Black Top
The color is black, but not midnight black, with some ruby highlights and a tan head. Aroma is of orange and grapefruit citrusy hops with some piney notes, detectable malt backbone of burnt sugar, less like burnt mashmellow than dark candy sugars like in toffe or caramel. Flavor is all hops up front, again quite citrusy, mostly of grapefruit, but with a pine resin punch to the sharp but not astringent bitterness. Roasted malts provide show up after that, not roasty as one would find in a stout, but just enough to add a leathery flavor and texture to the malt profile. Some residual sweetness is there and welcome to help with the huge hop load, but overall this beer is a tad on the dry side of the spectrum. A few grassy notes from the hops in the finish as well. Overall? Yum. For a brewery that shies away from hops for hops sake, they can sure hit the nail on the head when they want the hops to shine. Great malt profile on this one too. Just enough to keep the hops in check.