Libertine Black Ale - BrewDog

danieelol

Australia

3.43/5  rDev -15.9%
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

Hultkrantz

Sweden

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%

06-16-2013 09:30:39 | More by Hultkrantz

supermeniscus

Netherlands

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

06-07-2013 21:24:06 | More by supermeniscus

innominat

Ireland

4/5  rDev -2%

06-07-2013 14:08:25 | More by innominat

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

4.21/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Coming in a slim 330ml brown bottle, not bottle-conditioned; BB 01/02/2014, served cool in a Tripel Karmeliet’s branded tulip-shaped sniffer.

A: pours a pitch black colour topped with a creamy, dark beige frothy head retreating to a thin sheet to last.
S: keeping my eyes closed, the nose initially is in fact very much like an over-charged hop bomb such as American IPA or Double IPA, but a very subtle edge of caramel, roastiness and sweet nuts would lead my imagination away for a bit; given a very good swirl, the pronounced grapefruity-citric, white grapey and gooseberry-ish notes arise on top of other hop and malt elements. All are integrated very well in one. Very enjoyable, and quite… clean.
T: soothing and mildly-carbonated on the palate, the initial swallow is… surprisingly light and fruity, backed by a light-bodied maltiness as of mixture of roast malts, caramel malts, and other paler counterparts, without the really oily, burned, and coffee-ish thickness from the black malts. It quietly settles on a chewy, dry and bitter finish where the palate could still feel the lingering joy from the tannic citrus peels, roast nuts and random notes of forest berries.
M&O: softly refreshing on the palate, medium-bodied, at the same time very smooth, this Black IPA or “Twenty First Century Black Ale” has delivered a fairly satisfying result overall. The alc. content is also well hidden, increasing the drinkability by a very good margin. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2013 20:44:05 | More by wl0307

tzolandz

Virginia

4/5  rDev -2%

05-29-2013 00:43:40 | More by tzolandz

MrHyde1886

Italy

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%

05-27-2013 05:42:17 | More by MrHyde1886

BogBoyJD

Ireland

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

05-26-2013 20:57:43 | More by BogBoyJD

laituegonflable

Australia

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%
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 +2.5%
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

Satyr179

Sweden

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

03-29-2013 19:01:57 | More by Satyr179

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

3.96/5  rDev -2.9%
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

saeh

France

4/5  rDev -2%

03-16-2013 18:14:40 | More by saeh

NightINgale

Quebec (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

03-16-2013 05:28:38 | More by NightINgale

mick303

Ontario (Canada)

4.18/5  rDev +2.5%
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

brbrocc

New York

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%

03-10-2013 15:19:49 | More by brbrocc

Ciocanelu

Romania

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

02-25-2013 20:47:02 | More by Ciocanelu

Beerstorian

District of Columbia

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

02-16-2013 03:18:36 | More by Beerstorian

YamagamiTravis

Saskatchewan (Canada)

4/5  rDev -2%

02-14-2013 02:06:12 | More by YamagamiTravis

mitlinks

Switzerland

4/5  rDev -2%

02-13-2013 19:05:04 | More by mitlinks

Florya

Norway

4/5  rDev -2%

02-07-2013 18:53:45 | More by Florya

CrazyDavros

Australia

4/5  rDev -2%
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

gnikola

Serbia

4/5  rDev -2%

01-27-2013 17:34:32 | More by gnikola

Mattias

Sweden

3.5/5  rDev -14.2%

01-26-2013 21:58:39 | More by Mattias

adamcthomp

Spain

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%

01-09-2013 14:33:43 | More by adamcthomp