Dave's BrewFarm Lupulo Noir

"Lupulo Noir. 9.1 % Belgian lineage yeast. Pils, Caramel 120, and Chocolate malts, combined with Magnum, Chinook, Northern Brewer, and Amarillo hops."

Off goes the swingtop cap, and out sprays beer into my face! (Good sign or bad omen?)

Dark as night this one, with slightly opaque edges, turning a lighter caramel color, with a lovely cocoa brown head holding down the fort on top. Very inviting.

Aroma: the nose greets us first with a blast of this blend of hops, we're getting the bitterness, the resiny pine, the pithy citrus. It stands for a second, before being engulfed by chocolate. Bitterness is utterly subdued, and grassy hop character remains standing, holding ground with caramel and cocoa.

Taste: All that and more back on the tongue. Hops aren't loud or large, very subtle, but stand their ground with the deep, dark, lush malt. The hop contingency always maintains steadily at the forefront of this ale, and the chocolate part only gets richer and delicious-er. Seriously, delicious-er IS a word, albeit one I only made up now. (Edit: I realize I've said "delicious-er" before, of course, for an earlier BrewFarm beer, no less.)

I've done some grousing about the "black IPA", or "black ale", and I've done some cheering about certain entries in this field. Right now, I feel as if I'd have to put this in there, although the Belgian yeast may help me make a case for herding Lupulo Noir into a different category.