Thanks to Thomas Christian for giving me this one to try. I've seen it a couple times in the store but I never had enough drive to purchase the entire six pack. Luckily people donate single bottles for me to determine if they are six pack worthy.
Appearance: Yup. Black. No transparency, and actually had quite a thicker pour than I expected. Many of the black beers I've tried were from Australia and they came off as light in taste and consistency but black in color. This one is different. Grayish Brown head, that falls back into the beer quickly. Lacing is noted.
Aroma: Strong roasted grain smell with some nuttiness and even an alcoholic zip at the end. Very effervescent and clean with some smokiness apparent.
Taste: Quite dry upon initial taste, mostly burnt flavoring with a tobacco like appeal. It reveals a roasted malt sweetness in the back of the throat. Bitterness is extremely limited but definitely some Golding hops here. The aftertaste reminds me of a subtly burnt crust of a whole grain toast. Very well balanced leaving much of the flavor to the specialty malts used. Chocolate flavoring begins to develop midway through maintaining a buttery hot-chocolate sweetness
Mouthfeel: Very thick, but the carbonation helps break that up a bit. A partial mid-spike separates the flavors from foretaste to the end taste. Alcohol finishes this beer dry.
Overall Impression: What a surprise, a decent black ale. Other's I've tried weren't so great like Xingu Black beer. Nevertheless this one was a full bodied delectably roasted malt beer, that maintained a complex flavor apart from any fruit malts and focus on what the grains offered.
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