Serious Madness - Mad River Brewing Company

zeledonia

Minnesota

3.15/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

From notes. Pours a dark black with a massive brown-tan head. Smell is strong, roasted malt, coffee, with alcohol kick. Taste is sharp, like a very bitter stout, with strong coffee flavor and smoky aftertaste, but a little bit overpowered by the hops. Finish is somewhat bitter and has that same alcohol kick. Mouthfeel is lighter than I'd expect, fairly smooth with good, but not overwhelming, carbonation. But the flavor is just too harsh and sharp for me to enjoy it.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2011 00:08:56 | More by zeledonia

kguard

Iowa

4/5  rDev +0.8%

05-19-2013 14:24:19 | More by kguard

jk3

New York

3.25/5  rDev -18.1%

05-02-2013 11:42:50 | More by jk3

jak

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +0.8%

05-01-2013 16:40:28 | More by jak

johnnyboy76

Oregon

4/5  rDev +0.8%

04-27-2013 03:38:17 | More by johnnyboy76

UCLABrewN84

California

3.71/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

On tap at Tony's Darts Away in Burbank, CA.

Pours a clear orange-brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Foamy swaths of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, and citrus zest aromas. Taste is much the same with a cocoa flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with some solid aromas and flavors.

Serving type: on-tap

04-23-2013 04:16:47 | More by UCLABrewN84

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.7/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

12oz Bottle from the Total Wine in Tampa FL for 3$

Appearance - Black/brown colour with a large size fizzy dark beige coloured head. It's too dark to make out the amount of carbonation showing and there is some good lacing. The head lasted for around 3-4 minutes.

Smell - Malts, coffee, chocolate

Taste & Mouth - There is an average amount of carbonation and I can taste caramel and malts. There is also a light smokiness and some chocolate and some very light hops. It ends with a chocolate/coffee aftertaste and only a very faint hit off hops.

Overall – Can't find a date on this bottle.. but I have a hunch it is not at it's best. I can hardly taste any of the hop/grapefruit flavours I'd expect to find in a California Black Ale. Still a good RIS taste going on though.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 23:41:15 | More by spinrsx

JakeDebus

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

04-15-2013 12:21:13 | More by JakeDebus

horshack7

Massachusetts

4.21/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Appearance: It's quite dark with a dark beige head around one finger thick.

Aroma: Hazelnut, dark fruits, espresso, vanilla bean, dark chocolate, roasted hops with some light citrus notes.

Taste: Large roasty notes notes in the front. Vanilla bean, chocolate malt, dark roasted hops that have a dry floralness. Espresso and dark coffee and a very smooth mouthfeel.

Notes: Drinkable all the way around the dry finish is a nice touch as well the hops being in the background of it all. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 02:22:08 | More by horshack7

lemniscate

California

3.5/5  rDev -11.8%

04-14-2013 01:49:39 | More by lemniscate

BB1313

Ohio

3.33/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Pours black with brown hues. Kakhi head that fades and leaves decent lacing. The aromas are full of roasted chocolate malts. There's hints of smoke, oak, caramel and vanilla. There's a subtle anise/black licorice notes, but it definitely doesn't dominate. Not much of a hop aroma. Flavors are loaded with dark chocolate giving it a nice bitterness. Hop bitterness is there; hop flavor not so much. But I don't really think this is intended to be a "Black IPA". This truly is a black ale. It's more reminiscent of a stout or a porter, but not quite. Very roasty. Coffee notes are there as well. Mouthfeel is somewhat thin for a big beer and there's alot of carbonation. It doesn't exactly match with the flavors, imo, but still works. Alcohol is hidden.

Starts off interesting and then becomes redundant, but it's still pretty solid. This would be good for the winter or during the colder weather.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 22:35:34 | More by BB1313

tfsimpkins

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%

04-07-2013 20:53:56 | More by tfsimpkins

TheSixthRing

California

3.98/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Appearance - Pours near opaque black with a tan, finger width head. Good retention, leaving behind a nice layer of microbubbles that coats the surface. Lacing is thin and sheeting before clumping into spots on the glass.

Smell - Predominantly earth on the aroma. Chocolate mocha. Faint floral hops.

Taste - Strong roasted malt character upfront and throughout. Bitterness comes through as baker's chocolate and moderate anise character. Milk chocolate sweetness hits mid-taste before a nice, balanced finish.

Mouthfeel - Medium to full body with moderate carbonation. Creamy at first, then turns a touch chalky and dry on the finish.

Overall - I wouldn't categorize this as an American Black Ale (or Black IPA, Cascadian Dark Ale, whathaveyou)... it drinks just like an Imperial Stout. In fact, I think it's been completely miscategorized here, and a perfect example of why I don't like that CDA's have been renamed American Black Ale. Black Ale is a generic term for any ale that's black in color, such as this. But it's nearly 75 IBU's you say? So what. Ten Fidy comes in at 98 IBUs. CDA is not only a more unique and less confusing term, but it also pays homage to that style's localized roots... but I digress. This is a solid all-around beer. Great balance. Wonderfully drinkable. Don't expect it to be a CDA, or 'ABA'. It's not.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 05:42:19 | More by TheSixthRing

artoolemomo

Oregon

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%

04-01-2013 02:30:14 | More by artoolemomo

snohojimbo

Washington

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%

03-26-2013 01:24:30 | More by snohojimbo

rabiddawg

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +0.8%

02-28-2013 02:38:28 | More by rabiddawg

durlta

Iowa

4/5  rDev +0.8%

02-27-2013 03:07:17 | More by durlta

Boone757

Maryland

4/5  rDev +0.8%

02-23-2013 15:44:59 | More by Boone757

Vancoubeer

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +13.4%

02-10-2013 06:27:29 | More by Vancoubeer

jsteele

North Carolina

3.25/5  rDev -18.1%

02-10-2013 01:43:34 | More by jsteele

DukeX13

Illinois

4/5  rDev +0.8%

02-09-2013 01:44:43 | More by DukeX13

tdm168

North Carolina

3.88/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - black with a big, thick, brown head that has great retention; some sediment floating in the dark liquid

S - very faint nose; some chocolate

T - chocolate, roasted malts, black licorice, dark fruit, faint citrus, mildly bitter

M - medium bodied, well carbonated

This was a decent beer. It wasn't as hoppy as I was hoping, but the rich, complex maltiness was enough to keep me intrigued. The hops seem to get buried revealing only a slight citrusy undertone. Something a bit more bitter may have had a better chance against the depth of the malt. All in all, I did enjoy this beer, and I would recommend it to any fan of the style.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2013 02:32:31 | More by tdm168

DrunkinYogi

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

02-03-2013 01:33:37 | More by DrunkinYogi

Greywulfken

New York

4.03/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: center-pour into a nonic pint: opaque black body, dense head of rich tan foam, ample lacing

S: roasted bittersweet dark malts

T: flashes of anise over sweet malt, roasted bittersweet chocolate, espresso coffee; earthy and herbal undercurrents

M: thick, chewy, bittering, crisp on the finish

O: I found this to be a very enjoyable beer, approaching a stout in character and an Imperial in strength.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2013 21:06:38 | More by Greywulfken

jucifer1818

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%

11-30-2012 18:57:42 | More by jucifer1818