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Hound India Black Ale is a dark, brooding brew, melding together two of our favourite styles. The rich smoothness of a dark beer and the crazy hopping regime of an IPA. In folklore, they say if you stare into the eyes of a hell hound three or more times, it bodes a ghastly fate. Not this hell hound, its rich layers of dark malt and huge hit of lip smacking hop bitterness, and aroma, will seal your fate at first glance.rooding brew, melding together two of our favourite styles. The rich smoothness of a dark beer and the crazy hopping regime of an IPA. In folklore, they say if you stare into the eyes of a hell hound three or more times, it bodes a ghastly fate. Not this hell hound, its rich layers of dark malt and huge hit of lip smacking hop bitterness, and aroma, will seal your fate at first glance.”
This is our first entry for this brewery from North-East Victoria. James Booth (head brewer and chief wine maker) and his team are another addition to the burgeoning brewery/vineyard sect that are becoming quite popular in Australia, joining the likes of Prickly Moses (Otway Estate), Bellarine brewing (Bellarine estate) and Vale brewing (McLaren Vale estate) just to name a few. Served in a tulip glass. The mat black pour arouses a huge three finger tanned head that displays excellent retention. Five minutes after the pour and we’re still seeing a good fingers worth of foam settling in and omitting a thin sheet of lace as it ebbs. Looks good. Woah! where do we start with this aroma? Only just does the sharp citric bitterness hit the olfactory first. As wafts of grapefruit, pine and orange peel come forward, so do rich scents of chocolate, cocoa, coffee and roasted malt. Behind it all is a delicate vanilla-like creaminess/spiciness that provides an extra layer of depth and complexity to this aroma. Solid! there’s a lot to like about this already. In the mouth there’s an acute bitterness that dries up the tongue while the malts add a little weight to the creamy texture. The body is medium-full and the Co2 levels are moderate. The palate is treated to, we can somewhat say, a reversal of the aroma. Decadent chocolate malts, cocoa and coffee are at the forefront as an assertive resinous hop bitterness locks it all in. The bitterness hesitates through the mid, allowing the roasty malts to flow on to the dry, piney finish. Good length here, notes of charred malts and dank resinous hops persist well on to the back end. Wow this brewery hasn’t just hit our radar, it’s flewn right in to it at a rate of knots. What a way to kick off proceedings huh?! We’re already looking forward to the next installment from this brewery.