Libertine Black Ale - BrewDog

laituegonflable

Australia

4.25/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle gifted to me by @lacqueredmouse. Enjoyed from a pilsener glass on my mother's patio.

Pours a dark mahogany colour, with murky clarity. Head is very generous: fluffy and dense with gorgeous lace, beige in colour. Looks scrumptious, maybe could be a shade darker though.

Smells hoppy, but not a lot. Fair grassy and slight piney, citric edge. Most of it is roasty though with a slight coffee edge, bit of cocoa. Quite a nice mix, would like more aromatic hops though.

Lots of dark malt upfront, plenty of roast, chocolate, and a touch of charry bitterness. Hops play a nice complementary role towards the back; resinous, almost salty, but quite fresh. Really pleasant drinking, not too aggressively hopped but a nice balance.

Little bit dry, with quite a pull from the hops in spite of their mellow flavour. Pleasant texture otherwise.

Really lovely IBA. Superb example of the style, just artistically put together. You've surprised me with this one, BrewDog. There's almost a subtlety here with the amount of finesse used. Love it.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2013 06:46:49 | More by laituegonflable

StJamesGate

New York

4.18/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Chocolate brown with piles of creamy taupe head that sheets.
Fresh orange peel and hops sack nose, with depths of resin.
Fig Newtons, oily coffee, kola nut with resin, pompelo and orange rind.
Slight catty and cocoa finish and ringing piney linger.
Medium, good chew, soft.

Black notes are quite black in this one
While there is plenty of hop oil and IBUs, single Simcoe doesn't shine through in the aroma the way it might in other CDAs.
The rare Black IPA that's black more than IPA without being a porter. And probably the best of those.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 20:17:36 | More by StJamesGate

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

3.96/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A 330ml bottle with a BB of June 2013. Picked up a while back from Trembling Madness in York. Could this be Zeitgeist's bigger brother?

Poured into a Delirium tulip. A very dark reddish-brown hue that appears black in the glass. Yields a decent head of creamy beige foam that hangs around for a few minutes before reducing to a patchy surface layer. Some lacing. Aroma of pine resin, grapefruit and citrus, underpinned by roasted malt, faint coffee and stewed hops. Delicious.

Tastes of dark, roasted malt with a hoppy character and an intense bitter finish. Notes of roasted grain, burnt husks, mild coffee, pine resin, grapefruit, subtle citrus, earthy yeast and stewed hops. Dry, with a strident bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly, with pleasant carbonation and decent body. Pretty astringent, with an aftertaste of bitter stewed hops, pine and dark malt.

A solid black IPA with great aroma and flavour. Plenty of pine and hints of citrus, along with a large dose of dark malt. I've had this for a while so the hops may have faded a little - I suspect the fresh aroma was even more intense. My only minor complaint is that the body could be slightly thicker, but this is trivial. A tasty brew; if you like dark, hoppy beers then seek this one out. Worth sampling.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 02:37:38 | More by jazzyjeff13

mick303

Ontario (Canada)

4.18/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

330 ml bottle with freshness date. Pours jet black, with a nice soft tan brown head. It has a really excellent lacing and some foam retention.

Smell has a nice dark herbal hop bitterness. Grapefruit, graham cracker, pine needles, roast chocolate malt. Dried and spicey fruit notes.

Taste is very herbal, pine needles, some honey hidden behind. An interesting medicinal tea quality and dried grapefruit fruitiness with a lot of earthy spice toward the end. Malt is there but this is very much a hop forward beer. Some roast coffee notes, pepper, earthy spice. Grows really delicious, the hops are aggressive, but there is a balance there and the complexity of intense flavour is quite nice.

Mouthfeel is heavy but slick, with some moderate carbonation. Rich 'inky' almost syrupy bitterness. Ends quite dry, heavily hopped, pine. Has a nice bitter bite toward the end that lingers, but not a very sessionable beer, one to savour.

A really intense, quite bitter black ipa. If thats your thing you'll probably love this beer. Quite herbal and slick, malt roastiness is slight, a lot of intensity here. I quite like it here, strong, rich and dark, but the intricacies and subtle balance really make it work.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2013 19:59:20 | More by mick303

danieelol

Australia

3.43/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Purchased from Slowbeer.

Pours black with good head.

Smell is hops, sugared tomatoes, roast/brown ale malt (nutty).

Taste features more sugared tomato hops, little bit of ye olde roast.

Mouthfeel is decent, roasty, watery.

Decent if not mind-blowing.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2013 13:37:58 | More by danieelol

CrazyDavros

Australia

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Pours very dark brown with a large head.
Nose shows piny, resinous and slightly fruity hops. That’s pretty much it, just a bit of roast as well.
Much more roast as a flavours but also a fair bit of the pine and some of the confectionery-like fruit.
Could use a bit more carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 07:34:05 | More by CrazyDavros

FLima

Brazil

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

Had it on tap at Brewdog. It poured a black color with one finger head with short retention.
Resin hoppy aroma.
Rich taste of toasted malts along with a perfume and resiny hop. Aftertaste is dry and bitter.
7.2% ABV is well hidden; well, there is plenty of room to hide among 65 IBUs and its flavors.
Extreme beer, lots of flavors and lots of hops, making ends meet.

Serving type: on-tap

12-07-2012 18:07:53 | More by FLima

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This poured out as a nice deep brown colored beer with a dejection light brown colored head. The lacing and retention are both pretty good here. The smell is really nice, it's hoppy and sweet smelling. Very impressive nose. The taste is also really nice, hoppy but it's also rich and sweet... It's great in my opinion. The mouthfeel is smooth it's almost creamy. Lightly carbonated and very drinkable. Overall this is one of the best Black IPA's I've had. Very good brew all around. I would love having this again.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2012 01:03:48 | More by Knapp85

Fux

France

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Black with a creamy milk chocolate colored long lasting head.
S: Smell is hoppy (citruses, resin, tropical fruits), along with some milk chocolate, coco and herbal scent. The balance between those aromas is very nice.
T: Taste is straighter than the nose with more roasted malts , some toasted bread, and a grapefruit bitterness on the finish. Quite bitter aftertaste.
M: Soft carbonation, light to medium bodied. Dry on the finish. Quite drinkable.
O: A nice black IPA, balanced, refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2012 22:05:58 | More by Fux

dgilks

Australia

3.8/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Black with a creamy and long lasted tan head. Nice lacing.

Fruity citrus aroma with malt and bits of roast. Good.

Slightly chalky with just a touch of roast. Nice earthy and somewhat citrussy hop flavour. Good.

Medium body with moderate carbonation. Fine.

A decent Black Ale. Nice balance of hop and roasted malts.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2012 04:34:54 | More by dgilks

mdagnew

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

4.28/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

330ml bottle bought from GapWines, Belfast...

Poured a deep black colour with no real light getting through. Light tan head poured big, thick and foamy and faded slowly to good thickish covering... lots of sticky lacing most of the way down the glass...

Aroma - Lots of roasted malts followed by juicy fruits (orange zest, some grapefruit, pears), light chocolate and coffee notes, sweet brown sugar traces, strong piney resin and citrus hopiness, raw nuts - pistachio, some rubberiness, honey, cut wet grass / hay...

Taste - Nice light piney, grassy hop bitterness followed by roasted dark malts, nice sweet caramel malts and notes of floral honey balance out the hops, grapefruit notes, some chocolate hints, quite herbal, some liquorice, light toasted bread...

M&D - Fairly smooth with a little oiliness in the background then some sharpness comes through... full bodied... a very drinkable brew - the 7.2% is well hidden

Overall - An excellent example of a black IPA... recommended

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2012 10:27:36 | More by mdagnew

flyingpig

United Kingdom (Scotland)

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Black with some deep red tinges when held close to the light, and topped with a foamy tan brown head that leaves some lacing.

Subdued hops with a mild malt background character and some back fruits mixed in. There is some pine, mango and tropical fruits as well as the some apricot. It is a very sweet smelling beer and lighter than the colour would suggest.

Medium to strong pine and grapefruit flavours to begin with along with a huge array of fruit flavours including some passion fruit, mango, apricot and orange along with some citrus and some darker fruits in there too. The finish has a little malt to it and some sugar along with some more of the pine/grapefruit taste.

Lively with medium to strong carbonation and a touch spice to it. The beer is smooth and quite bitter towards the end with a wet finish.

This one was a beer that I really enjoyed, very much like an IPA but not quite as bitter and with a good alcohol content that was well hidden but the excellent blend of fruits in both the smell and the taste.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 23:32:07 | More by flyingpig