“A bold Black IPA inspired by the harvest moon. Roasted malt character meets crisp lager smoothness and punchy hop flavour, finishing clean, refreshing and beautifully balanced.” 

Glassware: IPA.

Appearance: Cola-like pour with a big and fluffy three finger head. Excellent retention and oodles of lacing on the glass as it subsides.

Aroma: Super oily citrus and pine, resinous, herbal and a little floral. It’s invoking a cereal that was banned in our household as kids (that didn’t stop us from getting our hands on some though) and that was the sugar-laden froot loops. Namely the yellow lemon-flavoured one but also a hint of the green lime one too. Nice roasted malt foundation…giving off those light roast, coffee and chocolate notes. Decent.

Flavour: It’s all here. The fresh citrusy hops, the roasted malt base. You know there’s a but coming though. Buuut, it’s just all lacking in oomph. There’s no intensity behind it. The hops aren’t really punching through and the roasted malt profile is no where near deep enough for it all to finish on a strong enough note. Only a fleeting moment of bitterness then it all falls off a cliff.

Mouthfeel: Needless to say it’s a bit too thin and slippery for our liking. Mild-medium body. A well hidden 7% ABV though.

Overall: It just doesn’t cut the mustard when compared to some of the other black IPA’s we’ve reviewed recently. The one positive is that we’ve now reviewed 6 beers from these guys and this is the first disappointment. Not a bad ratio tbh.