Black Cat - Moorhouse's Brewery (Burnley) Ltd

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

The aroma is the best thing about the bottle I sampled. It has a chocolate/winey aroma. The flavor is chocolate/treacle and the finish is dry and bitter. The body is fairly thin, probably due to the low alcohol content. I expected more flavor in the beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2003 02:11:24 | More by GCBrewingCo

falloutsnow

Illinois

4.06/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From: Binny's, Bloomingdale, IL
Date: "BC L0279 13:46" on label
Glass: US pint glass

Moorhouse's Black Cat Ale is an excellent dark mild, with accents and nuances of roasted and caramelized malts in the all the right proportions. The drinker is treated to chocolate, coffee, caramel, and toasted nut flavors, alongside some more nuanced toasted bread and mulch/earth flavors. To add to the pleasure, the beer isn't designed to wipe the floor with your liver. Wish this was available in six-packs at an easy-to-afford price.

Pours a 0.5cm tall head of light brown foam, made up of small and medium-sized bubbles, fairly well clustered, creating a fairly packed, though still fluffy-looking head. Retention is a bit above average at about one-and-a-half minutes, receding to a thin, lacy cap atop the body of the beer. Lacing is good: thick, single strands cling to the sides of the glass and are renewed with each sip. The body is a very dark brown-amber color, with light bringing out garnet-orange hues. Carbonation is not visible from within or alongside the opaque body.

Aroma of roasted malt with a bit of chocolate and coffee-with-cream edge, mild tobacco, and hints of vanilla. Could be a bit more pungent and benefit, perhaps this could be acquired with a bit more carbonation.

A very nicely balanced flavor portfolio, with characters of roasted malt, caramel, toasted nuts, and coffee-with-cream being most notable. Front of palate finds caramel malt sweetness tempered with moderate roasted malt/char, chocolate, and coffee-with-alot-of-cream-in-it flavors. Mid-palate is of moderate roasted malt/char, chocolate, caramel, toasted hazelnuts, and roasted coffee bean-like flavors. Back of palate notes mild roasted malt, chocolate, and caramel sweetness with a subtle mulch-like ("earthy") presence from the Fuggles. Aftertaste of modest roasted malt/char, chocolate, caramel, a bit of nuttiness, and lingering mild acridity from the malt and, perhaps, Fuggles hops.

Beer is medium to medium-light in body, with fairly low levels of carbonation. The result is a smooth, flowing mouthfeel with just enough carbonation to avoid being stagnant. Closes fairly dry, with small amounts of lingering stickiness on the palate.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 01:45:16 | More by falloutsnow

BAsbill

California

4/5  rDev +4.4%

04-30-2013 03:02:38 | More by BAsbill

dcbeers

District of Columbia

4.25/5  rDev +11%

04-06-2013 00:32:02 | More by dcbeers

bigred89

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +11%

03-07-2013 09:52:54 | More by bigred89

prisoner1572

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -15.1%

02-04-2013 20:47:57 | More by prisoner1572

matjack85

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

01-31-2013 21:42:20 | More by matjack85

cliff1066

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

12-09-2012 20:08:47 | More by cliff1066

SmashPants

Australia

3.15/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle: cool big brown bottle, funky label with a cute black cat :)

Appearance: nice and dark with ruby tint, head stays well for a low ABV beer.

Aroma: appropriately mild aroma of roasted grains, vanilla, and molasses.

Taste: sweetish, bready malt flavour with hints of black malt bitterness and notes of chocolate. Far too mild.

Aftertaste: doesn't carry through very well either. Not a brilliant beer.

Mouth feel: moderate weight to the body, very low carbonation. Doesn't carry the flavour as there isn't much to start with.

Overall: a well put together beer, but far too mild in flavour for me.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2012 10:09:21 | More by SmashPants

t0rin0

California

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

11-22-2012 03:42:06 | More by t0rin0

sneaks2210

New York

3.5/5  rDev -8.6%

11-17-2012 16:43:44 | More by sneaks2210

flyingpig

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.35/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Dark brown colour that borders on black and has a light, tan coloured head about half an inch tall that reduces to about half a centimetre tall after a couple of moments.

Caramel and some toffee on the nose along with some earthy hops and a touch of roasted malts. There is some chocolate and a light spice aroma that is quite well-balanced.

Roasted malt flavour to begin, along with some earthy hops and toffee. There is a bit of caramel from the nose as well as some chocolate and light, fruity flavours. This is all quite subdued and slightly sweet.

Very smooth and quite light with an as expected, quite mild feel to it. The palate is almost creamy and overall it is a pleasant one.

A low alcohol content but is quite flavourful and pretty well-balanced. There is a nice earthy base and a pleasant feel with some nice caramel and fruit flavours throughout.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 15:51:21 | More by flyingpig

Viceroy

United Kingdom (England)

4/5  rDev +4.4%

10-25-2012 19:56:36 | More by Viceroy

jgammoniv

Maine

4.25/5  rDev +11%

10-17-2012 15:43:47 | More by jgammoniv

bzach

Indiana

3.5/5  rDev -8.6%

10-16-2012 03:55:03 | More by bzach

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.83/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served in a bottle at The Diamond in Brooklyn, NY

A: Pours a clear very dark amber bordering on brown in color with some garnet red highlights when held up to the light. The beer has a thin sudsy white head that reduces to a small patch of very thin film and a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light aroma of dark roasted malts with just a hint of chocolate and dark fruit.

T: Light to moderate amounts of dark roasted malts with notes of bittersweet chocolate and dark fruit. Very light amount of bitterness.

M: Light to medium bodied with light to moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly thin.

O: Easy to drink and very sessionable considering the lightness of body and low ABV. I enjoyed this one and would recommend it to others as a good example of the style. Good complexity/depth to the flavor and the smell.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 13:40:33 | More by dbrauneis

metter98

New York

3.93/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle at The Diamond, Brooklyn, NY

A: The beer is clear very dark red in color and has some yeast particles visible floating near the bottom of the glass. It poured with delicate off-white lacing on the surface and a thin ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of dark fruits and chocolate in the nose.
T: Like the smell, the taste has flavors of dark malts along with hints of chocolate and dark fruits.
M: It feels light-bodied and a bit thin on the palate with a low to moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is very easy to drink given its light body and low alcohol content but is surprisingly very flavorful, just like other beers in the style.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2012 00:34:55 | More by metter98

OtherShoe2

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours dark brown with a cream colored bubbly head. No true lace.

Nice roasted malt with a cocoa note. Some nut aromas as well.

Smooth chocolate roasted malt with a nice nutty lingering aftertaste. Light bitterness intermingles with the lightly sweet brew. Wonderful flavors here.

Thinner than expected, but this makes this very drinkable. Good moderate carbonation keeps this from being too sharp because of the light body.

Overall, loved this. Will buy many bottles of this.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 01:56:00 | More by OtherShoe2

LJWalker

Alabama

4/5  rDev +4.4%

05-30-2012 03:13:16 | More by LJWalker

DavoleBomb

Ohio

3.73/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a snifter.

4.0 A: Black color. Two fingers of frothy light tan head. Retention is a bit below average, but plenty of lacing is left.

4.0 S: Pleasantly roasty with minor notes of chocolate and caramel. Earthy overall with a slight mineral note. Super clean. I know it can be difficult to impress with a beer at this paltry an ABV, but this comes close. Very well put together.

3.5 T: The taste is good, but it's more of what you'd expect from a session beer. Moderate roastiness with light everything else. Touches of chocolate, caramel, and graininess. Lightly minerally and earthy overall. Low bitterness. Great balance.

3.5 M: Lighter medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Crisp, but not very creamy. Fine here.

4.0 D: Tasty, easy to drink beer. Great session beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2012 01:55:42 | More by DavoleBomb

ckollias

Maryland

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed this bottle out of a large snifter glass.

A: Pours a dark black with a thick off-white head that quickly dissipates and leaves a wispy lace.

S: Licorice, roasted malt, chocolate, and coffee aroma

T: Similar to the smell smooth chocolate and coffee dominate the flavor upfront followed by hints of licorice and roasted malts.

M: Medium body and medium carbonation.

O: I really enjoyed this beer. Not much alcohol but very tasty.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2012 01:57:00 | More by ckollias

pin

Australia

3.5/5  rDev -8.6%

04-24-2012 03:40:35 | More by pin

smakawhat

Maryland

4.23/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a nonic pint glass.

A real nice tan and light head, some big soapy bubbles but also holds real well with a nice cap and retention. Body is a classic dark walnut brown to nearly black lots of red on the edges too, quite nice looking.

Great ripping chocolate malt, and milk chocolate sense. A little bit of fruit like berry perhaps too. Quite pleasant.

For a mild this is quite impressive. Extremely light bodied palate but filled with lots roasting finish. Charring malt and roasted black coffee. Mid palate fills with a fruity character getting some sort of raspberry on this, even a hint of tartness. Roast lingers dramatically in the finish, maybe even some rich bittering hop in here also, with an almost tinging carbonation on the tongue afterwards.

Overall quite impressed with this one and at such a low ABV I could just drink these all friggin day. Meow!

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 01:04:23 | More by smakawhat

CwrwAmByth

United Kingdom (Wales)

4.4/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a dark brown/black colour with a small off white head and awesome lacing.

Smells malty and burnt, very dark.

Tastes oh-so-good. Everything I love about mild, easily drinkable and refreshing, yet dark and burnt.

Overall a very good beer, I could drink gallons of it.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 19:50:42 | More by CwrwAmByth

OldTime

Georgia

3.5/5  rDev -8.6%

03-16-2012 20:22:59 | More by OldTime