Left Coast The Wedge - Left Coast Brewing Company

d4114

California

3.53/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

4-27-11

A- Solid black with 2 fingers of creamy tan head with small bubbles.

S- Really roasty only getting malt, no hops. I'm sure this was a old bottle wasn't expecting much on the smell.

T- Bitter and roasty; No common IPA taste except for the bitterness. Strange taste, starts harsh like IPA or imperial stout then smooths out to a lighter porter or dark lagger.

M- Light to medium; Smooth almost watery. Close to a Guiness, not enough carbonation.

O- Even though its not fresh it's not the worst beer I've ever had, it's refreshing for a darker roasty beer and the flavor is still full.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2011 01:07:36 | More by d4114

mactrail

California

3.6/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Dark mahogany color in the Ommegang chalice. A nice foam with each pour. Carbonation lasts quite nicely in the glass. Very nice sudsy mouthfeel with each pour from the bottle.

Tangy and fairly light bodied. A pleasant maltiness followed by the hops. Not too sweet, but plenty of brambly hop flavors. A taste of bitter chocolate with some grainy flavors. That malty sweetness is maybe a little more that the hop fiends would like. It is sort of a DIPA with a little less alcohol and something like rye and a dank hoppiness to confuse you. An interesting quaff with more complexity than a lot of IPA-like brews.

From the 22 oz bottle bought at Royal Liquor in Encinitas.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2013 07:11:50 | More by mactrail

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.74/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

a black pour with 2 fingers of tan head and great lacing. smells of chocolate, roasted grains, and slight grassy hops. more like a stout than an ipa. tastes pretty much the same as the scent. lots of chocolate, tobacco, and coffee. slight grassy hops. creamy and low carbonation with a medium body.
i'd be ok if this weren't called a black ipa. it tasted like a milk stout, delicious but not really a black ipa!

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 05:58:48 | More by facundoCNB

TaylorRB817

California

3.9/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A: Pitch Black. Opaque. Nice dark brown head. Good lacing.

S: Stale coffee. A bit of chocolate. A little hops, but only if you're really looking for it.

T: Follows the nose, but sweeter. Noticeable but not overwhelming hops.

M: Thin with light carbonation. How I like my porters.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2013 01:19:42 | More by TaylorRB817

srandycarter

California

3.95/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Ok, weird beer. Think porter with the hops of an IPA.

A - Near BLACK. I can't get a light through the glass. Tan root beer head, pretty good retention. Frothy lace sticks well. Good lookin.

S - Is it a porter? Is it an IPA? Is it a porter? Is it an IPA? Nice roasted notes battering up against full on citrus hops. My brain is confused but not deterred.

T - More porter than IPA, but just by a hair. Definitely nice dark malt flavors, roasty and all, but summarily squashed by some pretty big gunned hops.

M - Strange but it works. Good carbonation, good balance. A nice creamy texture.

D - A curiosity. Good to try. I don't think I would want more than one a session.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2011 05:00:28 | More by srandycarter

SDDanC

California

3.95/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Very roasty with burnt cocoa in the nose. Pours dark brown almost black, creamy brown head. A lot of sweet chocolate in the nose too. Good amount of chocolate in the taste then hops come out in the back. A little bit of licorice. Good balance. Liquory end. Overall, good

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2011 23:13:36 | More by SDDanC

UCLABrewN84

California

3.99/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Left Coast Brewing Comapny in San Clemente, CA.

Pours an opaque black with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, and citrus zest. Taste is much the same with cocoa and citrus zest flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of roasty and hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty and easy to drink.

Serving type: on-tap

03-05-2013 18:58:57 | More by UCLABrewN84

womencantsail

California

4/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Another tick generously shared by Bobby.

A: The pour is a dark mahogany sort of color with a huge tan head that has excellent retention.

S: A really nice nose to this beer consisting primarily of grapefruit with a nice lemon zest thing going on as well. There's quite a bit of floral hop aroma to it and overall it's quite perfumey. Some roast is there, but not as much as usual for a Black IPA.

T: Not as impressive flavor-wise, but still good. It's very bitter with a lot of pine and bitter grapefruit peel. There's a slight astringency as well as some grass hop notes.

M: The body and carbonation are both medium.

D: I've never been terribly impressed by this brewery, but this was really quite good. I would even drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2011 01:32:26 | More by womencantsail

jdense

Oregon

4.03/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz. bottle scored at Jubilation Wine and Spirits, Albuquerque, NM (!), poured into Delirium Tremens tulip shared with neighborhood beer buddy 2.16.11.

One finger light brown head, medium-slow dissipation with above average lacing over dark brown almost black opaque body, needed to hold up to bright light to see multiple trails of small bubbles rising to surface. Quite a bit of roasted malts in the nose, a faint bit of chocolate, good dose of caramel malts, with some citrus hops subsumed by the significant malt bill. Taste mirrors the nose, much more malty than hoppy but well in balance. Viscous mouthfeel, slick, average effervescence, not sticky. My buddy really liked the roasted malt character of this, though my taste runs more to the hop-centric Barley Brown's Turmoil proflie. In either case quite tasty and pretty drinkable, one of the better CDAs I've had.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2011 15:44:19 | More by jdense

stampfler07

Georgia

4.15/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

A- Pours a very dark brown/black with a creamy two fingers of light brown head that lingers

S- Dark, syrupy malt aromas, caramel, light woody hop

T- Dark roasted malt, moderate pine and woody hop throughout, bitterness builds in the middle and lingers a bit in the finish

M- Moderate carbonation, light-moderate body, smooth mouthfeel, somewhat thinner than I expected but not in a bad way

O- Reminds me of a very hoppy porter, easy drinking, nice roasty and hoppy bitterness combination

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2012 02:50:03 | More by stampfler07

Gobzilla

California

4.22/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bomber shared by torino

A: poured a dark brown in color with maroon highlights that had a thin bubbly head and left a little lacing sticking to the glass.

S: upfront the hops were popping out with citrusy, pine, and sweet malts notes but had roasty character and faint booze.

T: the hops were also pretty much dominating the overall taste but had caramel, chocolate, pine accents and a touch of roastiness with sweetness added from the malts.

M: the brew was light ti medium in body with a moderate amount of carbonation which had a piney, hoppy, sweet, and mild roasty finish.

D: I thought it drank good and was a solid black IPA. Oh.... excuse me, american black ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2011 18:03:40 | More by Gobzilla

imagese

California

4.47/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

No bottle date. Poured into perfect pint glass

A- Dark brown with ruby hues. One finger fluffy tan head that fades to nothing and leaves soapy lacing, but doesn't stick

S- Initial pour is a huge slam of Simcoe. Very piney and earthy. As the beer settles and warms up, a nice roasted chocolate takes over, with a slight smokey smell. Slight citrus hops hide in the back

T- Very different than other black IPA's I've had as the roasty malt and hop bitterness both attack at the same time, but instead of staying muddled, the pine hops pop thru in the middle, and then a citrusy roasted chocolate malt finishes.

M- medium body with carbonation that is very close to being too low, but is enough for the flavors

D- Very easy drinking for style. I could down a few pints easily. The bitterness and roastiness are both balanced enough to keep this beer smooth.

My favorite beer for this style is Stone's Sublimely Self Righteous. This beer has more of a porter maltiness, where SSR has a stout feel.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2011 06:03:34 | More by imagese

ltnzslock

4.7/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - dark brown with 1" medium tan head; nice lacing

S - smells chocolate and coffee with a hint of citrus

T - great tasting black ipa with chocolate and coffee with only a bit of bitterness

M - mouthfeel is lighter than a stout or porter

O - overall this is a great tasting black ipa but if I drank it without knowing I would have thought it was a stout

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2012 23:32:28 | More by ltnzslock

SDtastentune

California

4.83/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Dark dark dirty motor oil, Slight brown. Great head and some lace.

S - Deep citrus hops, and some stout/malts back there.

T - Deep hops, bitter with some nice stout like coco malts back in there somewhere, pretty complex!

M - Great carbonation, kinda more on the larger side of carbonation, nice aftertaste not overbearing but definitely there.

D - Drinks great for a black IPA, this is one unusual but really cool beer, very complex and different but the best of both worlds! Easy drinker for a hop head, but you gotta like stout too! I like this one, will get again!

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2011 04:46:47 | More by SDtastentune