Samuel Adams Dark Depths Baltic IPA

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Call it a Porter...why not! Nose...brown sugar, molasses, prunes, coffe. Not quite opaque dark brown body is topped by a very nice, frothy beige head with very good retention and very good lace. Mouth maybe a touch thin for a Porter but fills the buds nicely. Carbonation is subtle. With all that nose the flavor is a bit one-noted in that its the same start to almost the finish. Odd, most of the taste actually is in the finish where the hops come into play. There is some chocolate and prune in the front end, and the finish is long with some sweetness of toffee and then a big astringency that is NOT unpleasant, finish is drying and cleaner than expected.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

A solid black color with a beige head. The aroma contains some chocolate, burnt toast, and mild citrus. The flavor contains some sour citrus notes, chocolate, and licorice. Tastes a bit oxidized but has this beer been out that long? I will overlook that despite it being annoying. Overall would like a fresher one but not bad.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Dark brown pour with a light brownish fairly dense two finger head that retains well and leaves good lacing. Slight hop and dark chocolate aroma. Flavour has moderate roastiness with chocolate, coffee and licorice. Throw in some hops. Good beer. Medium to full body, medium carbonation.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Pours a dark scarlet brown with a decent sized head. Aroma is of coffee, hops, and roasted malts. Taste is prety complex, starts out with the hoppyness of an IPA but finishes with the mild roast flavor of a stout. Aftertaste is slightly dry. Overall a pretty good beer.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

12 oz bottle. Pours dark reddish brown with a medium light tan head that goes to a thin film that leaves some lacing.

The aroma is strange - roasted malts and maybe some smokey, hoppy plastic and leather?

The flavor is sweet caramel malts with smokey roast that has decent resiny bitterness in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied.

Overall, I didn't really care for this. It was too sweet with a lot of off notes that I couldn't quite identify.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Sampled on 5/14/2012. This Black IPA pours a very dark black color from a 22oz bottle. Medium to large sized tan/beige foamy rocky head with good retention and sticky lacing. The aroma is caramel, fruity and sweet, chocolate and coffee, with some citrusy hops. A medium bodied black IPA. The malts are caramel, roasty, chocolate and coffee. The hops are citrusy and a touch grapefruity. Decent carbonation. There is a whole lot of variability of flavors in this beer style. Every thing for a hoppy porter/stout to a big IPA with dark malts falls into the Black IPA category. This one is more towards the porter side of things. Very drinkable and I am enjoying the interplay between the slightly sweet chocolate malts and the citrusy hops. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Baltic porter? Black IPA? (Actually, if you think about it, the term Black IPA is an oxymoron - something can’t be pale and black at the same time.) Anyhoo, it has a very inviting aroma, strongly hoppy with a hint of fresh-cut evergreen wood and subtle notes of molasses and licorice. It pours an opaque dark-chocolate brown with a thick and rather persistent light tan head that leaves some generous lacing. Hops dominate the flavor, which is slightly bitter and has notes of molasses, licorice and coffee. In addition, it seems to have just a whisper of fruity sweetness. Texture is fizzy and lively, and body is firm if not full. Plunge into these dark depths!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Faint aromas and flavors of molasses, toffee, burnt malts, and some piney notes, not bad but rather hard to pick up on. Nice deep body with a thick frothy cap that left some good lace. Overall it was ok, i like both styles of beer but together, well....it was ok.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

I didn't catch much aroma, a little burnt and some hop resin. Looks nice in the glass, dark but clear. Thick lacey head, perhaps a little sourish in the flavor. Good hop base. Leaves you thirsty for more. I'd love to try it fresh on tap.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

A mahogany colored beer with a big light beige frothy head rising above. There's good hang time, with it settling into a medium sized ringlet and light film dusting. A piney nose. Pine-citrus burnt molassess in the tasting. This medium bodied beer is quite good.