Blackwater - Swamp Head Brewery & Tasting Room

jgagne

Kentucky

4.4/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A-Pitch black, cant get much darker than this beer. Nice large brown head.

S-Smokey wood and coffee.

T-WOW! This beer packs a punch. Great bitterness with roasty, espresso flavors.

M-Sits medium with medium carbonation

O-Swamphead is amazing, they just keep on making some of the best beers around. Once the rest of the country starts to find out about this place, they will become highly demanded. Great work!

Serving type: on-tap

08-05-2011 02:33:14 | More by jgagne

kylehay2004

Florida

4.13/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this one on tap at Tippels Bottle shop

A: dark, very dark, not even that reddish ting of light, half finger head

S: grassy, pine

T: smokey and mildly roasty. Dark fruit, grassy notes. This beer is offset by sugar notes a a tolerable degree of bitterness.

M: mild carbonation, medium bodied and very smooth.

Overall: I think this is one of their best. The flavors though different coalesce to be a both drinkable and complex brew.

Serving type: on-tap

07-31-2011 03:33:38 | More by kylehay2004

One2Remeber

Florida

4.6/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: A caramel, tan head that shows hints of creamy white in the middle signaling it is not a stout, or at least not one that I've seen. Extremely dark body with hints of light brown on the edges while holding up to the light. Carbonation looks spot on, with a quick shake the head retention becomes as thick as desired (common in the heavy molasses tasting brews).

S: A hop head would fall over in his chair after a whiff of this beautiful bouquet of hops jumping out of the glass. Heavy citrus hops with hints of grapefruit telling me I'm really going to enjoy this interpretation of an IPA. A lot more going on in the smell but my amateur nose can not decipher the subtle differences.

T: WOW! There is some major flavor going on with a couple transitions. Starts off soft, mild with a light alcohol presence that quickly goes away and does not come back. Middle of the taste is an explosion of citrusy hops and low acidic fruit that go easy on your pallet. Finishes with hints of chocolate malts that linger without all the bitterness common in stouts. For as much flavor going on, Blackwater is extremely balanced.

M: Way too drinkable. Makes me sad this is a limited release brew. I could really get use to making this my go-to-brew. From the hop profile, to carbonation, to mild malt backbone, this is an extremely impressive Black IPA that will set standards for the relatively new style.

D: I'm glad I moved down to Florida:) Between Swamp Head and Cigar City it seems I have a new favorite every couple months. Blackwater, being an off the wall IPA, far surpasses my expectations and I'm looking forward to trying more of their creations.

Serving type: on-tap

07-15-2011 02:23:27 | More by One2Remeber

nickfl

Florida

4.43/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - The beer pours with one finger of light tan foam, resting on top of an opaque, dark brown body with no light showing through. The foam settles fairly quickly and leaves moderate traces of lacing on the glass.

S - A pungent aroma of pine and citrus hops with notes of grapefruit, pine tar, sweat, and shallots. Dark malt characteristics lurk in the background with brown sugar, caramel, and a hint of coffee.

T - Dark sugary notes of caramel and brown sugar up front. Some more dark caramel and even a bit of molasses in the middle as orange and grapefruit hop flavors join the party. The beer finishes out with an equally matched tug of war between the dark, sugary malt and the bright, citrus and pine hop flavors. Moderate hop bitterness lingers on the palate in the aftertaste with a bit of chocolate and smoke.

M - Medium body, moderate carbonation, and a balanced finish.

D - Another really excellent beer from Swamp Head. I continue to be blown away by the consistently great beers that this little brewery is putting out and this one is a perfect example of just how and why their beer is so successful. This beer has an aggressive, interesting hop profile and a dark malt backbone without becoming over the top of resorting to strange ingredients for shock value. It is well made and well balanced in a way that makes it memorable and at the same time unusually drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

07-12-2011 22:52:58 | More by nickfl

babaracas

Florida

4.33/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

From growler filled on 4/30. Pours a murky dark brown, near black in the glass with two fingers of khaki foam that slowly settles into a thin cap, leaving a couple of rings of delicate lace. Citrus and pine punch to the nose with hints of powdery chocolate, dark brown sugar, slightly oaty. Taste: pulpy grapefruit, pine, leafy, dark brown sugar and milk chocolate in the back. Something about the sweetness (it's not really sweet) makes me think of dried tropical fruits. Medium+ bodied, creamy feel. This is a top notch black IPA that's begging for a bottled release and year-round tap status. 4/4/4.5/4/4.5 (5/13/11).

On-tap: On-tap at the tasting room. Very dark brown with thin tan head. Smell is leafy with sweet citrus and a little toffee. Taste: juicy white grapefruit, leafy, a suggestion of something tropical, dark caramelized sugar. Creamy feel. Spot on for the style with nice fresh citrus flavors. 3.5/3.5/4.5/4/4 (4/9/11).

Serving type: on-tap

04-09-2011 05:46:27 | More by babaracas

Lerxst

Florida

3.53/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Kickbacks, thanks Steve! Its always nice to walk in and have a beer you've never had before, much less one you never knew existed. So when I saw this offering from Swamphead, I had to have one. And away we go...

A-Pours black with no hints of light peeking through. 1/2" khaki colored head has good retention and leaves spotty lace.

S-Citrus and piney hops lead with a slightly sweet caramel malt backbone. Not terribly complex, but pleasant. The nose is understated, though. I more pronounced nose would easily bump this up to a 4, possibly a 4.5

T-A pleasant bitter hoppy bite greets me-citrus and pine with maybe a floral hint. The hops carry all the way through from front to back here, but the middle comes through with hints of roasted malt. The finish has a nice balance of everything and is slightly dry.

M-Just on the light side of medium body with the carb level on the lower side of the spectrum for other beers of this style (which suits me just fine!). Its nice, definitely slightly above average, but I would have liked a more luxurious mouthfeel here.

O-This is a good beer from an up and coming brewery. I can't say its world class, but its definitely worth a try for any BA.

Edit: I noticed the abv info above is just a ? but the board at Kickbacks said the abv was 7%, fyi.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2011 02:12:55 | More by Lerxst

mullenite

Florida

4.35/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours with a black body with red-brown highlights at the edges. A thin tan head caps the beer and leaves very little lacing on the glass.

What this beer lacks in appearance is made up for in every other aspect.

The aroma is chocolate, dark malts (not roasty), and lots of American hops.

The taste follows the nose to a T. The hops are floral and fruity and very bright which matches nicely with the mild, milk chocolate and dark fruit flavors provided by the malts. The bitterness is very smooth and balanced nicely with the flavor of the hops.

Medium bodied beer with a nice mild carbonation that accentuates that body and the chocolate flavors.

Overall I really enjoy this beer, it is right up there with the other Black IPAs that are out there, albeit a bit different as you can actually taste the "black" part of the name.

Serving type: on-tap

03-13-2011 16:18:34 | More by mullenite

Jdmpolk

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The body is black as midnight with an explosive amount of chocolate tan foam.

Aroma nice and hoppy citrusy and grapefruity. In the background is a hint of caramel. As the bee warms hints of pine can be noted.

Taste smooth for a black ipa, there is a nice balance between the tart and bitter hops, and the chocolate roast of the grain. There is almost a nuttiness to it. Caramel makes itself known on the back end, along with a red grape dryness.

M- smooth on entry, like silk. The richness hits next, but quickly transitions to a mouthwatering bitterness.

D- next to anything Swamphead makes with chipotle in it this is in my opinion their best offering to date. Also, an excellent representation if a black ipa

Serving type: on-tap

03-05-2011 03:06:48 | More by Jdmpolk

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Big thanks to G311 for sharing this one. Served in a mini tulip.

Pours a very dark brown color with a nice off-white head and a good bit of lacing on the way down. The nose carries a good dosage of pine and light roast plus faint citrus in the background. Flavor is also roasty with a nice hop component. Light-medium body and good carbonation. Very solid.

Serving type: growler

04-09-2012 23:46:15 | More by Thorpe429

CampusCrew

Florida

4.15/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

appearance: deep dark brown nearly black, nice dark brown head retention

smell: coffee, loaded chocolate, pine citrus

taste: tons of dark raw chocolate, pine/citrus

mouthfeel: medium bodied

drinkability: sorta of a sumblimely clone. love to try side by side. also had on cask.

Serving type: cask

06-22-2011 21:45:27 | More by CampusCrew