Black Raven Brewing Company

14679 NE 95th St

Redmond, WA, United States of America

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Logs for this venue

Unsweet IPA, lightly grapey, turns to a nice cereal right when you think it’s going to turn bitter (which it never does).
Draft
Clear IPA with an intensely flavored, oily, sweet sheen. The flavor itself isn’t bad, but it’s a lot. Don’t very much love beers with this character, which seem increasingly common.
Draft
Candied lemon, bright, sweet, buttery. Not unlike certain types of herbal lemon drops. Triumph, cryo hops, 6% 66 IBU
Draft
A quite unsweet lemon-ginger tonic mixed with a pleasant lager, which does provide a touch of cereal sweetness. While this tastes almost medicinal at first I grew to enjoy it.
Draft
Bitter and woody; lightly fruity, thin.
Draft
Definitely on the sweet side, but I'd forgotten just how solidly tasty this is. Smooth and thin.
Draft
Very perfumey; orange, melon, sweet and thin. A little fakey.
Draft
Clean, lemon-pine IPA, moderately bitter, just south of perfumey.
Draft
Quite tart and I’m not sure I detect any cinnamon, and this is a sipping beer, but it’s quite good.
Draft
This year is on the dry side, with a lot of wood but less booze. There's some sourness that makes this sophisticated but maybe not as immediately delicious. Still, I'm not not going to order it.
Draft
Dry coffee, a touch of chocolate, a touch of something herbal as well that wasn't quite but reminded me of mint.
Nitro Draft
Interesting fresh hop, with typical intense fruit-forward flavor - pear and nectarine, maybe? And some unusual vinous notes as well. Finishes a bit oily but also mellow. Just a tiny bit of funk on the end.
Bottle
Azacca for 2023. Sweet, candied orange perfume opening; does it quickly on the tongue; high bitter aftertaste.
Draft
Still sour, and wore out its welcome very quickly.
Draft
Definitely tart but not puckeringly so; clean, tannic, passion and pineapple, fruity.
Draft
Delightful. Glad after a few disappointments that at least this one seems to have stayed the same as my memory. Caramel notes along with a ton of red wine flavor.
Draft
Same vintage as last time but there was a sour tinge to this that built up over time, kid of like that infected-barrel quality that Big Block beers tend to have. By the end of the glass I was not enjoying it anymore.
Draft
Holds up in character through the nitro, chocolatey, roasty, mellow.
Draft
Each new release of this beer seems a little less whiskey and a little more Scotch ale. Fairly thin, but mellow. Barrel is mostly wood and background. A fine beer for my birthday.
Draft
Watery, diluted corn syrup impression from this beer. Definitely a big step down from the Oktoberfest.
Draft
I don’t know what was up with the last time, but this is very good again. Still hits every flavor I want from an Oktoberfest-Marzen.
Draft
It’s been a good while since I’ve had this beer and the fact I’ve already had a grandfather raven means it’s hard to judge this impartially, but this is still very nice. Caramel, lightly plummy, thin but assertive. I think this lives up to my memory.
Draft
Strong but mellow, roasty and lightly fruity. I think in the past I have been rating this with the great grandfather raven in mind which is not fair. Strong for sure.
Draft
Orange, coriander, starts out with a positive impression but over time a musty wheat funk starts asserting itself. Clean finish.
Draft
Slightly smoky, deep roast, medium thick mouthfeel that has a creamier and more caramel smoothness than you’d expect from the opening. Clearly very strong.
Draft
Wet - Grassy - Cereal - Sweet - Candied lime rind - dry - perfume
Draft
Dry roasted biscuit, yeasty bitterness, leaves throat fairly dry. Caramel.
Draft
Really can’t taste peaches*. Hazy, slightly acrid up front but ends up lightly sweet, understated and mellow. *Maybe a bit "fuzzy" at the end, maybe those are the peaches poking through?
Draft
Always good. Not top tier, but quite tasty. On the roasty side, with a slight build up of ash, maybe. Noticeable but not overbearing whiskey flavors. One to nurse for a while but worth the whole glass.
Draft
I don't feel like this has always been this bad. Reminds me of the old palate-killing Vienna lager from Hi-Fi. Funky-nutty and not much else.
Draft
Don’t know what they did to it this year. Smells terrible.
Draft
Ripe papaya, pith, slightly oily, resin. Not as cleanly enjoyable as the Azacca. Ironically this feels like Optimism's Azacca from yesterday.
Draft
Light papaya, citrus. A little oily and pungent at the start but overall it is light and sunny and fits the description.
Draft
Quite tart, fizzy, like a S. Pellegrino Arianciata Rossa with a funky finish, dry Brett bitterness, some horse blanket, but rather clean.
Draft
Super perfumey, not bitter but high and dry and sweet. The piney hop oil coats the tongue and lingers.
Draft
Decent hazy Pale. Little bit on the drier side - the fruit is "dark."
Draft
A round, fruity flavor that calls to mind orange peel. Malty and fruity rather than the hops I remember from earlier iterations of this beer.
Draft
Mellow sweet wheat, grapefruit-apricot finish that rings clear and dry as a bell. Not bitter at all. A huge improvement from the 2.0 release.
Draft
Starts with a guava-passion fruit opening, some wheat funk, and then a kind of acrid bitter finish that was off-putting at first. After a few sips I think that part of my tongue got burned out and then the rest of the glass was actually quite pleasant. Wish that first part hadn't happened, though.
Draft
Hilariously, when I ordered a Festivus they brought out another Splinters, and honestly I was too far gone to realize it, other than thinking they'd really improved the Festivus. When they corrected their mistake, yeah. Pretty perfumey.
Draft
Medium roast, coffee-centric. Smooth from the nitro but characterful enough. Again, the barrel character was almost nonexistent. This wasn't going to win any contest against the Splinters, but it was a nice, lighter followup.
Nitro Draft
Smooth, buttery caramel and strong bourbon. Goes down disturbingly easily. This seems like two years in a row where the Splinters take has been very good.
Draft
Much less wine than I remember; this tasted more like a straight up dubbel or quad. Lots of caramel, some boozy notes. I did like it better the old way.
Draft
Hoppy and juicy; I'd call this more of a wheat IPA than the name implies.
Draft
Better than I remember from past releases. Still not much of the barrel spirit present, if at all, but a fine roast stout with coffee notes, enough to counteract the nitro blandness and produce some solid flavor.
Nitro Draft
A strong release, I think. Very much bourbon, with a solid, malty, caramel Scotch ale base. Did not think this was thin at all. Back to an awesome rating, and drunk fresh at that!
Draft
Seemed a lot more fruity-sour than I remembered, and I don't know if that's real or if I've gotten more sophisticated. Either way I hate everything.
Draft
Smells nice and fruity. Sweetish alpha bitterness on the edges but a solid, unsweet flavor, a hint of tropical fruit and lightly pungent resin.
Draft
Bready, banana like Belgian but with strong overtone of spicy hops. Drinkable, and pretty good flavor components, but honestly it was one of those more quality than enjoyment type beers for me.
Draft
Not a "pumpkin beer", this is a good thing.
Draft
Sweet light malt body. Somewhat acidic finish. Pretty alcoholic after burn.
Bottle
Far less opaque than my memory? Still very good, though.
Draft
Thinner than I remembered, with a light, caramel, slightly nutty flavor. Bourbon is clear on the tongue but not overwhelming. I think I actually prefer the Possum Claus this year, and I don't know if it's me or the beer that's changed.
Draft
Initially thin porter taste gives way to a warm, slightly viscous caramel flavor. Hints of toasted pecans and bourbon that's initially hidden behind the caramel but is definitely there if you look. Stronger than it tastes, too. I was afraid this wouldn't match my memory but it might actually be better.
Draft
Vinegary smell. Effervescent, tart ale with definite raspberry notes and a sweet wheaty malt finish.
Draft
Pretty much an IPA with nice citrusy resinous hops flavors with a mild bitterness.
Draft
Strong chai flavors. The vanilla ones are more subtle. Pretty enjoyable.
Cask
Very sour, with some nice raspberry flavors. Has a little of a pickled flavor though.
Draft
Fruity, somewhat bitter, good yeast funkyness. Some of that tripel honey like sweetness.
Draft
Very smooth with strong and dry roasted coffee flavors.
Draft
Extremely fruity, round fruit and hops, on the front, although it's more of an essential-oil fruitiness than anything that seems super-integrated. The finish is a bit acrid and bitter, which builds up unpleasantly over time.
Draft
Black Raven La Petite Mort (unknown release)
Very strong yeasty herbal flavors. Strong yeast bitterness. Good booziness.
Bottle
Why, yes, I can keep doing this.
Draft
Might be the best batch yet? Cherry, subtle clove, bit of chocolate on the finish.
Draft
Nicely toasty-sweet, gem-clear with a rich, yeasty fragrance. I think this year's batch is less hop-prickly than before and more straight Oktoberfest lager in character. Since I really like that, I think it may the best batch yet.
Draft
Mildly tart, soda-like weisse with a dry, blackcurrant tang leading into a sweet wheat finish. Maybe I've just had too many British pastilles, but I couldn't help thinking of anise and medicinal herbs when drinking this. Other than that, it was pretty tasty (and different!).
Draft
Chocolate and light bourbon. Plum. A nice sipper.
Draft
I wanted to like this but didn't quite connect. The tripel character borders a bit on the syrupy side, and the transition to wood is more disconnected than I'd like. It took me quite a while to finish this one.
Draft
Hoppy, syrupy, cloying. Verged a bit on medicinal in flavor. Really had a hard time with this.
Draft
Cleaner profile similar resinous hopiness pretty good
Draft
Well rounded resinous hopiness. Nice pepper flavor without any spiciness. Obvious cardamoms flavors. Leaves a pretty strong herbal flavor in the mouth.
Cask
Pretty good for a sour... I'm starting to get this whole sour thing, darn you all, especially you, Matt.
Draft
Kind of middle of road as far as scotch ales go...
Draft
Very spicy with the peper flavors eclipsing everything else
Cask
Today this beer felt a lot stronger on the bourbon, but I may have been burned out on strong beer. It was still really tasty but a little less remarkable.
Draft
It didn't taste much like a wit, nor a radler (their cute name for this cask). Much more profound, like a Belgian IPA, with equal parts dank hops and clove and white pepper in the flavor. Some citrus, although of the candied variety, and maybe some anise or medicinal herb in there? Weird. Not bad, but really weird.
Cask
Reeeeealllly good! Good roastiness, not too boozy for the abv. Really, really good. Thankfully not as woody as the random barrell I was lucky to taste a few months ago. Had two of them :3 Can't believe the bottles were all gone in a few hours.
Draft
Dry, dark chocolate with subdued wood and a good amount of bourbon. This was more balanced than I remember - just absolutely delicious. I may have had more than I should have, but I was on the rebound from having missed the bottles (which sold out in an hour!).
Draft
Pretty good, strong resinous flavors but with a pleasant added touch of citrus flavors in the finnish.
Cask
A little too prickly to be refreshing for me.
Draft
Stronger bitter finish, bottle was sweetly bland by comparison.
Draft
I'm convinced that this batch is better on draft than in the bottle. The herbal bitterness I remembered was fully in presence, and offset the sweet berry very well.
Draft
Meh really not a fan of this one. The sour/vinegary/tangy flavors brought by the brett fermentation really doesnt mix well with the extra resinous hop flavors
Cask
A bit on the dry side for an Imperial Stout, which matches earlier impressions, but with a nice milky smoothness to the opening that makes this hard to dislike. On the thinner side for a beer of this strength, which, hoo-girl, it does have.
Draft
Quite enjoyable imperial stout with very dry and roasty flavors. It has somewhat of a thin texture. Quite boozy and strong.
Draft
Still very enjoyable with its blueberry muffin flavors and herbal bitterness.
Draft
Clean and crisp flavor profile with somewhat of a wet hops taste.
Draft
Very smooth and not too bitter. Presents a good mix of fruity flavors and herbal spices flavors.
Cask
Nitro Draft
This seems very different every year. This one was a lot like a sweet, dessert coffee drink, with just a bit of sourness. Still no real obvious barrel character in evidence.
Nitro Draft
Not sure if it was nitro vs CO2 or just the flavor in general, but this was very different than my memory from two years ago. Blueberry is just a hint, with a kind of pie crust malt sweetness taking the spotlight. The finish is a moderate herbal bitterness which I think is new, and actually quite appealing. This beer is a legitimate winner now, rather than an enjoyable curiosity.
Draft
Oak, vanilla, buttery caramel and molasses flavors. It's very sweet and a little bit boozy. Feels more like a barrel aged quad than a porter. Maybe a little bit too sweet.
Bottle
Blueberry flavor reminds a lot of blueberry muffins. Hard to identify herbal taste, probably the catnip. End with a pleasing bitterness
Bottle
Still better on draft. More bitter than I remembered.
Bottle
I always appreciate when Black Raven puts out a cask that isn't just a differently-dry hopped IPA. Typical for cask, a lot of earthy, herbal notes from the hops, as well as a good, dry, dark chocolate flavor on top. The peppercorn notes clarify as the beer warms up, and while they're interesting they made some of the other flavors more "pokey" instead of balancing things out.
Cask
Lot of aromatic herbs flavors (dill, chive, oregano) some grassy/hay flavors. Interesting yeast bitterness. The mild sourness reminds a lot of white wine.
Draft
Very strong peppercorn flavors without any spiciness. Mixes pretty well with the beer's mild sweetness.
Cask
Slightly fruitier than I remembered, I think. A bit prickly on the hops, which brings to mind the Hochzeit for me.
Draft
I think I'm getting used to the cask thing, especially the nutty-funky hop flavors that emerge when there's little carbonation. With the Scotch ale, what you get is a complex but drinkable, mildly sweet beer. Less fruit and sugar than I expected. Bitterness builds up a bit over time.
Cask
Clean, fresh and crisp. Light resinous hops flavors.
Draft
Crisp but very resinous hops flavors. Not so sessionable.
Draft
Sweet opening with some fruity flavors. Ends with a caracteristic scotch ale bitterness. Quite good at first, but the mix sweet and bitter mix got annoying after a while.
Cask
Do they blend the barrel and add it to the beer once they're done? It felt just like drinking a piece of wood. At some point I was worried it would trigger my pollen allergies. Nonetheless it's a pretty good beer with very strong barrel aged traits, vanilla flavors. It's also quite boozy.
Draft
I could not identify what the indian spices were at all. The added flavors, if any really, were very very faint. The only thing I was getting was a slightly salty bitterness that lingered a little longer the standard hop bitterness, curry maybe?. Otherwise it's a well rounded mellower trickster IPA
Cask
A smoother sweeter more well rounded IPA. Not picking up anything out of the ordinary from the brettanomyces fermentation. I was expecting some tang or sourness... (Maybe they served regular cask trickster as an april's fool?)
Cask
An okay nitro stout , it has somewhat of a flat flavor profile except for a peculiar metallic taste.
Nitro Draft
Somehow this was presenting a lot more herbal flavors then I remembered. It also add a very resinous corriander bitterness to it that I did not seem to pick up the first time.
Draft
Very clean overall. It has this common beer taste I can't put a name on... wet hops, dank yeast, something?
Draft

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