Yes, you read that right. A black IPA.
For those of you who don't know what an IPA is, it stands for India Pale Ale.
A black pale ale.
The previous IPA I tried from this company, their 'Loose Cannon', was quite interesting. So much strange hops and spices that it tasted almost more like green tea than beer. Quite odd.
When I opened this one up, it smelled about the same as the 'Loose Cannon' did. Same almost tea-ish hint. The first sip just about knocked my socks off. With the background taste of dark beer as opposed to light, the tea-ish flavor really took off. I tasted a plant/earthy flavor that I've never tasted in a beer of any kind before. This tastes less like tea, and more like how freshly cut aromatic plants smell. It's pleasant. Strong, but still pleasant. Quite strange. I like the flavor with the backdrop of black beer much better than the backdrop of the pale ale.
After every swallow, I get the aftertaste of... well, jungle. Life. Almost a hint of lemongrass in there, or something like it. This is a strange taste, but one that's grown on me fairly fast. It's funny, I didn't particularly like the 'Loose Cannon', but I'm finding that I like this better. In hindsight, I'm not sure if it's so much that this flavor goes better with the darker beer as it is that I'm just developing a taste for this strange flavor. I can see someone taking one sip and saying, "That's horrible, I'm never having this again." I can also see someone buying six-pack after six-pack and drinking it for weeks.
I can't imagine that very many people will like this beer. I do, but my tastes run to the strange and dark. And so do my tastes in beer.
Regardless of personal taste, it is definitely a good beer. Strange. But good.
In my opinion, this is the mark of a good brewing company. A company that doesn't necessarily care how many people like the beer, they only care that someone will enjoy the product they are producing. This may not be the mark of a fantastic business to invest in, but it is the kind of business I'd want to be involved with. This is a good illustration of that age-old worn-out 'made with love' adage. This beer is made by someone who wants to make something interesting that someone will enjoy. And even if I fell into the category of people who took one sip and couldn't stand it, I'd still respect that.
So far I've only found two brewing companies about which I can honestly say that everything I've tried from them is both interesting and good. Not necessarily to everyone's taste, but interesting and good. Those would be this company, Heavy Seas, and the Middle Ages Brewing Company. Both companies have made a few simple brews, but they still manage to make them interesting and good. I wasn't particularly a fan of the 'Loose Cannon' IPA from this company, and I wasn't a huge fan of the winter brew from Middle Ages. But they were both still good and interesting. Just not particularly to my taste.
For those of you who don't know what an IPA is, it stands for India Pale Ale.
A black pale ale.
The previous IPA I tried from this company, their 'Loose Cannon', was quite interesting. So much strange hops and spices that it tasted almost more like green tea than beer. Quite odd.
When I opened this one up, it smelled about the same as the 'Loose Cannon' did. Same almost tea-ish hint. The first sip just about knocked my socks off. With the background taste of dark beer as opposed to light, the tea-ish flavor really took off. I tasted a plant/earthy flavor that I've never tasted in a beer of any kind before. This tastes less like tea, and more like how freshly cut aromatic plants smell. It's pleasant. Strong, but still pleasant. Quite strange. I like the flavor with the backdrop of black beer much better than the backdrop of the pale ale.
After every swallow, I get the aftertaste of... well, jungle. Life. Almost a hint of lemongrass in there, or something like it. This is a strange taste, but one that's grown on me fairly fast. It's funny, I didn't particularly like the 'Loose Cannon', but I'm finding that I like this better. In hindsight, I'm not sure if it's so much that this flavor goes better with the darker beer as it is that I'm just developing a taste for this strange flavor. I can see someone taking one sip and saying, "That's horrible, I'm never having this again." I can also see someone buying six-pack after six-pack and drinking it for weeks.
I can't imagine that very many people will like this beer. I do, but my tastes run to the strange and dark. And so do my tastes in beer.
Regardless of personal taste, it is definitely a good beer. Strange. But good.
In my opinion, this is the mark of a good brewing company. A company that doesn't necessarily care how many people like the beer, they only care that someone will enjoy the product they are producing. This may not be the mark of a fantastic business to invest in, but it is the kind of business I'd want to be involved with. This is a good illustration of that age-old worn-out 'made with love' adage. This beer is made by someone who wants to make something interesting that someone will enjoy. And even if I fell into the category of people who took one sip and couldn't stand it, I'd still respect that.
So far I've only found two brewing companies about which I can honestly say that everything I've tried from them is both interesting and good. Not necessarily to everyone's taste, but interesting and good. Those would be this company, Heavy Seas, and the Middle Ages Brewing Company. Both companies have made a few simple brews, but they still manage to make them interesting and good. I wasn't particularly a fan of the 'Loose Cannon' IPA from this company, and I wasn't a huge fan of the winter brew from Middle Ages. But they were both still good and interesting. Just not particularly to my taste.
