Blueball – Black Betty

Brewery –          Blueball Brewery

Beer –                  Black Betty

Alcohol –           7.2%

Origin –               Runcorn, Cheshire

Style –                 Black IPA

Season –             Summer

It was my first trip to Kash Bar, Chester over the weekend after finding out that it is child friendly hoorah!

Stepped up to the bar and asked for a pint of Black Betty… didn’t realise the strength of it! Usually beers of this strength are served in half measures but like the Blueball beers, there’s no messing around! A pint you ask… then a pint you’ll get!

This is rich and smokey brown black ale, interestingly highly carbonated with a frothy cappuccino head, and served a beautifully sculpted Kash Challis.

Dark Chocolate, Smokey with hints of Coffee on the nose, and laced with deep dark fruits. The strong alcohol content is apparent in its aroma; sweet and punchy.

The mouthfeel is smooth but like all the Blueball beers I’ve tried thus far there is an appealing tanginess to the brew giving it a modern and vibrant feel. It coats the tongue, thick and silky but this increases the time the beer is on the tongue, intensifying the flavours; longer, and deeper.

The coffee and dark chocolate on the nose give way to liquorice and blackcurrant flavours with the solid strong alcohol content apparent throughout, and leads to a lingering and clinging sweet finish.

This beer is packed full of flavour; it’s exciting, gripping, thoroughly satisfying, and is scarily drinkable and sinkable at that ABV!