Bottle Conditioned

Hops hops hops. That describes this beer, and rightly so. The same brewers of the famous Ruination IPA and Arrogant Bastard have done it again this year with their 11th Anniversary ale. Self-titled as a “Black IPA” (or, IBA), this beer has a sweet nose loaded with citrusy, grapefruit hops that reek of West Coast. The beer sits in a snifter with a thin white head and a dark brown body. The nice medium thick mouthfeel supports a huge load of the same hops that are on the nose, with a sweet carriage underneath to pull the hops through the mouth. Starting slightly candylike on the front, the hop character fades to a heavy and widespread bitterness across the back of the mouth, lingering into a long bitter finish. Some faded dark fruit notes are present as well, but play second fiddle to the hops. Some resiny characteristics also run through the middle of the beer and tend to show up around mid-glass.

Overall, this is a pretty nice beer. Not terribly complex, but a solid beer that I’d classify as a super hopped up IPA (not quite into IIPA world, to my palate). At 8.7% abv and god-knows-how-many IBUs, this beer is surprisingly drinkable. Refreshing, in fact. But then, I love hops, so to others it could be off putting.

Generally, I’d recommend it. It’s not a far departure from their Arrogant Bastard archetype (although, I’ve not had AB in awhile), but still solid. Get yourself a bottle and give it a go.

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