El Gallo Negro

Well, we are midway thruogh the football season. I had to turn the heat on last week. My garden has all died from the frost. That means it is officially no longer summer. For hop heads everywhere this can be a difficult transition. There are tears and great sadness, as they anticipate the coming spring and the return of their bitter hoppy brews. Sun King  has brought us something a little bit different to make the transition easier. El Gallo Negro is a Black IPA.

Possibly he best of both worlds,

  possibly not...

The El Gallo Negro pours out a dark opaque brownish black color with a tan head that lingers, lacing the beer as you drink it. It has a nice floral hop smell. It has an abv of 7% and 84 IBUs (well above my normal preference).

The flavor is nice and malty. It tastes a bit like a baking chocolate with just a hint of smokiness. It finishes off with a sharp piney hop flavor. The bitter finish lingers in your mouth. It reminds me of a nice dry red wine. It is robust and full bodied, with a slightly syrupy mouth feel. It has a crisp finish that turns bitter as it sits in your mouth.

I would say that they have mad a great effort to make this best of both worlds. It has the thickness and heavy feel of a fall beer, but that hop bitterness and aroma is distinctly summer. This beer is great for sitting back and lamenting the end of summer.

I give it a 2.5

Professor Beer:

Despite IPAs being one of my favorite styles, I'm fairly picky about which ones I like.  I felt like the hops in Sun King's El Gallo Negro were overpowering.