Covert Hops - Westbrook Brewing Co.

BlackBelt5112203

South Carolina

4.2/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle poured into a pint glass at cellar temperature.

L - Black color with ruby-tinged edges and a massive 5-finger bubbly, pillowy tan head. Great retention and great lacing. Perfect.

S - Blast of piney hops as soon as I cracked the bottle and started pouring. After taking a closer look, there’s a tremendous piney and floral hop aroma with a very subtle undercurrent of roasted barley and coffee. I can’t wait to taste this.

T - Wow this is an interesting beer. Starts off floral and fruity sweet and quickly develops into a bitter whirlpool of roasted barley, coffee, and piney hops. As soon as the roasted flavors come through, the hops appear, and just when you’re trying to pay attention to the hops, the roastiness comes back. Truly unique.

F - Medium-to-full-bodied, a little bit of carbonation, mouth-coating feel, and a nice dry and bitter finish. Both the malty sweetness and hop bitterness linger for a nice amount of time.

O - I loved this beer. This is the first black ale that I’ve had, so I’m not sure how it relates to others, but it’s exactly what I hoped it would be and more. The hops are far more apparent than I thought they would be, and that makes me very happy. At the same time, all the sweet malty and bitter roasted flavors are there in full force. Westbrook continues to impress me their beers, and it makes me very happy that I live 10 minutes away from the brewery.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2012 01:11:06 | More by BlackBelt5112203

PDXHops

South Carolina

3.6/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bomber poured into an oversized snifter, an appropriate vessel to contain the explosive tan head. It slowly settles into a clumpy foam island, and even a half hour is still a thick skim. Pretty impressive lacing, too.

The bottle's about 2 months old, and I'm left to wonder whether the nose may have been a bit more potent a few weeks back. Herbal hops are more prominent than pine, with cocoa and leathery roast all around.

The strong herbal/leathery combo takes a bit of getting used to, but in the end it works pretty well, and a hearty dose of IBUs is always appreciated in a CDA. Dryish finish that showcases a pungent edge to the hop profile. Pretty solid effort here from Westbrook.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2012 01:00:07 | More by PDXHops

jsanford

Georgia

4.08/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - Pours dark black with reddish-brown edges and a creamy khaki head that settles to a dense, 1-inch head that refuses to dissipate.
S - Big, resinous hops backed up nicely by dark roasted malt, coffee grounds, and bitter chocolate. Hops are fresh and pungent, with lots of citrus and pine.
T - Wow, tons of deep, earthy roasted malt character with more resinous citrus hops. Bitter coffee, chocolate, brownies, and burnt toast followed by a long-lasting hop bitterness. Bold, but still fairly balanced and drinkable.
M - Smooth and creamy, with a touch over medium-bodied and good carbonation.
O - Such a tasty Black Ale, it's nice to see the malt take more of the center stage, instead of just providing an ample base for loads of hops. Another fine Westbrook brew.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 03:34:23 | More by jsanford

thagr81us

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served from growler into a New Belgium globe. Poured a massively dark brown with a one finger light khaki colored head that subsided to a minimal amount quickly. Maintained phenomenal lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, roasted malt, earth, citrus, citrus hop, and subtle dark chocolate. The flavor was of roasted malt, dark chocolate, coffee, citrus, citrus hop, and earth. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a good brew. I really wasn't expecting to get coffee on this one based on the aroma alone. However I found it to be quite enjoyable and added a nice level of complexity to the hop presence in this one. A really well done brew that I'm glad I got the opportunity to try, I suggest you do the same.

Serving type: growler

04-01-2012 02:24:34 | More by thagr81us

avalon07

South Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured from a growler to a pint glass. Had a black color and a thick, impenetrable consistency. There was an inch and a half of creamy, tan-colored, long-lasting head. Great lacing.

S: As expected, a lot of hops in the aroma, along with a good shot of coffee as well.

T: Like the aroma, the flavor had a good deal of hops and coffee, and also some malt in the finish. At first, this beer seemed to be out of balance, with the coffee taking center stage, but it balanced out as it went along.

M: A well-carbonated beer with a super dry finish. Medium-bodied.

O: On the whole, this is a solid example of an ABA. Not spectacular, but definitely drinkable.

Serving type: growler

03-31-2012 12:41:00 | More by avalon07