The other day, G-LO came over for our regular session (it’s so important that we keep up our workout routine!) and brought with him a couple of beers to try. One of them was the Founders Dark Penance, an Imperial Black IPA. The Dark Penance is a Fall seasonal that is available from October to December. We have had a lot of Founders line-up (Breakfast Stout, Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Red’s Rye PA, Centennial IPA, Dirty Bastard, Cerise, All Day IPA, Porter and Rübaeus) and G-LO thought that this would be a “wheelhouse” beer for me. Not one to turn down an offer, I split the beer with him and picked up my pen to provide some tasting notes.

What they say…

I found the Dark Penance to have the following characteristics…

• Appearance: Black with ruby tinged sides and nice fluffy foam.
• Aroma: A little doughy with a bit of toasted malt and a fair amount of hops. A little of the acrid coffee aroma and some lemony citrus.
• Taste: A great balance of flavors with the malt sweetness and the floral hoppy bitterness. I didn’t find this to be overly bitter from either the roasted coffee flavors or the added hops. The extra ABV is evident as well but it acts as more of a complement rather than making it too boozy.
• ABV: 8.9%

I have yet to be disappointed by Founders as I have not had a beer brewed by them that was not expertly crafted. While I may not have enjoyed all of them equally, this had more to do with my beer style preferences rather than the beer itself. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the Dark Penance. This was a very good Black IPA that was made even better with the added octane that comes with the imperial touch. Well done, Founders!