Why We Picked It: We always look for unique and local. Heavy Seas' Dark IPA fits the bill.
What Heavy Seas Says About It: "Night Swell's arctic winds and northern tides make their way south, a darkness descends upon the Atlantic, and even the most hardened hop heads feel the pull of the darkness. Night Swell's nor'easter blast of hoppy aromas combines with a warming dark roast and rich malt sweetness for a full-flavored, full-bodied IPA that stretches the boundaries of the style. Surrender to the darkness and ride the swell." [Commentary: Best brewery scription yet!]
ABV: 7.7%
IBU: 71
Fun Facts: Under the name Clipper City Brewing, Heavy Seas started in 1994, making it one of the true founders of the microbrew movement. As the story from Heavy Seas goes: "Our quest for great beer can lead anywhere, from corner pubs to faraway breweries. For Heavy Seas founder, Hugh Sisson, beer altered the trajectory of his life. In 1980, intending to become a stage actor and director, Hugh's plan was to move to NYC after completing his course work for a masters degree in theater. Hugh's father, Albert, a Baltimore area businessman, persuaded him instead to come "help" at a newly opened family business, a tavern called Sisson's. When Hugh showed up to start what he assumed would be a short-term position, his father tossed him the keys to the pub, said "OK, don't f*** up!" and walked out the door."
Working from home today, so that's means a 4 p.m. cracking of the beer. In general, I like black IPAs (ignoring the fact that it is there even such thing as a black IPA? Isn't it just a dark ale or some other dark beer)? They do generally have more bite than a porter or stout, which is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Night Swell, it does not disappoint. Good flavor, but still oddly light and crisp. Hints for roast and coffee, but - again - does not overwhelm. I would definitely have another. 3.5 out of 4 dark descending into the Atlantic.
BTW, I worked from home today as well, but I'm responsible...
ReplyDeletehehe
Oh man, I wrote an epic review and it didn't post. It was Pulitzer prize winning, the great American review. Darn.
ReplyDeleteHere's the cliff notes: beer good, beer yummy, beer high ABV, not good, Heavy Seas gone bad, heavy seas redeemed themself's. The end.
I have not had dark IPA in awhile and this is exactly what I wanted post rainy run. Good mix of darkness and IPA here. Night Swell gets it more right than a lot of others.3.75 out of 5 for me, would have got an extra push with a little more kick. 3.25 out of 5 for Beer Mile Chugability since the taste is good however thickness would make it hard to put down four in less than 10 minutes.
ReplyDeleteWow. Great beer. The fresh hop aroma is amazing. I love the bitterness, and the malt character is more complex than I expected. I think I need to have another couple 6 packs of this to really study it. Or more. Probably one of my favorite beers in this set thus far.
ReplyDeleteFelt it was a journey from the moment I poured it to when I got off the boat. It was a nice journey but not memorable. Definitely an IPA on steroids. I'm the oddball here amongst us all because I was always a fans of the original IPAs. I had a local Greene King pub that served a really cracking IPA. Great flavor but at 3.6% you could really have a session without falling off the boat
ReplyDeleteMy final delinquent post! Never really had a good experience with Heavy Seas. It goes back to the mid-nineties when we'd always let this guy named Neil onto our frisbee teams because he worked at Clipper City and he'd bring a minikeg and a bunch of bottles to the tournament if we let him play with us. The Heavy Seas taproom in Arlington is a horribly depressing place (although word on the street is that it just closed). And many of my Heavy Seas experiences were at the horrible institution called Piratz in Silver Spring in the mid-aughts when that was the only place to get a beer before the Quarryhouse opened at 5. They loved the pirate theme. I do not. So anyway, low expectations. And if you're happy with nothing, you'll be so very happy with this beer. Of the three 8% ABV beers I have had this evening, this is the one that truly tastes it. Which is not a good thing. What kind of parameters do we have for an "IPA" now? In other words, how the hell is this an IPA? Tastes like malty booze. Not liking this. But I'll go ahead and finish it off. And then go find some food.
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