Smuttynose Noonan Black IPA
Black IPA doesn’t quite seem to make sense, does it? How can something that’s black also be described as pale?
Noonan is our interpretation of a New England original, the Black IPA. Dark like a porter, but hoppy like an IPA, this seemingly contradictory beer style originated in 1994, in Burlington, Vermont by brewer Glenn Walters and under the watchful eye of Greg Noonan. Greg was many things, a brewing pioneer and author, founder of three brewpubs, 2005 Russell Scherer award winner and genealogist. When Greg passed away suddenly, Smuttynose’s brewing team wanted to brew a beer in his memory and this was the result. We hope you find it a worthy tribute as well.
Noonan (the beer) looks like an ordinary porter or stout, until you get the pint up to your nose. You can’t avoid the big whiff of piney, herbal and citrusy American hops, but there’s virtually no roasted character. Ponderous, huh? When you take a sip, you’ll notice that the beer doesn’t taste a lot like a porter either. Instead of the expected astringency imparted by dark grains, you’ll find a depth of caramel malts and more American hops. Don’t worry that’s by design; it’s also what we love about the beer.
Noonan is our interpretation of a New England original, the Black IPA. Dark like a porter, but hoppy like an IPA, this seemingly contradictory beer style originated in 1994, in Burlington, Vermont by brewer Glenn Walters and under the watchful eye of Greg Noonan. Greg was many things, a brewing pioneer and author, founder of three brewpubs, 2005 Russell Scherer award winner and genealogist. When Greg passed away suddenly, Smuttynose’s brewing team wanted to brew a beer in his memory and this was the result. We hope you find it a worthy tribute as well.
Noonan (the beer) looks like an ordinary porter or stout, until you get the pint up to your nose. You can’t avoid the big whiff of piney, herbal and citrusy American hops, but there’s virtually no roasted character. Ponderous, huh? When you take a sip, you’ll notice that the beer doesn’t taste a lot like a porter either. Instead of the expected astringency imparted by dark grains, you’ll find a depth of caramel malts and more American hops. Don’t worry that’s by design; it’s also what we love about the beer.
3.6
201 reviews
Hampton, United States
Community reviews
bottle - Pours near black with a two finger tan head and big chunks of suspended yeast floating around. The aroma is of piney hops and chocolatey malt. The flavor has high bitterness with the piney, resinous hops in the fore and the roasted chocolate malt lending a full body to this enjoyable brew.
355 mL bottle. Looks right. Aroma and flavour are relatively mild. Leans more tonthe black than the IPA. Good, though. Chocolatey.
Very bitter, strong punch but overall a great taste and appearance from this draft. Aroma is pleasing.
Another winner from Smuttynose. Very nice complex palate. Right amount of hops and malt. Very enjoyable, a must try for IPA lovers
12 oz.bb 08/05/14. Opaque with a lasting thin creamy film on top. Delicious aroma is a blend of caramel, orange, resin, espresso and chocolate. Taste is resin, citrus zest, caramel coffee and unsweetened chocolate. The medium body is velvety smooth with low carbonation and an excellent balance.
Ain’t had a "new" Smuttynose for a while. Gonna have one now. This one’s got a dark mahogany body, nearly completely opaque, with a real skinny little light brown head. Lots of lace, nonetheless. In the aroma, the malt is bittersweet chocolate with some ash. The hops are mainy zesty. The ash is gone from the flavor and the zesty, earthy bitterness increases as I drink further. Nice, that bitterness. The finish is very dry and has a prolonged zesty bitterness. Not too shabby.
12 ounce bottle into pint glass; best before 7/23/2014, 6.2%. Pours moderately murky nearly opaque dark brown color with a 2 finger dense tan head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of grapefruit, orange peel, pine, dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, floral, grass, and floral/roasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/pine hops and dark/roasted malt notes; with good strength. Taste of dark chocolate, cocoa, roasted malt, coffee, grapefruit, orange peel, pine, floral, grass, light char, and floral/roasted earthiness. Good amount of pine/roast bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, roast, coffee, grapefruit, orange peel, pine, light char, and floral/roasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice robustness, balance, and complexity of dark/roasted malt and citrus/pine hop flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a smooth, moderately creamy, and fairly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice malt driven black IPA. All around good complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roasted malt and citrus/pine hop flavors; and very smooth to drink. A very enjoyable offering.
Draft at Strangeloves. Black pour. Pint. Started with a large frothy tan head. Lots of dark roasted flavors. Frothy chocolate mousse. Coffee liquor. There are grassy notes off the top that quickly disappear under the strong dark malt flavors. Liquorice. Charcoal grill. Smoked Tootsie Rolls. Like the darkness, but some of the underlying flavors feel raw and out of control. Might mellow and smooth out with age. As is now, feels too combative and uneven - yet ambitious enough to try and try again.
Pours dark like cola. Smells very roasty and chocolatey like a stout or porter. Still has a hoppy taste though. Good brew just not my idea of an ipa
12oz bottle from Lucky’s Market on N. High. Near black pour with a big fluffy tan head. Aroma is spicy, herbal, chocolate, citrus. Tastes are burnt, cocoa, coffee, oak, background ashy. Bitter, herbal finish. On the malty side overall. Well built for sure - don’t know if I’d seek it out.
Dearer pious at cheesies with my friend Nate. Black pour with crey off white head. S'mores and biscuits. Malts. Choclate. Complex beer and delicious. Love it
Very dark in color with a frothy, big-bubbled, tan head. Sweet and sugary nose. Sharp, dark-grain bite along with some assertive hops. Grassy and rind-like bitterness. Hints of dark chocolate and coffee beans. Caramel/Crystal malt sweetness is more than I’d prefer, but it wasn’t bad. Overall, it’s a bold and tasty black IPA.
12oz bottle (best by 8/13/14) into Le Duvel - nose is slight roast, grass, caramel, and lemon. Crisp and refreshing on the front end, yet bold and full of roasted coffee on the back end. A truly marvelous style that has been done right with a label worthy of a Struise. All kinds of bitterness (dark chocolate and hoppy) with inferior sweetness. On a side note, rating beers styles you like from breweries you like whilst on a philosophical reevaluating quest makes for inflated ratings.
Black and rich. Lots of piney hops, but the roasted nuttiness and chocolate is what makes this beer great.
Looks good, chocolate aroma. Orange sweet malty taste with bitter hops taking charge in the middle and finish. Lingering hops and sticky sweet caramel notes.
Dark, deepest cola pour with an eggshell head that leaves spotty lacing. The nose is lemon and a soapy "sweet clean". Flavors are of licorice, pine, caramel and finishes with a resinous, deep piney bitter. The body is medium, with easy drinkability that is very complex and fully substantial. This Black IPA is interesting, hoppy and herbal. Nice job.
A dark red beer with a small tan head. The aroma is citrus and floral hops. The flavor is bitter, floral, and a little caramel. I just like more pronounced roasted and smoky malt in my black ipas.
Citrus, pine hop aroma with roast. Black, clear appearance with a tan head with good head retention. Hop bitterness is high. With citrus, pine hop flavors with notes of coffee, dark chocolate and chalk. Esters are medium. Body is medium with medium carbonation. Roast and hop bitterness leads to a chalky dryness. Roast astringency is present but correct. Overall, is a hoppy, bitter roasty beer. More like an American stout than a black ipa.
When I first got this draft I was thinking it was more like a spicy beer in aroma and flavor. Then as I realized it was supposed tot be a black ipa, I did start to notice some hop backbone in there. Definitely a darker beer but it has some more mild spiced attributes about it aura.
Half Pint, NYC tap: Pours black with a greyish, creamy head. Aroma is lemon, coffee, chocolate, and hints of pine. Taste is prototypically that of a Black IPA. Seamless convergence of the citrus and chocolate that leaves a somewhat discordant, but pleasant aftertaste. Definitely has a somewhat herbal character at that point. Well put together.
On tap at Augustines, RBYC 2014 bar crawl spot #1. Nic ehop aroma. Orange cream sickle. Roasty malt flavor. Bending towards the cocoa and chocolate side of the equation. After the aroma though there is not a big hop flavor profile until it warms up a bit. Sticky orange flavors. Well done black ipa, an admittedly tough style to do.
Draft @ Rocktown 2014: Licorice, lemon zest, charcoal nose. Cola brown, thin beige head. Pine and charcoal flavor, smoke on the back end. Really solid example of the style.
Poured from 12 oz. bottle.
Opaque, brown-black with a 1 to 2-finger tan head and excellent lacing.
Aroma of roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, pine, grapefruit, toffee and floral hops. Lots of malt and roastiness with plenty of blended in such that the individual hop aromas tend to blend together.
Taste of roasted malt, pine, chocolate, coffee, toffee and grapefruit. Lots roastiness and malt balanced by strong hop flavors.
Medium/light body and medium/high carbonation.
Nice beer. A mix between a porter and IPA. Roasted, chocolate, molasses and coffee flavors with a hoppy bitterness.
[bottle from Bier Cellar]
Potent hops aroma with pine and then grapefruit peel and then some tropical Amarillo-esque note in front of faint coffee and dark toast. Opaque black with ruddy brown highlights under a persistent, light brown cover and lace. Hops flavour and then assertive bitterness up front in the taste followed by subtle dark chocolate. Pine, grapefruit peel, apricot, faint tropical fruits. Not quite smooth, not quite crisp feel, medium to light body moderate carbonation.
Pours a deep black. Huge fluffy tan head. Lots of sticky lacing. Aroma is slightly roasty. A roasty porter taste with more bitterness in the finish.
Some hops, some roast. Pours cloudy dark brown with good head and lacing. Comes together pretty well. Finishes bitter and roasty. Well balanced. Some citrus as well. Tap at DC Beer festival.
Pours out black with a small tan head, but with some weird floaties in there. Woodsy and pine aromas, I’d almost swear they had some smoked malts in here. On the tongue it’s stout but with a very pronounced bitter/charred flavor. Nice mouth feel, smooth body but with lively carbonation. Overall ok interpretation of the style, more IPA in the aroma and stout in the flavor.
Single bottle, Total Wine. Very dark brown with a long-lasting, foamy tan head. Good blend of mats and citrus on the nose - slightly more citrus/grass than chocolate. Flavor is the opposite - more chocolate/dried fruit than hops, although still closely balanced. Big hoppy finish. Fairly creamy mouthfeel. Very good example of the style.
Bottle from Lazy Dog. Pours a dark opaque brown with a thick layer of light tan head. Aroma of hops intermingled with roasted malts. Taste almost exactly the same as the nose but the malts taste almost burned and linger.