When Green Flash came out with the Black IPA a while ago I wasn’t familiar with the style and it seemed a bit strange. I probably had a small amount of it at first but forgot it was there. Now in 2014, Green Flash decided to start the year off with 22oz bottles of the beers from the Hop Odyssey series. Black IPA is the first such beer and it is a bitter brew.
It pours black as stout but lacks any of the sweet coffee or chocolate flavors that might bring some people to like stouts. My first thought upon tasting this beer was “Wow that is bitter!” Other people I talked to at the brewery didn’t find it particularly bitter so perhaps the roasted malt flavors that I tasted came off to me as bitter. I would expect that this beer is probably a minimum of 80IBU and perhaps even up there into 90IBU. I couldn’t immediately tell what hops I tasted but my best guess is that they used the New Zealand hops that Green Flash uses for the Green Bullet. Before I left I picked up a 22oz bottle so I’ll see if I like it more in the bottle. This isn’t a bad beer but it didn’t immediately grab me. I think it could have benefited from some chocolate flavors.
Paul McGuire
Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.
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