Recently, I had a bit of a falling out with the RJ Rockers Brewery. RJ Rockers of Spartanburg, South Carolina was founded in 1997, and I have been a fan of their beers for years. The first problem I had was last fall when their beers started to shoot up in price, to around $12 a six-pack. Your beers are good, RJ Rockers, but not that good.

Strike two came when I picked up my first ever bottle of RJ Rockers The First Snow Ale. It was badly infected and undrinkable, and friends in other parts of the country reported the same problem with the beer. RJ Rockers response to my complaints: come to the brewery and we’ll take care of you. Whatever that means.

I haven’t had an RJ Rockers beer since then to be honest, but a few days ago at Taco Mac it seemed time to bury the hatchet and order up a glass of their Black Perle Dark India Pale Ale. I had seen this in 4-packs in local liquor stores, but hadn’t picked any up yet.

In fact, at 9.5% ABV, Black Perle is a Double India Dark Ale. I paid $6 for an 11 ounce glass; 4-packs of 12-ounce bottles run $9.99 here. Here’s what RJ Rockers say about it on their website:

The first release in the "Ales from the Dark Side" series...A dark, roasted twist on the traditional IPA that uses an absurd amount of malt and is "octo-hopped" with the German Perle hop. The biggest beer in the RJ Rockers lineup to date. 

Pere hops are a German varietal with a moderate amount of alpha acids (they lend bitterness) and are known to add a floral aroma.

RJ Rockers Black Perle Dark India Pale Ale pours to a jet black color with a huge roasted coffee nose and a very thin head formation. Taking a sip, I got a medium body which I want in the style, but one packed with harsh roasted coffee, burnt toast, a hint of licorice, and roasted husky barley. That is what really amazed me about this beer, the really intense burnt roastiness. The finish is big with roasted barley bitterness and grassy hops.

Very different for the style and the intense roastiness may offend some, but I love it. While I think the bottles price is high, the draft price was not all that unreasonable given the strength of the brew.

Thanks, RJ Rockers. You’re back in my good graces with this wonderfully different brew.



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