3 Ravens Black
3 Ravens Brewing

3 Ravens Black3 Ravens Black
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From:
3 Ravens Brewing
 
Australia
Style:
American Stout
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.64 | pDev: 11.81%
Reviews:
19
Ratings:
24
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 17, 2015
Added:
Jun 04, 2003
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Ratings by Mendicant:
Photo of Mendicant
Rated by Mendicant from Australia

4.25/5  rDev +16.8%

May 10, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.79 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Nov 17, 2015
 
Rated: 3.55 by chogm54 from Australia

Dec 26, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by KalanM from Canada (BC)

Jul 10, 2013
Photo of SmashPants
Reviewed by SmashPants from Australia

4.18/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Bottle: standard 330mL brown bottle, stylish craft label.

Appearance: dark black with only the tiniest hints of brown highlights against the light. A big head jumps up, and settles to an impressive two-finger, rocky tan head. Looks good!

Aroma: as usual for stout, there isn't that much on the nose. Roast malts come through, the usual coffee and chocolate. A hint of spice over the top.

Taste: quite a sweet stout - almost tastes like a milk stout due to the smooth, creamy feel. Again plenty of roast malts with some earthy, herbal and spice flavours backing up. Very nice.

Aftertaste: doesn't linger as well as a stout should. Just means I need to drink more of it.

Mouth feel: medium in body, with a silky-smooth creamy quality that helps it glide down. This is a great stout.

Overall: a diamond in the rough, I would have to say. I was expecting something reasonably decent, but this is a really good-quality stout. Strong flavours, well rounded, and even the look and smell are a good dose better than your average stout. A very good stout. One of the better ones I have had, and I have had quite a few. Well worth it.
Mar 10, 2013
 
Rated: 2 by pin from Australia

Aug 15, 2012
Photo of heygeebee
Reviewed by heygeebee from Australia

3.8/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Moderate pour yields a massive four finger head. Balck n tan with coarse bubbles. Subsides slowly.

Aromas of roast malt, chocolate.

Taste is dark dark chocolate, roast malts, and some smoky elements. Quite sweet.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly highly carbonated. Medium bodied. Oddity in that up-front you are drinking Fizzy Beer, but the fizz eventually dies to a more smooth mouthfeel.

A surprising find. Tons of flavour, and not in a high ABV package. Better at start of bottle. Odd
Apr 20, 2012
Photo of Stew41
Reviewed by Stew41 from Thailand

3.38/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Massive fizzy head early; settles slowly over the next 5 minutes. Very dark brown in colour, almost black. Great bouquet of chocolate milk and roast; I can almost smell a grainy chocolate powder note if that makes any sense. Very complete and has very good depth. More chocolate in the mouth although the palate is quite tight and zingy. Quite unique structure for the style and tough to describe actually. Regardless a very drinkable interpretation of the black beer / porter style.
Sep 15, 2011
Photo of dgilks
Reviewed by dgilks from Australia

3.63/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Dark, fairly opaque brown with a moderate, but short lasted, tan head.

Moderate roast and chocolate aroma. Slightly smoky. Not bad.

Smoky, earthy and chocolatey. A touch of coffee and roast come through. The smoke is too high though and doesn't fit in.

Medium body with moderately-high carbonation. A touch less carbonation would be great.

A decent beer but the smoky malt profile is out of whack for me.
Apr 08, 2011
Photo of LittleCreature
Reviewed by LittleCreature from Australia

3.68/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance - 4.0
Pours a massive head of dense, chocolate milk coloured head over an opaque black body. The large head is almost annoyingly long lasting, I had to wait several minutes to be able to get to the liquid!

Smell - 3.5
A lot of dark chocolate on the nose and a little roasted malt. It's a pleasant aroma, though very simple.

Taste - 3.5
Very complex malt profile, roasted bitterness and burnt flavour are there but balanced by substantial sweetness. Lots of dark chocolate flavour as well as caramel and a little fruity hop character.

Mouthfeel - 4.0
Carbonation is quite lively for a stout, lightening an otherwise full body.

Drinkability - 4.0
No session beer, but certainly something I would drink again.

OVERALL - 3.7
Overall I'd say this is something between an American Stout and an Oatmeal Stout - a little hoppy, roasty, and malty sweet. Not a favourite style of mine, but a nice drop overall.
May 06, 2010
Photo of Macca
Reviewed by Macca from Australia

3.38/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
This pours as black as you could hope with a good sized caramel head.

Nose of roasted malts - maybe a bit too much so. Also some milk chocolate notes.

There is a nice roasted element to the palate but I thought it was tainted with smoke. Any chance this could have happened when they were brewing the Dark? This ruined it for me.

Retasting Enjoyed it much more this time around. Choc and coffee coming through nicely.
Feb 09, 2010
Photo of joepais
Reviewed by joepais from Maine

3.85/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4
Thanks to Dim for the opportunity to try this one.
Bottle poured into a DFH snifter produced a finger worth of coco colored head that when off to a thin lace. The body of the brew was a typical black stout color.

Aromas from the brew were what I expected typical roasted malts. Coffee and chocolate were right up front. It had a nice bitter coffee flavor with enough malt sweetness to keep it real drinkable. It was a tad light for me in the mouthfeel department but had good carbonation.

A easy to drink stout, it went down nice on this cold day. If I had another I would have drank that one too, so it is very sessionable. Thanks again Dan for the treat
Jan 31, 2010
Photo of DIM
Reviewed by DIM from Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
a: This was a very dark brown, almost opaque. It pours with a medium sized tan head that fades to moderate lace.

s: Pleasant aromas of dark, roasty chocolate with some cherry and something nutty in the backround.

t: Bitter, almost smoky chocolate roast is balanced by tart cherry flavors. The middle is sweeter, tasting of nutty milk chocolate. The very end bring some bitter char.

m: A little on the thin side with fizzy carbonation.

d: Pretty tasty stout I brought back, glad I got to try this one.
Nov 25, 2009
Photo of CrazyDavros
Reviewed by CrazyDavros from Australia

3.58/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pitch black pour, good persistent tan head.
Big rich malty aroma, with lots of milk chocolate, vanilla and nutty notes. I think there's some cinnamon in there? Damn good anyway.
Roasted malt is big upon tasting, with hints of coffee and smoke.
Thick rich body, creamy carbonation is slightly too lively.
Sep 29, 2009
Photo of lacqueredmouse
Reviewed by lacqueredmouse from Australia

3.92/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours in a lovely satin curve of brown black into the glass, promoting a frothy but large-bubbled head of tan foam. Very dark, but not opaque - there's flashes of deep red visible at the edges of the glass. Head retention is pretty good too. Looks very reasonable indeed.

Nice chocolate and dark grains on the nose, quite sweet and even a slight oaky vinous character too it. Something comfortingly earthy and organic to it. For some reason it puts me in mind of Bear Republic's Black Bear Stout, which is a fine recommendation.

Taste is very roasty, with a pronounced ashy charcoal character. Very little sweetness, which is a real shame - a nice dark chocolate note could have rounded out the palate beautifully. As it is, we're left with the earthy roasted characters, some residual oak and a very dry finish. Mouthfeel is round and light.

A very decent stout - very drinkable and with some very pleasant characters. Once again, 3 Ravens have impressed me not with their abilities or desires to push the boundaries, but with a very pleasant beer made very well.
Jun 26, 2009
Photo of Stavage
Reviewed by Stavage from Australia

3.97/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Nice black liquid poured with a finger of tan head. Retention was average but lacing was good and lasted until the end.

The scent was very rich. Big chocolate and coffee notes with roast malt smell underneath. A very apetising smell.

Taste doesn't really match the smell for me. Had the burnt coffee and bitter chocolate flavours you'd expect but they weren't as intense as the smell suggests. Wasn't really sweet at all, and for me just a touch of sweetness would have really worked. A decent hops bite rounds things out and the roast flavours linger on when the other flavours fade out.

Nice and smooth mouthfeel though a little on the light side as far as how I like my stouts. Carbonation is good, definitely there but not in your face. Overall on the lighter side of carbonation which is what I want from a stout.

Definitely does the job. A very nice sipping beer and will probably be sipping quite a few of these during the winter months.
Jun 06, 2009
Photo of Cs1987
Reviewed by Cs1987 from Australia

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Appearance - Black, 1 finger of head which reduced.

Smell - Sweet sherry odour, unusual for a stout but still pleasant.

Taste - It is hard to explain why, but this doesn't quite taste like a stout should. The malts don't seem very well balanced, and it could do with more hops to back up the sweet flavour.

Mouthfeel - Smooth with a good carbonation level.

Drinkability - Average for a stout.

Overall - I was looking forward to this after trying 3 Ravens brewery's excellent Bronze, but I was disappointed. Good, but could be much better.
May 16, 2009
Photo of vancurly
Reviewed by vancurly from Australia

3.58/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
a) Pours a deep, dark garnet, which for all intents is black. Tan foamy head
s) Charry, oat flakes, malt syrup
f) Chocolate & toast. Soft roasted notes. Very, very subtle lacto/aceto tang giving some further interest.
m) Chewy, starting smooth anfd velvety, backing up with some subtle roasty harshness. Tingly tongue-tip
d) Approachable and warming
Oct 01, 2008
Photo of rjimlad
Reviewed by rjimlad from Australia

3.51/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Black as pitch and tastes like it too with creosote and tar aromas that extend into the flavour. There's a heap of bitterness like high cocoa chocolate and espresso. It's smokey and industrial with burnt roast beef all through it. I enjoyed hating it for its blokeyness but it would be a much better beer with a little more malty sweetness for balance. I think this is a beer that needs a good food match for optimal performance.
Aug 21, 2008
Photo of willjansen
Reviewed by willjansen from Colorado

4.07/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Appearance - Opaque black body with big, beige head of average retention. Falls away quickly to leave a nice layer on top. Very nice looking stout.

Smell - Big chocolate and coffee in the nose with the characteristic oat contribution that ties it all together with a . Dominant coffee aromas behind which a subtle complexity of aromas hide. Extremely inviting... reminds me of my favorite Coffee-Oatmeal RIS (and that's a very good thing).

Taste - Excellent stout. Roasted/burnt coffee comes through with a distinct burnt cocoa bitterness. A slightly-too-strong smokiness is present which keeps the chocolate and coffee from being described as in any way sweet. Great complexity and depth for a 5.5ABV stout due no doubt to the blend of malts and the addition of oats.

Mouthfeel - Oats give this a silky mouthfeel with the ideal amount of carbonation for a stout (i.e. on the low side, not too fizzy). Slightly watery, and a little light on body.

Dinkability - I liked this beer a lot. Has many of the qualities that I love in a stout and, for the most part, in the right proportions. The main criticism would be that it has a tad too much burnt/smoky flavor from the roasted malts. However, it is a great stout for sipping on a cool day.
Oct 14, 2007
3 Ravens Black from 3 Ravens Brewing
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 24 ratings