This is another brew from Hoppy Brewing that we recently obtained. Total Eclipse, a black ale. Black ales tend to be lighter and hoppier than porters or stouts, even though they are about the same color. Let's see how this is.
This pours black as my heart with a copious khaki head that dissipates quickly and leaves lovely lacing on the glass. There isn't a lot in the nose of this... it has some faint roasted notes, and perhaps a touch of coffee. The first sip is more coffee and roasted, toasted notes, followed by water -- seriously, it gets kind of bland in the middle -- and finishing with chocolate notes. At the very end, there is some bitterness from the hops, but not a lot.
It's a solid example of the style, but it's not exemplary. It would be a great go-to, and I'll pick up more whenever I find it on clearance (usually around $2 a bottle), but I don't know that I'd go out of my way to pay full price ($7ish) for it.
3.8/5 caps
-Jennie
Well, shit. How do I follow up a perfect description? Beautiful lacing, yes. Faint roasted, yes. Coffee and roasted tones, bland in middle, yes.
What I get out of this: Coffee, roasted, and toasted notes for about 2 seconds, then it fades into obscurity. There was some faint bitterness and come coffee notes toward the back.
Not terrible in the least bit. Not what I was expecting though, as most black ales I've had in the past had more hop tones to them. At 5.8%, it's a good evening sipping brew.
3.75/5 caps
-Nathan
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