Black Tor Brewery

Advent (4.8% ABV, bottle)
Bright red/amber with a good tab head, this has an aroma of roast malt, some chocolate, and a little dried fruit. On the palate, some of the port that’s been added comes through. But there’s a lot else to unpack. Rich, toasty malt, bitter chocolate, and a suggestion of almond, like the marzipan on a Christmas cake, appropriately. The dry finish leave you wanting more. A brew that tastes stronger than it is!
(15th November, 2020)

Blonde (3.8% ABV, bottle)
A very clean and refreshing, totally sessionable brew. Bright gold, it pours with a big foaming white head and is alive with carbonation. Lemon on the aroma, and some grassy hop. That lemon carries through on the palate, in the form of both juice and zest, well balanced with biscuit malt. Bags of flavour for its ABV.
(19th July, 2020)

DIPA (7.2% ABV, bottle)
Deep golden, it’s crystal clear with a white head that doesn’t linger too long. There’s a good malt note on this beer’s aroma, despite its high hop content, pine notes, and a sense of the high-octane experience to come. There are notes of orange, too, and some spiciness. Again, there’s actually good balance on the palate. Rich, bready malt against hop notes of orange, yes, but also some berry, tarragon, and lemon rind. Such a rich, yet dangerously drinkable brew. I love an IPA, I really love a double IPA, and this is a beaut.
(7th November, 2020)

DPA (Devonshire Pale Ale) (4.5% ABV, bottle)
Deep, clear golden, with a white head that stays well. There’s orange, lemon, and a hint of resin on the aroma. On the palate, it’s very much the big brother of Blonde (above), but with some stonefruit and grapefruit coming in. Again, wonderful balance from biscuit malt, and a great body. Clean and fresh — just right for the summer evening in which I’m enjoying it!
(20th July, 2020)

English Pale Ale (4.5% ABV, bottle)
Crystal clear, bright golden, and with a white head that stays quite well, I encountered this beer while carrying out an online tasting for a software company. There’s a good nose of herbal, spicy, and lightly citrus hops. The palate is a revelation of how far English hops have come in the past few years, and the success of the Charles Faram hop development programme. Against a biscuit malt background there’s a plethora of fresh hop notes: lemon citrus, mango, a little honeydew melon. It’s delightful, flavoursome, refreshing, and very satisfying.
(7th November, 2020)

New Zealand IPA (5% ABV, bottle)
Where Devon meets the Southern Hemispehere. Resinous, punchy hops and stonefruit on the nose; really inviting. Mango bursts through on the palate, a little grassy hop, lychees, kiwi, for me, rather than the lime, as specified on the bottle, and that trademark Black Tor malt balance, bready, but not too heavy. A flavoursome, enjoyable IPA that, at 5%, you can treat yourself to a couple of.
(20th July, 2020)

Pride of Dartmoor (4% ABV, bottle)
The one for fans of a traditional West Country style session bitter. Clear amber, with good carbonation and an off-white head, there’s good malt on the aroma, and perhaps a hint of sultana, too. That deep, bready malt, carries through to the palate, but it’s not one-dimensional: there are notes of strawberry, orange, and caramel.
(20th July, 2020)

Raven (4.2% ABV, bottle)
With a name like that you’d think it would be black, but no, it’s a rich chestnut colour with a slightly off-white head. Crystal clear, as ever — a Black Tor trademark. The aroma reveals caramel malt, a little spice, and some berry fruit. On the palate, it’s nutty, with caramel sweetness and some of those rich berry notes bursting through. Lovely autumnal richness in a glass.
(24th July, 2020)

Saison (5.2% ABV, bottle)
It pours an attractive deep gold with good carbonation and a head that stays well. The aroma is fresh, tart citrus, with some spciness and stone fruit. So refreshing! I can imagine enjying it outside (I’m in my kitchen). Grassy hop, lemon peel, and honeydew melon on the palate, with bready malt balance. The Huell-Melon hops do their work well here, helping to make a thirst-quenching, easy-drinking saison with a lovely lightness. Perfect for summer days.
(1st September, 2020)