Gathering Storm - Howe Sound Inn & Brewing Company

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

4.23/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance. Pours a super deep amber-red with a finger of thick, light orangey-tan head.

Smell. Caramel, chocolate, and piney hops.

Taste. Toasty malts and caramel, milk chocolate and piney, hops with some citrus fruits. Pretty clean finish with a bit of lingering bitterness

Mouthfeel. Medium body with below medium carbonation.

Overall. Quite refreshing. The darker malts add a bit of depth without making it heavy. Pretty refreshing actually.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2012 00:34:42 | More by Rutager

DaftCaskBC

British Columbia (Canada)

4.18/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: 1/2" tan coloured head that left a nice lacing over cloudy root beer coloured liquid.

S: Sweet, caramely, nutty and toasty.

T: Sweet, caramely, nutty and toasty malt with perfumy, floral, grassy and earthy hops.

M: Creamy consistency with a creamy carbonation and a medium viscosity. The finish is average to long lasting.

O: I expected something with heavily toasted malts and bitter pine hops; but this is more on the delicate side of things. Much more drinkable than others of the style. Quite good.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2012 02:36:59 | More by DaftCaskBC

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A unique mix of hops for a unique style...

A: Deep, deep amber with a light tan head, good retention, awesome lace.

S: Very floral, some citrus and pine, quite bready, brown sugar and a light nuttyness.

T: Resiny pine, floral, grapefruit rind, brown sugar, bread, hints of cocoa and roasted nut, bit of burnt toffee, slight herbal character, solid bitterness, alcohol is subtle.

M: Moderate body is extremely smooth, almost creamy.

D/O: With the 'Cascadian' label and after having their Total Eclipse of the Hop, this isn't at all what I expected. It's hoppy, but the old school Mt. Hood & Cascade give it a lot of floral character. It reminds me of Pelican Doryman's Dark Ale, but it's "imperialized"... much more piny resin, with a bit of herbal character from the Nugget. Actually, it's like Troegs Nugget Nectar blended with the Doryman's Dark. Not a palate bruiser, but a drinkable ale that's full of character, with plenty of depth.

Perhaps it's a bit more American Brown than Cascadian, but the brewer has put the 'art' into artisanal.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2012 02:41:07 | More by Derek

IllNate

British Columbia (Canada)

4/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a very sexy amber red with a perfect amount of tan head and great retention. In the nose floral, citrus and pine, sweet malt, bit nutty. Taste follows with citrus, floral and pin hops. Nice malt character though with sweet caramel and nut. Mouthfeel is smooth, bitter, but highly drinkable. Overall a fine beer.

Cascadian is still developing as a style, but essentially it's a dark IPA. Most of the Cascadians I've had are darker and hoppier.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2012 04:45:31 | More by IllNate

canucklehead

British Columbia (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice to see a beer in this style be smooth and refined in its mouthfeel. This is not too roasty and not too hoppy but instead all the elements work together as a whole. The dark malt is there to anchor the beer while the hops elevate it up. Tastes a lot like a hoppy American Brown Ale.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2012 00:51:31 | More by canucklehead

schopenhauerale

British Columbia (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 1L swing-top bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: Dark ruby with a thick tan head; fine retention, prodigious lacing.

S: Floral hops and caramel. Not pungent, but with good presence.

T: Chocolate malts (very stout-like), bitter hops, biscuit finish.

M: Very average - medium body and medium carbonation.

O/D: This is a quality Canadian Black IPA, one of the most competetive in the BC region. Try it if you can find it, but only fresh!

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2012 08:29:16 | More by schopenhauerale

BDTyre

British Columbia (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Almost stout like in appearance. Jet black with a thick, creamy head. The head is almost like whipped cream.

Good, caramel-y and chocolate malt backbone. Nice hop scent - not too powerful, but definitely present.

Good hoppy taste, with a nice dark ale malt profile. Citrus notes, with toffee and milk chocolate hints. Not too hoppy like some Cascadians, and the malts are fairly restrained as well.

Nice mouthfeel, a bit thick. A good dark IPA.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2012 04:31:03 | More by BDTyre

LampertLand

British Columbia (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Howe Sound's "Gathering Storm" Cascadian Dark Ale @ 6.8% , from a 1 L pot stopper bottle
A-pours a dark brown with ruby hues along the glass edge , a foamy medium size tan head with some large spotty lacing the stein
S-fruit , spicey pine hops
T-crisp and clean , not as bitter as I was expecting , very dry finish
MF-nice little twang aftertaste , medium body , medium carbonation
Ov-reminds me of a hoppy brown ale , which is ok , at almost $9 a bottle rates as a maybe try one

cheers LampertLand

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2012 04:44:46 | More by LampertLand

Duke

British Columbia (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

(From a hollow-stemmed goblet)

Appearance: Gathering Storm pours a clear but very dark garnet colour, with a thick, foamy, just-off-white head, which laced my glass beautifully as it subsided.

Smell: I'm getting a burnt caramel scent, perhaps with chocolatey hazelnut, and a good sense of the hops.

Taste: Obviously quite hoppy to the taste. Behind the hops, I'm getting chocolate and malts, and a bit of biscuit.

Mouthfeel: The body of Gathering Storm is medium - maybe on the heavy side, particular by IPA standards - and there's a medium level of carbonation.

Overall: This is a decent beer. Personally, Black IPAs aren't really my go-to beers, but I trust Howe Sound where hops are concerned and Gathering Storm is quite enjoyable. If anything, the hoppy profile dominates the flavour a little bit too much for my liking, but it doesn't destroy the beer by any means. Like I said: decent.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2012 05:42:00 | More by Duke

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

1L swinging pop top poured into pint glass 9/9/12

A dark cola leaning towards brown with a thumbs width of dense mocha foam that slowly falls, my glass get caked with lace this looks great

S coco, cold coffee, dark toffee and a little anise, faint hops with just a little pine and citrus but it could use some more

T slightly more hops then the nose with some rind on top of the nose but still much more dark malts then hops

M medium bodied with a creamy feel from the bubbles, a little grit left behind and slightly sticky on the lips

O decent beer but reminds me more of a hopped porter then a black IPA, the booze is well concealed so that's always nice

perhaps an old bottle with faded hops? 88_3053? not too sure what that means, perhaps I need to consult papat444's fresh beer only web page. decent beer but like mentioned above needs a fair bit more of the green stuff for my ideal black IPA

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2012 02:43:19 | More by wordemupg