Riptide Black IPA Beer Review Conwy Brewery

Riptide Black IPA combines dark roasted malts with hoppy citrus notes you would expect from an American IPA. It comes from the Conwy Brewery located in Colwyn Bay, Wales. But is it any good?

Riptide Black IPA is okay, although a little thin in the mouth, it delivers more on aroma than taste. On the nose it is rich roasted malt accompanied by some pleasant hoppy citrus notes. The taste delivers the roasted malt aromas, but there is not much in the way of hoppy citrus fruits. A bitterness hits the mouth from the offset with a pretty thin mouthfeel. It gets a straight 4.0 out of 5.0.

It smells pretty good, but the taste doesn’t deliver off of the aromas.

Table Of Contents

Riptide Black IPA Review

I am a little skeptical about the idea of a Black IPA, using roasted malts you might get in a porter or stout along with the hoppy citrus notes you get from an IPA, it messes with the head a little.

But hey, it’s beer and I never turn one down. So does it work? Well kind of, but it is a bit unusual.

On the pour you think you are getting a porter or stout. It’s black with a one finger off white head, so nothing so far to resemble an IPA.

On the nose it is quite interesting, and kind of what you might expect a black IPA to smell like. There are rich roasted malt notes up front with hints of bitter coffee. But then you also get some IPA like hoppy citrus fruit aromas.

Going in for a taste and the smell does not transfer to the taste. There is the roasted malt flavours, almost like toast and with it a bitter hit. As for those hoppy citrus notes, well they are hard to seek out, almost as if they have been overpowered by the roasted malts.

The mouthfeel is a little thin which is not what I expected, but although there is a good bitterness, that is all there is, it’s a little one dimensional.

I quite like it, but it delivers more on the porter side than on the IPA side. For me the bitterness saves it and it gets a rate my beer score of 4.0 out of 5.0.

However M’Lady is not so keen, saying “A bit too bitter, not much citrus and not very well balanced. There is no journey in the flavour, it is alright, but it’s not for me, it’s just too bitter.” Lou scores it 3.5 out of 5.0.

From what Lou said about the beer, I think her score is generous, I was expecting a little lower.

So Riptide Black IPA is an okay beer, it just hasn’t got a lot of depth.

Conwy Brewery

Gwynne Thomas along with his wife Adele are behind the Conwy Brewery, which started life in 2003 in a small industrial unit in the town of Conwy, North Wales. Although there were a few beers brewed before this point, Gwynne a chemist with a passion for brewing beer started at his home in Llandudno.

Since 2003 the brewery has seen growth and the Conwy beers are well and truly on the map, especially in Wales. In 2009 the brewery moved to bigger premises in Llysfaen which incorporates a taproom too.

In 2021 Gwynne and Adele retired leaving the running of the brewery to their son Oliver who continues to produce a decent range of Welsh craft beers.

Conwy Beer Range

Conwy Brewery have a decent amount of choice in their range of beers, from lagers and blondes, to real ales, pale ales and IPA’s.

There is even a honey beer, a red lager and of course a Christmas beer, which is available at the time of writing.

So here are a few of their beers that have caught my eye and I will be on the look out for.

Welsh Pride

Welsh Pride is a copper coloured bitter with a good balance of malts and hops. A standard bitter with rich malts up front and some orange and zesty notes to finish.

Sounds pretty good and at 4.0% ABV there might be call for a second pint of this Welsh bitter.

Idle Hands

Idle Hands is a hazy IPA which is heavily hopped to produce some huge hoppy IPA flavours using Simcoe and Azacca hops.

It seems to be part of a newish range of beers from Conwy called Convoke, which also include Castro a cold fermented IPA, Protagonist a NEIPA and Stickman which is a dark lager.

Being a heavily hopped IPA I expected Idle Hands to be beefy on the ABV, however it falls into session at a modest 4.3% ABV.

Helles

Helles as you will know is a German style beer, and this one is Conwy’s take on this popular style. Brewed with German malts and Noble hops it is said to be well balanced, full bodied with sweet malt and a floral finish.

Sounds like a decent lager, but it is not a session beer just crossing the fence at 5.2% ABV.

Will it stand well against a real German Helles? I will find out soon enough.

Final Thoughts

Conwy Brewery are producing some great beers, some of which seem to be pretty experimental with their Convoke range.

As for the Riptide Black IPA, it is a decent beer, but just a little thin in the mouth and one dimensional. If I ever see it on tap, I would definitely try it, just to see if it has a little more depth and flavour.

That said, there are plenty more beers in the Conwy range and some I am looking forward to getting my hands on.

If you have tried Riptide Black IPA or any other Conwy beers, then do share your thoughts a let me know what you think.