Black Raven Trickster IPA

Round 2… ding, ding, ding!  Following our post on their first brew, Black Raven Brewing – Batch 1 Brown Porter, comes their second, The Black Raven Trickster IPA.  If you read through the brown review, you will find a bitter, angst ridden story related to an unfortunate experience with the growler I purchased on opening day.  The good news is that I talked with Beaux today and he is doing the right thing and offering to reimburse me for the incident.  We discussed how busy they were and the fact that Beaux called the folks he buys the growlers from, discussed it with them, and they are working with their manufacturing company to understand how this happened actually exceeds my expectations.  So Beaux, I thank you for doing the right thing and renewing my faith in what you are trying to accomplish.  It is obvious, after talking with you today, that you are passionate about making this work.  I love it!

So… on to the review.  As their second offering, Trickster IPA hits it… Beaux noted he wants to make a few tweaks (primarily to the nose = increased aroma), but overall, this beer is great from nose to finish.  I have to concur with his tweak, though, as the nose is the only thing that doesn’t really jump out at you… The color and head hit it right on for a typical IPA with a light amber/orange-ish hue.   The body is medium-hoppy with a smooth mouthfeel that leads to a clean and relatively short finish.  The finish is solid, though, as it doesn’t linger and just gives you enough to keep you wanting more.

Overall a really solid IPA offering that I will 100% recommend again.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

Black Raven Brewing – Batch 1 Brown Porter

Beaux, Beaux, Beaux… why did you have to leave a bad taste in my mouth on opening day?  I mean, I could have been singing your praises in this post… but instead, it has to be spent on my poor experience vs. your pretty tasty beer.

You may remember me… I came in today (opening day at Black Raven Brewing) to taste the brew and pick up a growler for me and a growler for my friend Po… the one and only from this very blog… he is all gimped up due to breaking his friggin’ femur skiing and I figured it would be a treat to take him some of the new brew. 

Anyhow, all was well… I took him the growler of Batch 1 Brown Porter and we enjoyed a pint at his bedside… we both agreed that it was a good brew… dark and heady with definite malt character, sweet brown sugar, and a nice and clean finish… very encouraging for what was to come.  I said my goodbyes to ensure I could make it home for dinner, hopped in the car, and started driving home… that is where it all went terribly wrong…

About 2 minutes from Po’s house, I heard a ‘pop’ and looked over and beer was pouring out of the back of the passenger seat in my car… WTF? I thought as it took a moment for me to realize that the bottle had popped… right along the bottom seam.  So… I pulled over, dismayed that my relatively new ride was getting beer all over the leather seats and floor, opened the passenger side door from across the car, and tried to fling it out… well, you know how that works when the bottom pops off… really nothing you can do.  It just kind of goes everywhere.

I grab some napkins from the center console and start to try and get the pool of beer out of my seat, the pool of beer out of the floor in the back, and the splattered beer all over the place… I succeed in getting some of it, but there is no way in hell it is all going to come out.  I do best effort amongst many superlatives, hop in my car, and head back to the brewery.

Now… if you didn’t remember me before, you had better remember me now.  I showed you the bottle, you looked at it… you asked me a question I can’t remember exactly what, but I said of course I wanted more beer… you took the bottle from me, and you left… someone filled me another growler.  You came back and said you had seen this a couple of years ago, you offered to help clean it but that was already done so I told you it needed to be shampooed, and then… do you remember?  You gave me a card and said I could come back in for another refill…

REALLY?  That is it?  This only happens once every couple of years, my car needs to be completely cleaned of beer and a beer smell, you are just starting out, and all you offer me is a free refill?  On opening day?  Come on… really? 

Sure… I could have made a big deal and questioned you in front of all the other folks that were there, but I think I want you to realize something about the Pacific Northwest and customer service… you *never* know who you are serving.  I could have been anyone… you just never know.  I also don’t like to make big stinks… that just isn’t me. 

At this point, I don’t really want anything from you… other than to hope that you learned from this…  I would have hoped you would offer to have the car cleaned or for me to send you the bill or something or at least a little more than an extra growler on the house… now that would have been customer service, but at this point, I will just get it taken care of myself and wait to spend any money at your establishment until the pain of the $100+ dollars wears off.

Don’t get me wrong, either… I want you to be successful… a lot of people do.  I love great beer and the industry in general.  But this one is going to take a littel time to wear off… hopefully this isn’t your default when things go wrong… because things will continue to go wrong and your integrity in handling those situations will make or break you.

**UPDATE** Read our post on their Black Raven Trickster IPA for a more complete description, but needless to say that Beaux and I talked today and he is going to make it right.  The pissed off has worn off, so I am giving it a rating… Cheers!

JBB6 Rating: TBD (will rate when not pissed off)  For the Win