Magic Rock are generally considered to be one of the best new breweries to have emerged in the last few years. The Brewery was started in 2011 and quickly built up a solid reputation. This afternoon I decided to see how well thier Imperial IPA, Human Canonball, and their Imperial Brown Stout, Bearded Lady, mix as a Black and Tan.
The first thing I notice about the Bearded Lady is the alcohol. It has a rich smell of alcohol with a few hints of chocolate. The alcohol is noticable in the tasting as well. Before the burnt aftertaste that lingers a bit too much there's a warming feeling, similar to that given by drinking a whisky (or whiskey, as is more likely in my case). As I move down the glass the flavour and the aroma of the beer seem to subtley change. More chocolate starts to come through, and on occasions there are very feint hints of cherry.
The first thing I notice about the Human Cannonball is the hops. As soon as I lifted the glass to my nose I was hit by a waft of grassy hop flower aromas. There's a distinct lingering aftertaste, but on a different part of the tongue. In theory, if the beers mix well, I should get the burnt flavours of the Bearded Lady lingering on the front of my tongue, and the bitterness of the Human Cannonball lingering on the back of my tongue.
Human Cannonball is bitter. It stands at a mighty 115 IBUs ("approximately") and as such, it's hard to distinguish any tastes other than that bitterness. That's not to take anything away from it though. Human Cannonball is one of the best beers in this country right now.
Now, for the mix. Aromawise, it's much like a Black IPA, a mixture of strong hop influenced aromas and burnt malt influenced aromas. Tastewise, it's pretty much as I expected, only better. If there's one thing I've discovered after doing just nine of these, it's that strongly hopped IPAs and rich flavoursome Stouts work the best. Here I have two very unique and strong flavoured beers. It would be very easy for one to overpower the other, but instead there is a compliment. Like a couple of previous Black and Tans I have done, there is a lingering bitterness that slowly gives way to a lingering burnt malt taste. This is starting to become a quality that I'm looking for in these experiements.
The Human Cannonball/Bearded Lady Black and Tan is one of the best I've had so far. I'd give it a go too if I were you.
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