Game Day Beer Review: 21st Amendment Back in Black American Black Ale

Somehow at 35,000 feet over Texas on a recent flight out to the American west coast it seemed fitting to drink a California beer, so we had previously asked the crack farlieonfootie aviation staff to make certain the corporate jet was stocked full of a brew that would slake the considerable thirst worked up during our 5 hour trip from Florida.....

Which is not exactly how we came to be drinking Back in Black, an American Black Ale produced by San Francisco-based 21st Amendment Brewery. For those of you not hip enough or old enough, the 21st Amendment was the very fine piece of legislation in the United States that repealed the nasty little brutish lapse in American social mores known as Prohibition. 

Back in Black was poured from a 12 ounce can into a plastic cup -- the G5 somehow being found absent of the Riedel crystal beer glasses more typically used (Note to self: remember to ask Correspondent Scott who else was on that last flight he took).  Indeed, however, even in plastic the beer appeared as a darn black (or brown, at the very least) color, topped by a extra thickish mocha-brown colored head -- who knew a plastic cup could retain such considerable lacing?

The scent of sweet malt rose immediately  from the cup, followed by a tiny, bitter-ish hop note. Roast coffee was the flavor we recognized first and foremost, with the taste gradually becoming a bit metallic in the middle before the swallow ended with a large dose of hops. We don't know nor do we care to delve into the subtleties of the somewhat opaque style often referred to as a "Black IPA"  (Is it an IPA?  Don't think so....  Or an American Black Ale?). What we do know, however,  is that this beer wasn't half bad, and that if the flight had lasted much longer we would have been hard pressed to turn down another. B

Game Day Beer Review: Granville Island Brewery Cloak & Dagger Cascadian American Black Ale

(6.25% ABV). Purchased at the Granville Island Brewery and drunk that very same evening at the Sutton Place Hotel in Vancouver, Canada.

 

Cloak and Dagger poured a root beer black color with a toffee colored head filled with bubbles of mixed sizes.  The beer smelled hoppy more than anything else, but there was a certain malt balance evident, as well. Upon a second sniff, we also caught a whiff of chocolate.

 

The dark chocolate and hops were  apparent on the finish of this medium bodied beer; it was fairly well carbonated, too. Nothing to write home about, but we wouldn't turn it away, either. B

Game Day Beer Review: Clown Shoes Hoppy Feet American Black IPA

(7.0% ABV)  Poured from the bottle, Hoppy Feet appears deep brown in the glass, with just a tiny hint of ruby showing in the light, and a fat two fingered toffee-colored head that just won't quit.

Hoppy Feet smells of hops and bready malts, with just a slight whiff of molasses and licorice sweetness noticeable at the edges.

It's a battle between the sweet malt and the drying flavor of the hops, that's won in the end by the lingering bitterness in the floral notes of the hops. Hoppy Feet is fairly full-bodied and has nice carbonation. It's a bit bitter for me, and not as well balanced as I would like to see. I don't think I'd be a regular drinker. B-

Game Day Beer Review: New Holland Brewing Co. Black Hatter American Black Ale

 

(5.5% ABV). From a bottle, the Black Hatter appears Coca Cola black with a shaving-cream-thick head of light brown foam, which leaves behind less lacing than you might expect. The beer is very mild smelling, with the most pronounced smell being malty, roasted hops. Upon first taste, the initial roasted coffee flavor gradually disolves into a hoppy finish. The Black Hatter is decently carbonated, which gives it a lighter than expected mouthfeel.  It feels a bit safe, as if the brewers were trying not to screw this style up.  I'll give it a B.