Skunk Black IPA - Three Heads Brewing

Pahn

New York

3.83/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle split two ways into tulips. Thanks to BA mmcgrath for giving me this bottle in a recent trade!

Appearance: Free pour yields a 1 inch offwhite head that leaves a wall of lacing. Pours dark brown / black and continues to decorate the glass with eternal lacing.

Smell: Grape, some bread, and a slight hint of coffee. Mainly grape and a suggestion of hops. Good, but could be more pungent.

Taste: Interesting... roasted malt as husky and nutty up front, then grape and orange-y hops in the middle along with a bit of sweetness, finishing with roasted malt as black coffee bitterness.

Tough to score. I want to drop it down to 3.5 for not being bold enough with west coast hops, and because I'm not in love with the flavor. However, I really like that it's IPA strength hops with prominent roasted malt; most black IPAs, even when successful, are sort of porters/IPAs with identity crises. This is a roasted malt plus IPA hops experiment that works.

Along with the interesting interplay of roasted malt and hops, the overall flavor impression is refreshing, with a nice dry finish. Could be a bit more complex, but in all it's a lot tastier than the usual black IPA.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied. Crisp dry finish. Good carbonation.

Overall: Unique beer, glad to have tried it. I would like some more pungent hops and overall more complex flavor, but I'm enjoying this regardless. The level of sweetness really calms down the assertive hop bitterness and roasted malt, while still allowing the beer to be crisp and refreshing. Piques my interest in this brewery...

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2012 03:29:01 | More by Pahn

InspectorBob

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +3%

06-12-2013 18:08:42 | More by InspectorBob

teromous

Virginia

2.83/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A: The body of the beer is dark brown, but not completely opaque. Even in dim lighting I am able to make out shadows through the glass. The head is off-white, very large, leaving very nice lacing on the glass.

S: There are very good aromatics. I get some sharp pine scents, then I'm hit immediately by a waft of malt and caramel scent. It immediately conjures images of how a barleywine smells.

T: Lots of roasted flavor, followed by loads of pine. Lots of bitterness. I mean the bitterness is huge in this beer, but there isn't enough hop flavor. There's some charcoal flavor mixed in there as well. I'll do my best to explain this, but there's too much malty sweetness and too much harsh bitterness. There is far to little hop flavor to counteract all of this.

M: The beer feels on the thin side while drinking, but it is so packed full of bitterness and malt flavor that it makes it very hard to drink.

O: Overall I was not a fan of this black ale, and I really can't recommend it. It's all over the place...it's somewhere in "Barleywine Land" without as much mouthfeel. It really needed more hop flavor. The bitterness was there. I get it, it's supposed to be hoppy...but there's more to hops than plain bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2013 20:20:28 | More by teromous

Apathetiq

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -10.7%

06-04-2013 21:03:06 | More by Apathetiq

ryan1788a5

Massachusetts

3.51/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle poured into a New Belgium globe. No freshness date indicated.

A: Deep brown on the pour, nearly black. Three fingers of rocky beige head boast excellent retention. Sticky clumps of lacing cement themselves to the glass.

S: Tangerine, lemon peel, hemp seed, oily, herbal, floral. Big balancing roasty scents of soot and charcoal, caramel and bread crust.

T: Hop bitterness at the outset. Floral, oily, hemp seed, leafy and herbal, tangerine and lemon rind. Charcoal and soot take over the mid-palate. Hop bitterness comes to the forefront again and leaves a gripping herbal and grapefruity bitterness behind. Brief spike of alcohol and tropical esters. Finishes with hints of soot and a gripping hop bitterness of ruby red grapefruit and peppery/spicy tastes.

M: Medium bodied. Creamy. Moderate carbonation. Enamel scraping hop astringency, slight alcohol warmth.

O: Fairly average across the board if I'm being honest. The style is fairly new and still being defined, but everything I expected to encounter is here. It just doesn't do anything to set itself apart from the pack. Something tells me this could have been a little fresher too. Bottled-on dates are always a plus.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2013 00:43:30 | More by ryan1788a5

Brad007

Vermont

3.25/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Pours a dark reddish-brown color instead of the usual black. It at least has ruby undertones in the light. Thick head to boot.

Sweet with a mild touch of pine resin in the nose. This is going to err more on the malt side. I can see it.

Mellow and full of pine resin. Not much else of note on the tongue.

Lingering resin at the back. A "toasty" kind of feel.

Not bad. Not the hop bomb I was hoping for but then again, not all examples can be such a thing.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 08:17:33 | More by Brad007

tdm168

North Carolina

3.95/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Hoyt for bringing me this bottle.

A - dark brown with reddish hues; thin, soft cap of off-white, brownish head that fades after a few seconds

S - citrus, coffee, faint chocolate

T - roasted malts, faint coffee, big citrus, a bit sweet, some faint chocolate, piney, intensely bitter finish

M - medium bodied, crisp, well carbonated

This is a nice, easy-to-drink, complex beer. The hops and the malts are each complex on their own but impressively come together to create a balanced beer. The finish is intensely bitter which does wreak havoc on the palate after a while, but without the boldness of the hops the sweetness of the malts would become cloying. This isn't the best black IPA on the market but it's better than most. I'm very glad that I tried it.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2013 17:18:06 | More by tdm168

MarkJBurch

New York

4/5  rDev +9.9%

03-22-2013 04:19:42 | More by MarkJBurch

dnolan36

Virginia

4/5  rDev +9.9%

03-21-2013 17:26:22 | More by dnolan36

Chaney

District of Columbia

3.2/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

My first Three Heads beer, served in a Port City tulip.

A: Poured a dark, grape juice color (or lack thereof), with a nice, robust, sticky off-white head that stuck around for a good while.

S: Faint scent of roasted, nearly burnt, barley, and a bit of citrusy hop character poking through under closer inspection.

T: Pretty bitter... to much to my liking even. The hop profile plays second fiddle to the char, roast, bitter quality that resemble the burnt on crust of a used griddle. Not a pleasant characteristic.

M: Like I stated, this was pretty bitter, but not in a pleasant way at all. The lacing was ridiculous and the carbonation was sufficient.

O: This sucker was just screaming for more citrus. I don't think I'll have this one again.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 23:18:34 | More by Chaney

GreesyFizeek

New York

4.25/5  rDev +16.8%

03-06-2013 00:30:25 | More by GreesyFizeek

TonyY

New York

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%

02-24-2013 02:12:43 | More by TonyY

PeerlessMark

Ontario (Canada)

2.5/5  rDev -31.3%

02-21-2013 00:48:35 | More by PeerlessMark

Andragos

New York

3.75/5  rDev +3%

02-04-2013 13:52:21 | More by Andragos

C-Dog

3.75/5  rDev +3%

01-31-2013 02:07:57 | More by C-Dog

Kelp

New Hampshire

3.25/5  rDev -10.7%

01-18-2013 05:57:52 | More by Kelp

chippo33

Vermont

3/5  rDev -17.6%

01-18-2013 05:34:11 | More by chippo33

Hopheadjeffery

Illinois

4/5  rDev +9.9%

01-01-2013 17:44:42 | More by Hopheadjeffery

irs

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +9.9%

11-24-2012 03:25:00 | More by irs

suspect

New York

3.63/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a Central Waters snifter.

A: Nice dark brown color. Aggressive pour leads to a rocky 1 finger latte colored head that fades relatively slowly and leaves nice consistent lacing.

S: Toasted chocolate malts mixed with a nice hop aroma leaves a nicely balanced Black IPA.

T: Follows the nose directly. Nice mix of flavor of toasted darker malts, some cocoa nibs and some interesting hop mixes to balance everything out.

M: Not as thin as I would have thought. Medium bodied, better than average feel. Perfectly carbonated.

O: Very solid Black IPA. This is my first go 'round with 3HB and so far, I like what I've had.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2012 01:27:54 | More by suspect

BEERMILER12

Maine

3.83/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours a dark mahogany color with just over a fingers worth of tan head

S: Some citrus and floral hops along with roasted malts make up the majority of the nose. Get some light coffee and dark chocolate from the malts

T: Starts off with a wave of citrusy hops and then transitions into a solid bit of roasted malts. Definitely get both aspects quite clearly. Finishes quite bitter and dry

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation

O: A good black IPA with good aspects of both hops and roasted malts. A little lacking in complexity, but still has good flavors coming through. Easy to drink as well, at 6.5%. Recommended if you're just getting into the style or like extremely balanced black ales

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2012 22:09:27 | More by BEERMILER12

dgeebs07

New York

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%

10-14-2012 16:44:41 | More by dgeebs07

chefduff2

New York

4/5  rDev +9.9%

09-25-2012 12:51:22 | More by chefduff2

Dizzy242

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +3%

08-25-2012 12:02:32 | More by Dizzy242

JottaGibboo

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +16.8%

08-16-2012 20:28:28 | More by JottaGibboo