In the world of craft beer the west coast is known for one thing...hops. Lots of them. In some cases the beer unabashedly tastes more like a hop contest than an actual beer. You know the what beers I am talking about, don't pretend you don't. You develop bitter beer face and it has nothing to do with a domestic light lager.
I can appreciate a good hoppy beer, but with the caveat that it must be in balance with the malt to truly be an exceptional brew. So imagine my delight when I visited the Deschutes pub in Portland in January and had my very first Intergalactic Black IPA (cue the Beastie Boys now). Now this is a beer to behold. Warm roasted malts coupled with a bright citrus finish that left my taste buds confused but delighted.
Fast forward to tonight and I pull their Hop in the Dark out of my fridge for a little hoptopia and the beer has evolved into one of their Bond Street Seasonals. They prefer the name Cascadian Dark Ale as opposed to a Black IPA because well, this is the west coast and the authority on hopped up styles and pay homage to the native Cascade hops. Now I must admit I liked the version in Portland a little better, (no doubt because I was in Portland) but Hop in the Dark transported me back to that fabulous beer city. This is an exciting new frontier for the IPA beer style as the craft brewers once again are pushing boundaries.
The black IPA is one of my newest favs as well. If you ever get to Pittsburg and visit Churchbrew Works, they have one killer black IPA.
ReplyDeleteBlack IPA has been all the rage this year on the UK craft brewing scene.
ReplyDeleteBut I think the best example I've had so far is (and maybe one of the first) Stone's Sublimely Self-Rightious. I love it!
Check out my review, both video and words.
http://hopzine.com/?p=2222