Ölbeat 005: Amager/Grassroots Black Nitro

Brewery: Amager Bryghus
Country: Denmark
Style: India Black Ale (instead of the usual Black IPA)
Abv: 7,5 %
@RateBeer

Danish-American Heavy Fuel

Amager Bryghus, a Danish brewery located in the island of Amager by Copenhagen, had convinced me to arrange a second meeting. I had a bottle of The Sinner Series Envy (IPA) at Mallaskukko in Turku and enjoyed it. So a brew made on a recipe by Shaun E. Hill (the brewmaster of Hill Farmstead/Grassroots Brewing) caught my eye in an online shop and was the next victim.

What about the beer?
Colour is black as the night with a thick bubbly beige head. Aroma has a hoppy headnote with some roasted malts on the side. Taste attacks with a dry hops in the foreground, then given some citrus fire support - mainly grapefruit and lemon. Palate adds a very mild taste of roasted malts to the picture. Long aftertaste is dominated by hops with a hint of citrus.

I am positively surprised by the absence of roasted malts in the taste. Kinda used to get some stout-and-porter like burned notes even with a hoppy black ale. A very tasty American IPA with unusual colour. The brewery maintains its exceptionality and attractiveness.  

Ölbeat

Choosing a performer and a song from the same country where the beer was made is rather an exception than a rule, so with this exceptional beer I stay inside the country borders:

Volbeat: Sad Man's Tongue (YouTube)

From the 2007 album Rock the Rebel / Metal the Devil, the song was written by the singer-guitarist Michael Poulsen. The country-style intro and 1st verse with banjo, acoustic guitar and Poulsen's "Elvis-mode" singing explode to a full heavy metal beat for the 2nd verse. The lyrics - with the start - show out the inspiration from Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues. The song tells about a man who in the end has refused to join the army and ended up in prison "with a pocket full of real tales, and a broken guitar mode". A rockabilly-tuned heavy metal song with a country twist matches the mood of Black Nitro. Well, for me, at least.