For those of you who aren't familiar with the style, a Black IPA (also sometimes referred to as Cascadian Dark Ale) is a relatively recent invention of the American craft brewing industry. It is born of the hop-centric viewpoint that all beers, regardless of style, can benefit from being absurdly hoppy. The style is still evolving, but the base components are these: dark in color like a stout, and hoppy like an IPA. This leaves a lot of room for interpretation.
Glass Bottom's previous foray into the world of Black IPA's was something of a hybrid. Instead of using the traditional American IPA hops in our offering, we went with a traditional UK stout variety, and scaled it up accordingly. The UK hop variety Fuggles is much more earthy than it is citrusy, and it tends to highlight and accentuate dark malts. This beer seemed to work (there were certainly no complaints), but the opportunity to participate in the conversation of a still evolving style is Glass Bottom's bread and butter.
Our new take on the style is yet another hybrid. It is born of the delightfully devilish dry fruitiness of Belgian ales, and the enigma that is Black IPA's. Loaded up with a panoply of crystal malts and flaked barley, this beer should have body and plenty of bitterness. Fermented with the same yeast strain as Duvel, hopefully this beer will creep up on unsuspecting palates and provide them with a hugely rewarding flavor. Brew date 2/20/2012.
