Black Poppy

Black IPA
Bottle conditioned, in 660 ml bottles, crown capped.
Release date December 2013.

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Brewed on: 1.11.2013 Bottled: 22.11.2013 and 18.1.2014

Designed to taste like an IPA but black in colour. Bitterness and citrussy hop flavours on a roasty malt bill. Casks of this went to the CAMRA Derby Winter Beer festival and to The Smithfield Hotel, Manchester. The rest was bottled. Unfortunately The Smithfield Hotel closed on 16 February and I haven't been paid and they still have my cask! :-(

Free-from

This beer is produced without the use of any finings, filtering or pasteurisation, so all the flavours of the ingredients are preserved for your enjoyment. Also, it is gluten-free (<20ppm) for the benefit of those who suffer from gluten intolerance or who wish to reduce their gluten intake. This batch was tested on 14.11.2013.

Reviews

"A man walked into a beer shop. He saw a beer which shared the same name as his cat, so he bought said beer and all was good with the world.

It's as good a reason as any I know to buy a beer. In fact, there aren't enough beers named after cats for my liking. Any brewers out there who are (unlikely) reading this - take note!

It pours a very dark, hazy brown colour with a persistent and foamy off-white head, which laces the glass heavily on it's way down. My nose detected subtle notes of pine, big gusts of tropical fruit and a suggestion of coffee, as is common with the style.

In the mouth I picked out grapefruit, sherbet, black fruit pastilles and burnt caramel. It's sweeter than I'd imagined; the roasty notes from the malt are prominent in the middle, but a stubborn fruitiness becomes the lasting memory.

Is it the best black IPA I've had this year? Probably not. At over £7 for a 660ml bottle, it's not cheap either; but given my emotional connection to the name, it's a purchase I have no regrets in making. I will definitely be looking out for more from this brewery in future." All beer No belly

Martin Warren, The Poppyland Brewer