with some char. Palate on the beer is rich and full.
[355ml bottle, the Beer Hive, Edinburgh] Black pour, not surprisingly, fumes up pretty quickly in the glass, with a slightly off-white head. Aroma is lemon, coconut, earthy ash. On the flavour, that strange edge of Nelson and Sorachi gives an odd sweet vine/bubblegum crossover that buts into the slightly smoky malt profile. That last part works with the Belgian yeast, but not everything else - not all at once, anyway [02022014]
First time tasting a black IPA, not what I expected. 12oz bottle. Poured black with a deep long lasting beige head. Bursting with zesty citrus hops and the more you stick your nose in the more toast and coffee you get from it. Again to taste it starts off being IPA all the way but then roasted coffee, toast and caramel. I like it
Bottle from deciccos. Dark brown to black pour with beige head. Roasted malts and choco. Piney hops. Pretty good.
Bottle from Thistle News. It pours near black with a thick beige head. The nose is roasty, toast, spice, salted caramel, earth, grass, floral, charred wood and dark chocolate. The taste is roasty, toast, dark chocolate, floral, baking cocoa, varnish, toasty, caramel and decent bitterness with a dry, roasty finish. Medium body and moderate carbonation. Good depth, balanced and high drinkability. Tasty.
Becoming a beer camp fan - excellent color with a heavy and balanced ipa palate from front to back.
tap at the Chico brewpub Aug 2013 - Pours near black with a dark tan head. There’s a nice balance of roast malt and assertive hops. It has roasted malt, citrus, and other fruity notes. The body is medium and the finish has pleasantly lingering bitterness. Very good.
12oz bottle served in a Sierra Nevada IPA glass
A - Very dark brown, almost opaque, with a 2 finger kahki head that moves slower than a sloth. Generous amounts of lacing coat over half of one side of the glass.
S - Fresh leafy green hops jump out with bready Belgian notes. Perfume-like roast character, floral hops show up,
T - Spicy green hops, roasted malts, anise, rye, sharp lemon citrus pushes against the roasted toffee malts creating a non-typical flavor profile. Toasted bread crust are acidic fruits, and notes of chocolate malts are showcased in the middle with a sweet center that is surrounded by spicy dryness. A a rush of leafy green and pine hops emerge toward the dry finish leaving a semi resinous feel on the palate.
M - Medium body, ample carbonation, flowy and lush feel,dry finish.
This is an interesting brew. Nice hop profile but the Belgian yeast didn’t seem to influence all that much. Above average but nothing mind blowing here.
Serving type: bottle
10-06-2013
Pours black with a thick and creamy tanned head. Nice hoppy smell. Taste has hint of coffee?
On tap at O’Brien’s. A lace sheet on black body. Yeasty, black malts. Pretty decent but not so hoppy.
Light lemony aroma with a lot of toasted malt. Black body with a really thin head that dissapates quickly. Very mild spice, belgian dryness, lots of stout flavours in here but with fruity bitterness. Odd aftertaste. Not your average run of the mill BIPA, interesting, but not as belgian as expected.
Nice beer. More of a stout than a Black IPA. But a good stout nonetheless.
Aroma- smoky with a touch of coffee. Appearance - fluffy light brown head, holding up quite well. Served just below room temperature it's quite tasty, a slight bitter. Low carbonation. Smooth on the palate. Very nice beer camp edition. -- rated via 'Find A Beer' for Blackberry 10
Bottle from Capone’s. Pours dark blackish with medium pour thickness and tan head. Nose was roasty dark malt, mild cacao, and resiny hops. Tasted like a resiny, hoppy dark lager with more palate heft and complexity.
2013-12-14. Very dark brown-black body small frothy tan head. 3+ Aroma is green leafy and musky, roast notes. Flavour is pleasant, moderate bitterness throughout and surprisingly chocolatey sweet malt core, light roast. Bitterness starts mild but is cumulative, growing as you go. 7+ Smooth average plus bodied palate, carbonation. Nice stuff, enjoyable. On tap at Abraxas, Miami
Poured from 12oz bottle. Decent beer but nothing exceptional like i've come to expect from Sierra Nevada.
--you've been Dubbed.
On tap. Nearly pitch black with mocca head. Aroma citrus, fruit, sweet malt, lemon and roasted notes. Taste is sweet, citrus peel, faint alcohol and roasted notes.
Bottle: Super deep brown, nearly pitch black, moderate foamy khaki head, nice lacing. Soft and sweet roasted malt nose, a little citrus peel and pith. Smooth on the tongue, not as dark as others. Pale roasted malts, soft bitterness, a little pith and peel, light sweetness. Not as Black as other Black IPAs in that the roast is in the nose, but not so much on the tongue. Not as sweet as the last beer (Imperial Red Ale) in the beer camp pack. Wished it were a bit thicker, despite it being fairly moderate in body and mouthfeel. Could use a touch more sweetness, however it is not out of balance. Its like a robust IPA with a touch of roasted malts, and in that, its pretty tasty.
Pours black with a large head.
Nose shows roasted malt, cocoa, toast, caramel, resinous pine and floral hops.
Similar flavours, quite a focus on the roasted malt with more coca and caramel. Some pine again along with resinous hops.
Too much carbonation.
Bottle from Beermoth, Manchester. Clear, very dark reddy brown. Thin, tight, tan head. Very roasty, some dark fruitiness. Taste is roast dryness. Light bitterness. Medium bodied. Dry, light bitter finish, with a tad of sourness, right at the end.
Tap at abraxas, miami. Black color, brown head. Aroma is hops, roasty, some coffee notes. Nice taste, hops, roasty malts, fruits, balanced.
Bottle. Reddish black with a minimal head, good lacing. Aroma is fruity malt. Flavor is roasted fruity malt, dry grapefruit hop finish, a little dry smoke.
This is great, aroma is blasting sweet flowers and roasted malt. Flavor is heavy on sweet spices and thick roasted malt. Great flowers, not too bitter, but bet well balanced.
355ml bottle from Appellation Wines.
Appearance - opaque black with a generous creamy head.
Nose - ripe grapefruit even going into pink grapefruit.
Taste - oh surprising big chocolate thing with only a mild citrus cleaning hop.
Palate - medium bodied with a creamy texture and a fairly very fresh finish.
Overall - like an ipa on the nose but a brisk stout on the taste. So confusing but very good.
Bottle at Craig’s tasting. Bit standard - light toffee, roast chocolate, dry and bitter.