Magic 8 Ball - Magic Rock Brewing

HopHead84

California

3.6/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

4/6/2012

A: Dark brown with a massive light brown head. Lacing is scattered.

S: Touch of tobacco. Slight leathery note. Roasted malt and dark chocolate with a faint nuttiness. Piney with grapefruit,

T: Dark chocolate and pronounced roasted grains with earthy hop notes. Touch of astringency. Very green and hoppy.

M: Upper medium body and carbonation.

Overall: A solid black IPA.

Serving type: on-tap

04-08-2012 18:04:12 | More by HopHead84

Ruds

United Kingdom (England)

3.7/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Served from keg tap into a half pint goblet at the Cask, Pimlico, Feb '12.

Medium black in colour, slighly brownish held to the light, with a thin off-white head which soon thins to a small pond like surface covering.

To the nose I was getting hops, liquorice and a smokey-woody aroma.

Flavour wise, bitter hops, smoked malts, burnt tasting daark roasted sugar, pine and a backdrop of tropical fruit.

Mouthfeel was perhaps the downfall to this beer in my opinion, too much carbonation spoilt it for me and have nver noticed this to such an extent in previous Magic Rock offerings.

Finishes with a bitter-sharp aftertaste.

Serving type: on-tap

02-17-2012 23:45:33 | More by Ruds

Zimbo

United Kingdom (Scotland)

4.28/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bit of an intense roasty dark nose when the bottle is opened though this dies away quite quickly and doesn't really resurface much.

Good thick half inch dense tan foam rocky head which thins.

Looks like a stout, jet black and flat not glossy and is stout not just in body but in appeance but with a generous dossage of American hop pine IPA in there too. Still, this quality, despite so much rich dark chocolate and earth, and such length, never quite totally dominates the whole. In the end there is also some intense liquorice qualities too with lovely doyly type lacing to the bottom of the glass.

Anything but thin, this is one burly big boy. So close to a perfect 5 in a number of categories. A triumph.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2012 17:42:37 | More by Zimbo

CwrwAmByth

United Kingdom (Wales)

4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a dark black colour with a nice head and ooodles of lacing down the sides. The head stays for ages.

Smells dark, burnt and malty.

Tastes very dark and dry, quite strong alcohol mixed in with a a thick mouthfeel good hop bitterness on the finish.

Overall a very nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2012 22:05:17 | More by CwrwAmByth

mdagnew

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

4.3/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

330ml bottle bought from MyBreweryTap.com

Poured a deep black colour. Light tan head poured big, thick and foamy and faded slowly to good thickish covering... lots of sticky lacing most of the way down the glass...

Aroma - Juicy tart fruits (orange zest, pears, lemons) followed by sweet (and maybe slightly toasted ?) malts, light chocolate and coffee notes, faint brown sugar traces, strong piney resin and citrus hopiness, some rubberiness, honey, cut wet grass / hay...

Taste - Lots of piney, grassy and citrus hop bitterness followed by sweet roasted chocolate malts... juicy tart fruits (strong grapefruits, pears), nice caramel malts and notes of floral honey balance out the hops, herbal, some liquorice, light toasted bread...

M&D - Fairly smooth with a little oiliness in the background then some sharpness comes through... full bodied...

Overall - An superb example of a black IPA and probably the best i've had... highly recommended

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2012 09:05:47 | More by mdagnew

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

4.05/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A 330ml bottle with a BB of July 2012 (batch 2808). Picked up from my local beer specialist. Described on the label as a black IPA containing a blend of specialty malts and new world hops.

Poured into a Duvel tulip. Black as night - revealed as a very deep ruby-brown when held to the light. Produces a decent head of light-brown foam that subsides rapidly to a frothy surface layer. An intense aroma of fruity hops; a mélange of bitter pine, citrus and tropical fruit. A hint of sweetish malt underpins the hops, along with a whisper of liquorice.

Tastes of sweet malt with a massive hit of aromatic hops and a dry, bitter finish. Notes of pine, citrus and tropical fruit dominate, with hints of roasted malt and coffee. An intense combination. Mouthfeel is spicy, smooth and tingly, but a tad thin for the strength. Pretty astringent - dries the palate. Aftertaste of bitter aromatic hops.

Excellent. Stuffed to the gills with spicy hop aroma. The malt is totally eclipsed; it's contribution muted by the hops. The only weakness is the body, which feels a bit watery for such an over-the-top brew. Still, a great experience for any hop-head out there. Grab one now!

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 00:36:28 | More by jazzyjeff13