Widmer Brothers Pitch Black IPA
A pinch of black malt and a splash of roasted barley break this IPA apart from tradition, Cascadian Dark. Join the shady revolution.
3.5
626 reviews
Portland, United States
Community reviews
12oz bottle -
So my local grocery store started carrying this and while the price is really nice, the beer isn’t so great. A below-average showing for the style, it lacks any resemblance of an IPA, instead borders on being a weak dry stout and a bad pale ale. It’s a solid looking beer in my glass though, but it needs a whole lot more of a lot of things to be even considered average.
ASPETTO: marrone scurissimo, in pratica nero, impenetrabile. Schiuma abbastanza fine, scarsa e poco persistente, dal colore marroncino un po’ scuro.
AROMA: biscottato, strano ma interessante aroma di intonaco. Si avverte anche l’erbaceo, ma soprattutto del floreale (gelsomino), soprattutto quando la bevuta va avanti e la bottiglia si "scalda".
GUSTO: appena messa in bocca, ti accorgi subito che scivola molto bene. Chiari sentori biscottati e anche un po’ maltati. Nella seconda parte del sorso emerge il tostato, per poi chiudere con un retrogusto in cui riemerge il biscottato e un amaro interessante, dove puoi avvertire il sapore del luppolo utilizzato, che comunque si sente un po’ durante tutta la bevuta. Se lasciata un po’ fuori dal frigo, si avvertono anche lievi toni liquorosi. La carbonizzazione si sente, ma non è per niente invadente. A volte ritorna quel tono di "intonaco", un tono strano, ma che rende la birra particolare. Non va bevuta appena tolta dal frigo. Birra appagante e molto interessante, che i fa ricordare.
355 ml bottle @ Melkebaren. Dark amber body with a medium sized tan head. Malty aroma with toffee and citric fruit. Nice smooth malt flavor, lots of malt with light coffee, some dry fruit and medium bitterness. Nice balanced body and some more pronounced bitterness in aftertaste. Decent and quite malty BIPA but a bit one dimensional after a while.
"no longer W10 but a 4 pack of pitch black bottled 3/11. citrusy and bitter hops atop some roasty black malt. not overly complex and no mouth watering character to it, but a decent representation of the style."
Bottle shared with Simonsen
Pours fairly dark brown, not even close to being black, with a creamy tanned head. Smell of roast, dust, hints of pine and citrus, but not very dominating hops in here. Moderate sweet, roast and toast, some tar, some light fruity elements like blackcurrant, quite drinkable. Moderate bitter, ash, resins and coffee. Not so revolutionary that the bottle says, but it’s quite ok
355 ml bottle. Black with tan head. Aroma of sweet liquorice, roasted malt, creamy and thick. Taste is mellow, balanced, creamy, thick, medium hoppy and fairly bitter with big roasted notes. Nice
Black color with a fine beige head. Ok lacing down the glass. Looks ok. Ok aroma, but not as I really like my BIPA. Roasted, coffee, mild fruity and mild hoppy. Fine body, and a fine balance between sweetness and bitterness. Soft carbonation. Quite ok flavor, but wish it was more powerful. Roasted, coffee, mild fruity and mild grapefruit hoppy.
[Bottle from a trade with McTapps]
Bottle from Bier-Deluxe.de.Dark chestnut brown color with medium thick beige head. Nice aroma of grapefruit hops with resin and pines. Taste, dark malt followed by nice piney hops. Medium long piney hoppy bitter finish. Tasty beer.
(bottle - 12 oz) Dark brown pour with a frothy tan head. Roasted malt aroma with some light hops underneath. Bitter hops at the start of the flavor with a roasted coffee middle and a bitter hop aftertaste. Mediocre.
Aroma of roasted malts, chocolate, toffee, some fruits, some coffee, hops. Flavour is malty, roasty and light hoppy, with a moderate to medium bitter and roasty finish. Body is medium, not quite full. Nice Black IPA.
Bottle. Black body, with a small, creamy, light tan head. Aroma of chocolate, roast, citrus, berries. Tastes of chocolate, wood, coffee, citrus, orange, some dark fruits. Mouthfeel is medium, oily, with a moderate carbonation and it finishes bitter, roasty, with chocolate, coffee and citrus. Nice one. Nothing special, but well balanced, quaffable, with nice dark malt and citric notes.
Slightly hazy, dark brown. Frothy, light tan head. Fruity, hoppy aroma. Mellow, hoppy flavour. Chocolate. Not bad at all.
Bottle, as part of the 924 series. Pours slightly hazy dark ruby / brown with airy greyish head. Clear aroma of hops and citrus, with some estery notes. Bitter, inte se, hoppy falvour, with citric notes and touches of roast and yeast. Creamy mouthfeel. Bitter and rough but not aggressive afteraste. Not bad!
Transfer from BA review on 9-6-12-
Served on tap in a pint glass
Appearance – Served a deep drown beer with a one-half finger white head. The head had great retention, but eventually faded to give decent lacing..
Smell – The aroma is heaviest of hop. A nice dose of citrus and pine are mixed with aromas of roasted malt and a light chocolate smell.
Taste – The taste begins with a nice blend of roast and hop. A chocolate and roasted malt flavor mixed with some citrus and pine notes. As the flavor advances to the middle the roasted flavors get stronger while the hop remains the same. At the same time a light char flavor comes to the tongue as well, complementing the roasted flavors well. The roast and char flavors, at the end, begin to lose ground to some sweeter flavors as well as more hop. Some semi-sweet coffee and citrus grapefruit hop flavor combine with the rest to nicely round out the taste.
Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the medium side with the carbonation the same.
Overall – A pretty decent dark IPA. It has a good hop and roast flavors. While not the best out there, as it’s transitions and complementation of the roast, sweet and hop flavors are not always smooth, it does have decent individual flavors..
Limpido color cola con spumoso cappello di schiuma beige. Aroma e gusto nocciolati, fruttati, tostati e luppolati; sentori dolciastri alternati a note di zucchero e malto abbrustolito. Corpo medio, effervescenza gentile, finale un po’ appiccicoso. Discreta.
Bottle courtesy of Tino. Cheers pal. Pours Broon with a Tan head. Roasted malt backed up by citrus and pine. Dry and bitter to finish. Very nice. I’m still not 100% sold on BIPA as a style though...
A colablack beer with a medium and beige head. The aroma is roasted, wet wood, some fruits. Taste has roastiness, coffee, wood, only hint of herbal hops. Simple. Medium bodied, nice and smooth to drink. The bitterness is disappered somewhere or then this should be like this. Roasted elements are dominating.
Bottled. Deep rubyish black colour with a small beigeish brown head. Aroma is fruity, floral, mild toasted and coffeeish notes to it. Flavour is very similar, but with the fruitiness being the most evident note. Pleasant and quite tasty black IPA for once.
Flaske medbrakt av esp0r. Svart farge, som navnet tilsier. Beige skumtopp. Medium karbonert. Smaker kaffe,karamell, mørkbrent malt, furunål og noter av mørke bær. Ganske god, men flasken er desverre snart ett år gammel og har nok mistet mye aroma
Almost pitch black as the name says.
Aroma of fruity hops, roasted malts, coffee.
Flavor is also roasted with very little hop notes.
330ml bottle. Dark amberish brown color with small lasting head. Aroma is chocolate and some hops. Flavor is chocolate with hints of hops. Good balanced beer.
sample from a bottle at braukunst live 2014. close to black with a bit of a reddish tinge; aroma of caramel and citrus; hints of salted caramel flavour blending well with some grapefruit tang
Black pour. Light tan head. Little bit of lacing. Nice aroma of oranges. Taste is sweet orange and a slight bitter peel. Little bitterness in the back.
Molto caffettosa, direi soprattutto nel finale decisamente tra il tostato e l’amaro pungente, non male. Parte ipa un pò sottotono.
Bottle. Dark brown body (not "pitch black" or even just black), medium head. Aroma has coffee roast and fruity hops. Sweet hoppy taste with a light and smooth roast. ABV is totally covered. A simple but good beer.
Very dark brown colour, big beige hear. Aroma of roasted barley, hops, a bit metalic. Taste is lifht sweet and just bit bitter. Light to medium body, oily texture, soft to average carbonation. I was expecting more
Had high hopes in but it ended in a slight disappointment. Only a few moments of hops combined with a bit of coffee and quite no taste in the end. Just another average brew.
Pours out of the bottle in a deep black colour with low unsteady head and medium body. Aroma of fresh hops and roasted spruce / pine. Taste of hops, malt, torf, coffee, spices and spruce. Quite thin-bodied and with a thin character. Expected more.
On bottle from Beermerchant. Pitch black color, good foam. Hops, roasted aromas, coffee, licorice, malt: good aroma intensity. Good bitterness, ok balance. Very enjoyable
Bottle. Black color with a huge foamy beige head. Aroma of floral hops, roasted malt and lemon. Sweet and bitter taste. A bit sticky feel. Sugary finish.
-- rated with beerbasher/winphone