Knee Deep Brewing Company - Midnight Hoppyness

The pursuit of hoppyness...

I love surprises, especially when they are beer-related. Yesterday, I pulled a bomber of craft beer from the bottom shelf of the trusty, rusty Kenmore and couldn't remember buying it. Where did it come from? When did I buy it? Did aliens put it there? Was I sleepwalking in a bottleshop again? I don't know!

The mysterious bottle of beer was Midnight Hoppyness from Knee Deep Brewing Company in Auburn, CA. Seriously, I really have no recollection of buying this beer. I have no idea where I bought it or why I bought it. Such is the life of a craft beer aficionado. Beers just popping up all over the place for no good reason. Let's see how this one tastes, shall we?

What the heck? I was surprised by the appearance of this brew when I poured it into the glass. I didn't inspect the label first. It's an Imperial Black Rye IPA. Oh, my. It poured into my glass an opaque, motor oil black with a creamy, clumpy, mocha-colored head. The head rose up to more than a finger thick and dissipated slowly. Lumps and chunks of sudsy lace were left behind all over the glass.

Aroma. Wow. Lots going on in the nose with this beer! Roasted malt and citrus hops. Resinous pine. Cocoa. Dank weed. Some smoky char notes. Vanilla. Toffee.

Taste delivered a big, bitter, IPA hop profile right up front. That was followed up with roasted, mildly smoky malt and a subtle rye spiciness. Grapefruit. Pine. Burnt caramel and dark chocolate. Wow, again. This is a big boy (or girl) beer, I'll tell you what.

Slightly full mouthfeel, but not nearly as viscous as it looked. Good carbonation kept it from going into the realm of a stout. Just a hint of the 9.5% ABV was detected on the finish. A sophisticated mix of roasted malt and huge hops flavors were left behind on the palate at the end.

DAY-UM! I'm sure glad I picked this beer up from wherever the heck I found it! It's awesome! What craftsmanship. Such an eclectic mix of flavors and I'm impressed that they didn't get muddled together. Instead, Midnight Hoppyness delivered a parade of taste that I absolutely enjoyed to the very last sip. This brew is probably not for everyone, but I loved it. 4 crushed cans out of 4.