Beer – #821 – Liberty Brewing – Alpha Obsidian
Liberty Brewing Alpha Obsidian a Specialty IPA, for a beer festival
Consume at your own risk.
A bottle 330ml 7.2% ABV, with 219 calories a serve, thats about 1.9 standard drinks of beer.
Brewed by Liberty Brewing Company in the style that is of Black IPA and that happened in Auckland, New Zealand
This beer is best described on its bottle. “Alpha Obsidian’s menacing hop heritage of Motueka
Zombie Beer?
and Cascade is a corrupted blood line creating a potion of alpha acids that will shrivel your tongue, forcing acrid black tears to run down your face.”
A recent American invention, Black IPAs combine roast and chocolate qualities of dark beer with
modern hops. This has flavours of tropical fruit, dark chocolate, and cocoa. An intense bitterness, complex malt profile and incredible depth of flavour
Consume at your own risk.
So, what could possibly go wrong? I open it and that’s an enormous amount of hop grassiness
Might also have been the only person in the world that gasped as a thick black syrupy beer poured out of the bottle, focus man, focus.
It is however pitch black with a thick creamy coffee head, it is a stand out on its own merits.
Aroma in the glass is grassy hops.
Taste is thick dark bitter dry bitter hoppy bitter full flavoured rich burnt toasted chocolate roasted delight.
This has so much dark roasted flavour, a lot, and it’s a revelation, they’ve said what they’d do and they did it.
The whole is a spectacular bit of drinking, the aroma really does not do justice to the delivery. The mouthfeel is full rich, the taste is layers of chocolate, bitterness, and an oily hop background. The finish is surprisingly polite.
I think it’s almost but not quite love. It is a beer that I don’t want to finish, for when it i gone it is gone, and I’m not one to buy a 6 pack selection to get the one jewel.
The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 10 of its things from the thing. I just can’t not. This is startling, harsh, abrupt and yet drinkable, quaffable and inviting, welcoming and a bit exciting. Delicious sweet smokey and very moorish, a bit of a win really.
It is however gone…..
The double dip review
- Where did I get it? in a GABS2016 six-pack from Liquorland
- Am I enjoying it? This is a hard act to follow
- Would I have another? I would have a dozen if I could
- Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Yes. This is unlike anything I’ve had or remember in an IPA black or otherwise. Just Superb .
Music for this: ” Erasure ” with ” The Innocents” Which I’m playing on a vinyl but you can listen on spotify
The first side very familiar, the second not so much, odd that.
BLACK IPA
An emerging beer style roughly defined as a beer with IPA-level hopping, relatively high alcohol and a distinct toasty dark malt character. Typically lacks the roastiness and body of a strong stout and is hoppier than a strong porter. Expressive dry-hopping is common. Also called India Dark Ale, India Black Ale, Cascadian Dark Ale, Dark IPA, and sometimes India Brown Ale.
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