James Black Ale - Hill Farmstead Brewery

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

4.68/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Growler: Poured a clear deep black color ale with a large dirty brown foamy head with good retention and some good lacing. Aroma of piney hops is incredibly intense with great floral qualities. Taste is a mix between roasted malt notes with light bitter and dry notes submerged by a huge amount of piney hops with some citrus notes. Body is average with good carbonation. This a great demonstration on how dry-hopping should be done to limit the bitterness of hops but ensure floral piney notes are prevalent.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2012 17:03:33 | More by Phyl21ca

jaasen64

Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750ml growler filled at the brewery on Saturday (2 days ago). Poured into a HF stemmed glassware. Split bottle 2-ways. Also had it on tap at Prohibition Pig while I was in VT.

A- Pours a completely opaque dark black with about a two finger thick creamy yeasty brownish head that has decent retention, but slowly fades away to leave lots of spotty lacing. Nice carbonation.

S- Piney citrus hops, notes of pine, grapefruit, some light lemon, baker's chocolate, subtle spices, definitely slightly above average aroma strength.

T- Piney hops with a light grapefruit flavor and a not too overpowering pine presence, finishes with a nice baker's chocolate with a bitterness from the hops which is at the perfect level (not too bitter, but definitely present). Awesome balance between all the flavors.

M- Medium bodied, decent carbonation, easy drinking, abv very well hidden, fairly smooth.

O- I'm beginning to think HF can do almost any style of beer almost perfectly. This is definitely one of the better black IPAs I've had. Nicely balanced between all of the flavors that a black IPA should have. I could easily knock back a few glasses of these. I definitely recommend trying it.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2012 22:30:15 | More by jaasen64

oline73

Maryland

4.24/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a growler into a snifter.

Pours a dark brown color with a layer of off white head. The nose is full of citrus peel hops. There is just a touch of roast. The flavor has a nice balance to it. Just a touch of roast with a nice citrus peel hop note. The finish is bitter but smooth. The finish is quite dry.

Serving type: growler

03-28-2013 01:05:36 | More by oline73

Alieniloquium

Florida

4.06/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 mL growler poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Big khaki head. Eternal retention. Great lacing. Very nice looking beer.

Smell - Really citrusy. Some of the roast comes through, but it's mostly citrus hop.

Taste - Bright citrus hop and roasted malt blended with the hops. Grapefruit hops. Roast is very strong, but the hops never let up. Lends a nice complexity. Slight bitter finish.

Mouthfeel - Medium body. Very carbonated.

Overall - Excellent. Love how hoppy it is. Really impressive.

Serving type: growler

03-12-2013 03:32:22 | More by Alieniloquium

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.11/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured out as a rich looking deep brown color what essentially looks black in the glass. There is a very nice creamy tan head on top that leaves a great lacing and a pretty strong retention also. The smell of the beer has a really nice balance of roasted malts and aromatic hops. Very nicely done. The taste of the beer is also quite good, the malts again balance out flawlessly with the hops being used in this one. Chocolate roasted flavors with the subtle bite of pine in the finish. The mouthfeel of the beer is pretty smooth, it's medium bodied with a healthy carbonation. Overall this beer is very good, Can't find much to really complain about here.

Serving type: growler

03-07-2013 15:36:16 | More by Knapp85

merc7186

New York

3.64/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Growler into snifter.

A: Black Hue, Passes Almost No Light, Brown Hue, Some Lacing

S: Dark Malts, Mild Chocolate, Mild Coffee

T: Dark Malts, Mild Chocolate, Mild Floral

M: Decent Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Mildly Bitter

Overall, kind of a boring beer from a supposed great brewer. Was this a tap filler? I just don't get the whole Black IPA with weak hop notes.

Serving type: growler

03-06-2013 04:10:25 | More by merc7186

Jwale73

Rhode Island

3.99/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Served in a Hill Farmstead tulip at the Blackback. Pours an inky black with a half-inch light tan froth embedded with tiny ringlets. Delicate spots and sheets of lacing are revealed during the tasting. Nose is reminiscent of french roast coffee with some earthy bitterness also present in the mix. Taste follows nose; however, the flavor profile comes off a bit thin and watery. Mouthfeel is light-medium with an even carbonation, but it comes off a little on the thin side. Overall, a solid example of the style, but not as robust as it could be in my opinion.

Serving type: on-tap

03-05-2013 00:52:20 | More by Jwale73

Willytee3

New York

4.64/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had on tap at the Blackback in Waterbury, VT, poured into Hill Farmstead stemware.

Pours a dark chocolate black with rich cappuccino color head. Incredible lacing clings up and down the side of the glass for the entire drink!

Smells of apple pie and light spice, the strange richness of kiwi fruit comes to mind. A nice variety of lightly roasted malts complements well the hop esters.

Tastes of mild bittersweet chocolate, light and complex roasty malts with a pine hop character. I would say the middle is made up of a kind of tropical fruit but on the darker side, the hops and malts blend well in a complementary way. The pine hops contribute to an overall bitterness throughout the drink and brighten a bit on the finish.

Feel is medium body, on the lighter side and ultimately quafable, this one goes down easy.

I was pleasantly surprised, this is truly an IPA character with a mellowing light black maltiness.

Hope this one makes sense cause it was a pleasant surprise to drink an delicious IPA without all that hop bitterness. And I do appreciate the hop side of an IPA.

Incredibly well balanced and very drinkable, I would definitely recommend trying this one.

Serving type: on-tap

02-26-2013 05:13:22 | More by Willytee3

stephenjmoore

Maryland

4.53/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

A- Very dark brown body with a bubbly tan head. Tons of lacing, head stays around and leaves some bubbles after a while.

S- Huge herbal hop aroma along with somewhat of of a floral hop aroma. Hops come through in a big way with a smooth, roasty malt aroma in the back.

T- Lots of herbal hops balanced out by roasted malts. Some piney, earthy hops come through towards the end. Very interesting hop variety that changes the notes that come through.

M- Medium bodied, medium carbonation, smooth and drinkable with a big hops that wear out the palate.

O- Great beer. The mix of hops is unique and the smooth roasted malt makes for a great balance.

Serving type: growler

02-16-2013 22:28:56 | More by stephenjmoore

Pinknuggets

Vermont

4.2/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

750 to HFS sniffer

A: Very dark but more brown then black and mostly opaque if the head was not light and fluffy tan colors then this thing could pass for a stout to the untrained eye but it does retain some IPA characters.

S:Dark malt smells mix with distinctively pine/resin line hop smells I am always thrown off by black ipas but this seems to have a nice balance though neither is too powerful of a smell and there is also a hint of alcohol.

T: A lot of fresh hops upfront similar to other HFS ipas and pretty powerful for a black ipa as they are resinous. though that said there is a presence of malt sweetness and a bit of smoked flavor in the aftertaste so there is some balance with the darkness but not perfect.

M: There is a oily resinous feel that clearly comes from the hops it is sticky but not overwhelming. There is a thick heavy body but it is very drinkable and the alcohol is completely hidden

O: I like this beer but it doesn't live up to most of the other hill farmstead beers as I feel like its too hoppy for a black ipa but maybe thats my taste. Its worth a try but would not be a go to for me as someone who gets to try a lot of HFS.

Serving type: growler

10-17-2012 04:02:56 | More by Pinknuggets

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First had: on tap at Hill Farmstead

Dark brown-black pour, looked to lack most haze, but was still nearly opaque; a small beige head sank to a small ringlet leaving streaks of lacing on the glass. Piney hops dominant in the nose, mixed with some chocolaty malts, touches of citrus zest. Pretty typical of the style. Similar taste, plenty of hops, mostly pine, some citrus, roasted dark malts, cocoa, toasted grains. Medium body, decent balance. It's hard to get too much variety with this style, but that doesn't mean there aren't good ones and bad ones. This one was pretty good. It is HF after all.

Serving type: on-tap

10-13-2012 20:10:02 | More by Rifugium

MDDMD

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A-dark brown/black color with a decent tan head and some lacing

S-roasted malt, citrus, pine

T-dark roasted malt, citrus, pine, hints of sweetness and some bitterness in the finish

F-medium body with moderate carbonation, smooth

O-a good black ale but lacked a little depth in the flavor

Serving type: on-tap

09-15-2012 16:26:52 | More by MDDMD

Bendurgin

Maine

3.88/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass. This one pours black with a dark khaki head about an inch tall. Nice thick sticky lace.

Lots of piney hops hit the aroma right away with some citrus in the background. Hints of cocoa and nice roasted malts in the background. Real nice balance here. The pallet is a bit more bitter than the aroma indicates. Piney hops with a bit of a citrus background. A little less of a roasted character in the background.

The body is medium with good carbonation. Overall this one is pretty enjoyable. A good one to grab when it's around.

Serving type: growler

09-10-2012 02:40:00 | More by Bendurgin

andrewinski1

Maine

4/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Bendurgin for sharing. There is a large mocha colored head atop a pitch black body. There is minimal lacing.

The aroma has a nice resiny hop aroma. There is nice earthiness.

The taste is bitter and emphasizes the dank hops with a slight touch of chocolate malt sweetness. The start is mellow, but the finish is bitter.

This is medium bodied with smooth carbonation. I like this one a lot, but it's hard to emphasize the hops in a black ale. This one falls a little short of greatness. It is still a great drink, and goes down quickly.

Serving type: growler

09-10-2012 02:37:28 | More by andrewinski1

Bierman9

New Hampshire

4.33/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

My nightcap at The Reservoir on 02SEP12. Got a 10+ oz snifter for $6.50.

Poured a verry dark, near-opaque brown. Topping was a thin, rim job of light tan foam, with a touch of lace. Nose was a combo of rindy, resiny, toasty notes, which was inviting. A solid, medium body and a smooth feel helped things along.

Had some roasty coffee and chocolate at the start. Soon after came some rindy citrus, with bitter, piney, pithy characteristics. Quite flavorful; a solid BIPA! Zum Wohl!

4.33/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

1498

Serving type: on-tap

09-08-2012 19:02:50 | More by Bierman9

smakawhat

Maryland

4.13/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured on tap into a solo clear plastic cup, at the Celebrate Vermont Fair outside Stowe VT.

Black walnut brown body, no head given, barely a tan collar, with some light rising carbonation. Kind of boring and ordinary, but sometimes you get what you are given.

Great hop and malt nose on the brew. Charing coffee roast with some light carbon and simple profile. Hop action seems pine like on the nose but fairly mild on the nose.

Palate hits nicely with a great mouthfeel of mixing creamy character of playful carbonation. Coffee and chocolate, with a real lingering hop and bitter dark chocolate finish. Hop angle seems a little bit hard to pinpoint along all the roast flavor.

Overall a real fun beer, perhaps not my favorite but a really well made.

Serving type: on-tap

08-25-2012 02:14:35 | More by smakawhat

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.05/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On draft at the Blind Tiger in NYC.

The beer appears black with a thick, tan head. Long lasting retention with copious lacing. Hill Farmstead beers are beautiful. The aroma brings roast, pine, a hint of chocolate. Nice flavor. Well balanced, with a healthy pine bitterness on top of a roasted malt bill. Medium bodied with lingering chocolate in the finish. A solid beer.

Serving type: on-tap

08-21-2012 03:13:25 | More by Huhzubendah

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Enjoyed on tap at the Black Back Pub. An IPA that happens to have a shwartzbier element,resiny,piney, chocolate stoutish and grapefruit. Dark body and some lace.Hops and some roast aroma. The roast was lightly done which was nice to drink. Average mouthfeel.

Serving type: on-tap

08-17-2012 23:19:24 | More by northyorksammy

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

4.3/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Ginger Man.

Beer is black, with a moderately sized tan head. Retention is mediocre, excellent lacing.

A nice hoppy scent, orange and grapefruit. Some roasted malt and chocolate behind that.

Taste has more of the roast- lots of roasted malt, coffee and chocolate. Strong hop flavour as well- citrus, orange, grapefruit. Citrus comes out more as time goes om, roast comes out first. Bitter.

Medium bodied, high carbonation. Tingly. Too much.

Overall, a great Black IPA. My first beer from this brewery and I was impressed.

Serving type: on-tap

08-16-2012 22:23:28 | More by jrenihan

mltobin

Connecticut

4.23/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served on-tap in Putnam County, New York.

The appearance is a dark brown color with a short tan head. Its` nose has grass, roasted malts, some light fruit. Sipping this and it tastes of big roasted malts, followed by chocolate and and a small amount of bitterness. Mouthfeel is nearly medium, a fairly crisp finish. It drinks very easily and makes for a great growler fill, especially with being under 7% abv.

Serving type: on-tap

02-19-2012 01:51:07 | More by mltobin

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

4.7/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

James pours black into the glass with some brown highlights around the edges. A creamy tan head forms on top. The foam dissolves slowly to a thin sheet on the surface and leaves behind a coating of lace on the glass.

The aroma is hoppy with orange citrus notes and pine. Some chocolate and roasted malt notes and a touch of bread are also detected.

Each sip of this medium to full bodied beer is smooth, creamy with moderate carbonation. The flavor is well balanced between citrus & pine hops and dark malts. It begins with orange citrus and pine. Soon, sweet flavors of chocolate and pale malt appear along with a touch of roast malt. It finishes dry with a hint of ripe fruit and moderate bitterness. Once gone the pine and chocolate flavor lingers on the palate.

This is one of my favorite Hill Farmstead beers. It's very well balanced and easy to drink. I had this on tap at several bars in Montpelier when I was there a couple months ago. This pint was poured from a growler a friend got me on a recent trip to the brewery.

Serving type: growler

01-28-2012 19:58:01 | More by WanderingFool

FosterJM

California

4.47/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

1073rd Review on BA
Growler to HF Pint
750 ml growler

Thanks to CliffBrake for this one!!

App- A very deep rich brown with lots of density leaning towards a black color. The tan head on this one is amazing. 1st it just fell as a giant clump of foam. On a repour it was huge lines of sticky cling. One of the best looking beers I have seen in a 1000+ reviews.

Smell- A pretty straight forward Black IPA. It starts off with a little bit of a citrus punch and then slowly moves to a little malt and even gets a touch of chocolate in there. Very smooth on the aromatics and for almost 7% no trace of the booze at all.

Taste- I think the reason I am rating this one so high is the balance between layers its showing. Most black ipa's try to come across as a assertive roasty kind of note and then counter with some bitter. This was very delicate and balanced. The malts are a bit smoother with a velvety note and a bit of a orange/lemon/pine taste behind them.

Mouth- A very creamy medium body with this beer feeling out of the growler like it was on nitro. Super smooth and very creamy. A low carbonation level with enough bubbles to last for days if that makes sense.

Drink- Overall, this beer really was amazing. The appearance was magical and the feel was the stuff of legend. A truly great black IPA. This is what brewers should strive for.

Serving type: growler

01-28-2012 04:24:39 | More by FosterJM

Hojaminbag

Colorado

4.2/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

James has a body that borders on black, but I would still call a very dark brown. The tan head is solid looking, and showcases pretty good retention and lacing.

The aroma is straight hops, with all kinds of fruit and some resin. The malt barely makes an appearance, contributing perhaps a hint of both sweetness and roast.

The flavor certainly showcases a little bit more malt, but James is still one of the most hop-dominated American Black Ales that I have come across. Loads of hops, with some citrus and tropical fruit, but lots of earthy, grassy and resinous flavors as well. The bitterness is only moderate. The malt isn't completely shut-out, as it adds sizable flavors of caramel, chocolate and roasted malts.

This one feels creamy and smooth; both the body and carbonation as quite well-done.

Every hoppy beer that I have tried from Hill Farmstead has been phenomenal, and James proves that statement true regardless of what malt is used.

Serving type: on-tap

01-25-2012 15:51:11 | More by Hojaminbag

MasterSki

Illinois

4.4/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Sean for sharing this growler. Served in a Cigar City snifter.

A - A finger of tan foam settles to some wisps, a thin collar, and minimal lacing. Very dark brown body.

S - Aroma is great! If I were blindfolded I'd *almost* be fooled into thing this was a regular IPA (or at least a hoppy amber). There's a faint hint of chocolate and roast character in the periphery, but this is heavy on the citrus, tropical, and lightly herbal hop flavors.

T - The taste tends a bit more towards the balanced side of things, although there's still a ton of hop character. Juicy citrus, earthy hops and roasted grains, and a touch of tropical fruits. Pleasant moderate bitterness in the finish that stays at a manageable level.

M - Medium body, moderate carbonation, lightly chewy texture, with a dry finish. Some resinous hop oils linger on the palate.

D - This is exactly how I like my Black IPAs. Hopefully John Kimmich makes El Jefe again so that I can do a side-by-side showdown between these two beers. I'll probably trade for this one in the future, as I really enjoyed it.

Serving type: growler

01-24-2012 03:29:19 | More by MasterSki

yourefragile

District of Columbia

4.13/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 mL growler.

Pours a clear dark brown, near black with a bubbly tan, ruby tinged head. Aroma is resin, pine, roast malt, and light citrus hops. Mouthfeel is suffering a little from sitting on this growler for too long. Light carbonation on a medium thick body with a slightly watery finish. Much less roast in the flavor than the nose, pine hops dominate, bitter and resiny with light citrus in the finish. Aftertaste lingers more malty than the body with soft roast and light chocolate. Having had this fresh, I won't ding the mouthfeel from this sample; one of my favorite Black IPAs.

Serving type: growler

01-14-2012 01:20:30 | More by yourefragile