This week: Noonan Black IPA from Smuttynose Brewing Co., Portsmouth, N.H.

Cost: $1.55 for a 12-ounce bottle at Lebanon Health Food Store, Lebanon, N.H.

Strength: 5.7 percent a.b.v.

The pour: Inky and almost syrupy, like a porter, with a foamy head that holds its form for up to 10 minutes. The beer smells vaguely like a Dove Dark Chocolate Promise dipped in pine resin. 

The taste: Hoppy-ho, this is bittah! At least to my wino palate. It’s dry but substantial in the mouth, with coffee-like edges, hints of smoke and a roasty undercarriage. It lingers a looooong time on the back of the tongue.

Drink it with: I would love this with a plate of chicken molé, a sharp cheddar grilled cheese sandwich (on Harpoon miche from King Arthur Flour — I’m just sayin’) or hunks of Callebaut chocolate. As it was, I sipped it on its own.

Corin Hirsch was a Seven Days food writer 2011 through 2016. She was also a dining critic and drinks columnist at Newsday from 2017 to 2022, and contributes to The Guardian, Wine Enthusiast and other publications. She’s spoken often on colonial era drinking and is the author of Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England, published by History Press in 2014.