Thornbridge Valravn
Imperial Black IPA
3.7
179 reviews
Bakewell, England
Community reviews
Bottle at the Ipswich winter bottle share. Source Worldwide Alcohol, Chelmsford. Pours very dark brown with a large off-white head. Aroma of malt, chocolate, grapefruit, blackcurrant and hop. Moderate sweetness, medium plus bitterness. Full bodied, slick texture, average to soft carbonation. Dry, fruity finish.
Bottle 0,33L from Pivoljub beershop, Ljubljana. Deep, dark, ruby brown color with big, frothy, light brown head. Aroma of grapefruit, orange, sweet tropical fruits. Moderate bitter taste at the start with heavy grassy, bitter finish. Real punch of bitterness! Medium to full body, oily texture, soft carbonation, metallic finish. Very aggressive, but I like it!
Found this beer in a tourist area close to Bern Switzerland. This is a very nice Black IPA. Bitter and fruity.
Nice lemongrass imperial black IPA :)))
Robe brune foncée tendance noire, fine mousse beige. Nez très agréable aux effluves grillées (pain toasté, café) et houblonnées (résine fruits tropicaux). En attaque, les notes de pains toasté et de café sont très présentes, puis les notes fruitées viennent équilibrer tout cela, pour finir sur des saveurs franchements grillées avec une légère astringence. Superbe longueur, bel équilibre, amertume prononcée, corps rond, bonne carbo. Superbe bière !
330ml bottle. Hazy, darkest brown colour with small to average, creamy, fairly lasting, moderately lacing, beige head. Piney, resinous, almost a bit sweaty, slightly grassy hoppy and roasty, dark malty aroma, notes of pine needles, cautious hints of dark chocolate. Taste is dry hoppy and bitter, roasty dark malty, piney and minimally chalky, notes of dark chocolate, hints of resin, pine needles; lingering bitter roasty and bitter hoppy finish.
Bottle, 330 ml, from Pivoljub. shared with IHC. Pours dark brown, creamy beige head. Citrus hops, light chocolate, pine, caramel, medium bitterness in finish. Soft texture. Medium bodied.
Bottiglia. Il gusto al naso identifica luppolo, fruttato, floreale e uva spina. L'intensità olfattiva è elevata e la continuità olfattiva è apprezzabile. Il cappello color beige di schiuma compatta, cremosa, aderente, di buona tenuta, persistente e voluminosa si fa ricordare per i merletti. Le bollicine sono fini. La frizzantezza è costituita da bollicine fini. La carbonazione è abbondante e vivace. Il colore è scuro impenetrabile. Il corpo è consistente e strutturato ma duttile. L'amaro è deciso. L'umami è presente. L'intensità gustativa è elevata e la costanza gustativa è buona. Il gusto è piacevole per una birra che ha una sua personalità. Le sensazioni boccali finali sono di pronta beva. Il finale è lungo, pulito e complesso. Il retrogusto è intenso. Il tetto della bocca restituisce sensazioni di caramello, miele, nocciola, frutta secca, pane tostato, pompelmo, pompelmo rosa, marron glacé, vino bianco, sentori agrumati, componente erbacea, anice stellato, note di pompelmo e frutta tropicale.
Not a lot of aroma, taste is overshadowed by the dryness of citrus pith, which leads to a really dull thud dry finish. Looks lovely though, but is ultimately just a bit dry in the mouthfeel and just too sharply bitter.
330ml bottle. Pours red black. Blue cheese, orange, grapefruit, toast, more of that umami blue cheese stuff. Medium body. Really not at all what I want.
330ml bottle. Pours black-brown in colour with a foamy beige head leaving lacing. Aroma of zesty citrus hop. Taste is dark roasted malt, sweetish, caramel, and tangy, with woody pine & spicy citric hoppy earthy bitterness. Medium bodied, soft carbonation, dry roast bitter finish. Nicely drinkable.
33cl bottle from the Thornbridge Brewery taproom, enjoyed in a snifter on 10-Sep-2017. Dark brown, almost black in colour with a medium sized beige head which dissipated quickly. Aroma of chocolate, citrus and roasted malt. Medium body and carbonation. Taste is sweet roasted malt, caramel, cocoa, dark fruit, liquorice and a pinch of coffee. Hoppy with a bittersweet finish. Decent black IPA.
Haven't tries anything from Thornbridge that I haven't liked, and Black IPA is one of my favorite styles. This doesn't disappoint, with some juicy citrus notes, this is full-bodied and well-balanced. 330ml bottle from Cambridge Wine Merchants
Drunk from 33cl bottle bought from Bierhuis in Ossett. Enjoyable dark IPA.
11/VIII/17 - 33cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker) @ home - BB: 15/XI/17 (2017-1204)
Clear purple brown beer, huge creamy beige head, pretty stable, bit adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: pretty soapy, grapefruit, bit dank, citrus, mango, some tropical fruits MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: lots of citrus, bit malty, some caramel, dank, very bitter suddenly, soft roast. Aftertaste: nice bitterness, tropical fruits, some alcohol, sweet touch, caramel, malts, bit sugary, some banana peel.
Near-black red-brown beer, beige head. Light, toasty malt aroma. Tastes of earthy malt, coffee, liquorice. Dry aftertaste. Very good, as expected from the brewer/ style combo. Just a hint too alcohol-y in the aftertaste for me.
Bottle. Aroma has citrus, herbs, grass, hay, nuts. I think I detected some caramelized malts amid lemongrass and citric hops. Pours a pleasing chestnut with ruby lights and a foamy off-white top. Carbonation average to heavy and that affects taste for me causing some qualities to be lost in the billows so to speak. Still the initial sweetness is brief and the languor is mainly bitter. Th taste is smooth with some creamy notes. Overall it confirmed my favorable rating of Thornbridge imperials. Shame you see so limited a range of their beer on draught.
Bottle. Pours very dark brown with small a bit tan head. Aroma and taste have roasted malt, licorice and some fruits. Taste is also nicely bitter, a bit sweet and soft. Surprisingly easy to drink. Great black IPA!
POurs dark brown with a medium quite off-white top, very aromatic. Strong scent of elderflower, some pine and a hint of citrus aroma. Moderately carbonated, with a gentle body-feel and a slight oily finish, evolving through a slight roasted taste to a dry, hoppy finish and fresh aftertaste. This is one hell of a beer!
I think this was a perfect balance between darker beers and ipas. Neither is overpowering and the ipa style dry bitter finish is just right. Nice to drink and soft mouthfeel. Cant find any faults in this one.
Deep brown, a bit hazy, small beige head. Smells nuts, caramel with a big portion of hops, some alcohol. Full body, bitter, very well balanced with hidden chocolaty roasted flavor. Nice long bitter finish.
As you pop the bottle there's a good bit of "smoke" and the beer pours a rich dark brown with a good finger of beige head that lingers a little while.
Nose is smouldering malt, citrus hops and a touch of tropical fruit.
Quite a dense carbonation giving a soft, smooth and slick mouthfeel.
On the palate it's depth of character comes across as firstly a good hit of grapefruit, this then layered with raisins and hints of an earthy liquorice. These continue in a graceful terpsichore stretching the flavours for a pleasant protracted period and the absolutely ages after is a hint of caramel that creeps up and kisses you.
The melding of an IPA with a darker beer style, the depth and character of the texture and flavours along with the 8.8% ABV come together to make this beer experience about as enjoyable as it gets.
Bottle. BB 02 Nov 2017. Brown, beige head. Caramel and roast, some very nice grassy-ish hoppiness. A bit of alcoholic vapours in the nose. Pleasantly soft on the palate, a bit thin mouthfeel, dryish ashy-roasty finish, carbonation almost nonexistent. All in all rather nice!
330ml from the bottle shop at Tuckers Maltings. Shared with djoeye and Finn. Patchy beige head blanketing the glass. Clear brown-dark reddish body. Delicate aroma of dark fruits and caramel malts. Solid taste profile of brown malts, dark fruits, molasses and pine. Semi-dry malt-fruity bitterness to the ending. Smooth and warming on the swallow. Enjoying. (Rating session at Finn’s, Tromsø 18.05.2017).
Look: dark brown with red shades, clean, opaque, not very stable fluffy beige head.
Aroma: fruit peel, spicy herbs (basil, green garlic).
Taste: light sweet with strong herbal bitterness.
Flavour: fresh lemon, herbs, subtle roasted notes, lemongrass, green tea.
Long bitter finish.
Good.
Flaske 330ml fra Tuckers Maltings. Delt med djoeye og Rune på Nerstranda 18 Mai 17. Ultramørkebrun. Filmskum. Spotlacing. Lett fjøsaroma. Smaken sukkertøy. Avslutter tørt & syrlig.
Aroma - intense and rich, with lot of herbal hops, citrus, slightly roasted malt, some tart black berries. Taste - medium bitterness, slightly pungent in the background and aftertaste, green citrus, slightly tart unripe fruits, slowly replaced by slightly roasted malt, some burnt grains and notes of black fruit’s jam. Very good and pleasant.
Aroma; roasted malts, juicy malts, fruitiness, tropics, dark fruit, night in the tropics. Look; fawn head, black body.
Taste; roasted malts, fruity malts, tropical hops, sour fruit, dark fruit – fine lingering semi dry finish. Feel; good body, gentle co2. Overall; nice fruity half-dry sipper. Recommendable.
[33cl.btl abv8.8% # B@Tucker’s Maltings T@hafen&biere Finn’s]
Une robe brune et sa mousse qui laisse une jolie dentelle. Au nez, des parfums frais d’oranges et de conifères. Un malt foncé pour faire le style. Des saveurs d’herbes et d’agrumes avec des nuances de menthe et une avancée céréalière plus complète. Un corps relativement crémeux avec une bulle amoindrie. Une finale chocolatée dans laquelle l’amertume des houblons rencontre celle des malts. Très bien!
Mooi donkerkastanjebruin bier met dikke romige compacte schuimkraag die redelijk snel inzakt tot fijn laagje. Aroma en smaken van drop, zoethoet, licht noterig, kruidig. Goeie volle donkere smaak met goed bittere afdronk. Prima Black ipa.