Shmaltz Brewing Company He’Brew Death Of A Contract Brewer Black IPA at 7.0% ABV
Pours a deep cola brown with two fingers of fluffy light tan head, good retention, and sticky moderate lacing. Nose is light, with resiny hops, faint fruit and bitter chocolate. Taste is light floral and grassy hops, and citrus, with a bitter finish. Mouth feel is medium to light, with low carbonation and a lingering bitter finish.
I… Dunno. To the extent there’s any dark or roasty aspect to this, it feels a little unbalanced. Both the nose and the flavour feel like they’re predominantly IPA, with the “black” tacked on after the fact. It’s a decent enough IPA, but I’m not convinced it’s a “black IPA” in anything but colour. That being said, I feel like I’m damning it with faint praise – it’s certainly a decent enough IPA all on its own. I just can’t shake the feeling that this is a bit of a bandwagon black IPA.
8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
