Brewery Name and Location: New Belgium Brewing - Fort Collins, CO
Name of Brew: 1554 Enlightened Black Ale
Style of Brew: Black Ale
ABV: 5.6%
Last weekend at the Eastlake Zoo a buddy of mine let me try his pint of 1554. The Zoo happened to have 1554 on tap and he declared it his new favorite beer. I was a little over a pitcher of Sierra Nevada deep at the time so anything that was carbonated with alcohol in it was going to taste good but I couldn’t exactly give an objective taste opinion. Anyway last night I was stuck in the beer cooler wishing I had checked which beers we had already reviewed when I saw the six pack of 1554.
The 1554 Enlightened Black Ale pours a deep brown almost cola color with about a one finger almost perfect white head. The beer doesn’t have a strong aroma but you can pick up hints of chocolate, clove, and a little bit of black licorice. Those aromas translate straight to the taste with definite chocolate and licorice flavors. New Belgium says:
Born of a flood and centuries-old Belgian text, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale uses a light lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be. In 1997, a Fort Collins flood destroyed the original recipe our researcher, Phil Benstein, found in the library. So Phil and brewmaster, Peter Bouckaert, traveled to Belgium to retrieve this unique style lost to the ages.
For what first appears to be your average heavy dark beer 1554 actually goes down really easy. I could easy run through four of five of these things without realizing it. An IPA is still going to be my go-to brew when I’m not looking to slam down 15 beers but the 1554 is definitely going to move into the second spot.
New Belgium Brewing: 1554 Enlightened Black Ale
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Ill look for it today.
Have you tried Stone IPA. Excellent!
http://geologyjoe.blogspot.com/2009/02/beer-review.html
1554 on tap? That’s a rarity. I knew I should be hanging out at the Zoo more often!
you got drunk at the zoo?