origin: POLAND
ABV: 7.0%
location: In the house
served: 330ml bottle to glass
So anyway, beer. This one's a 'Black IPA', which begs the question: if an India Pale Ale is black is is still a Pale Ale?
But this blog is less about existential philosophy and more about drinking, so you'll have to work that out yourself.
Meanwhile, this Blackcyl Special Edition manages to be two things at once - a hoppy, citrusy pale ale, and a dark, roasted strong ale. It's got the looks of a porter, but the aroma is completely removed from that, at at least at first. There's dark, roasted malt aroma hiding behind the initial pine resin. The flavour follows suit, with a mix of dark malts and bitter hops that push past the roastiness.
Smell: surprising hop aroma, with malty undertones 4/4
Colour: black, so job done there. Nice, off-white head. 4/4
Taste: bags of flavour, but good balance between the bitter hops and the roasted malts. Understated alcohol flavour and plenty of aftertaste, very moreish. 3/4
Overall: surprising and brilliant. At a time when the craft brew scene seems to be obsessed with something new and different purely in order to be new and different, Trzech Kumpli have brewed something different because it tastes good. That's to be applauded. 11/12
