Black IPA, also known as Cascadian Ale, was first brewed by Greg Noonan of the Vermont Pub & Brewery in the USA in the 1990s. However, it took more than 10 years for this style to be known and understood by the public. Stone Brewery was one of the larger breweries to pick up this style and give it fame. The then brewmaster at Stone, Mitch Steele, wrote about the style that a well-brewed Black IPA should be black in color but still have a very fresh character. Something that is very difficult to brew because you use dark malts and can lose that freshness very quickly.
The style Black IPA became very popular from the year 2009 until about 2016. After that, the style started to disappear again. This was partly due to the fact that there were quite a few Black IPAs on the market that weren't that good.
A Black IPA is in style between an IPA and a Porter / Stout. It has a fresh hoppy character like a normal IPA and gets some dark tones, a hint of chocolate and coffee from the dark malts. However, this should not be taken too far, otherwise the Black IPA will look too much like a porter or stout and that is not the intention. If you were to drink a Black IPA with your eyes closed, you shouldn't really taste how dark this beer is. In other words, the chocolate and coffee character really has to play a role in the background.
The trend of Hazy IPA also reduced the popularity of Black IPA. The popularity of Black IPA is now growing again! Partly caused by Covid. Longtime fans who discovered the Black IPA 10 years ago now fall back on this style to have something recognizable in this rapidly changing world. New brewers who had never brewed the style themselves are now also taking on the adventure of brewing this difficult style as well as possible.
Our Black IPA "Black Is Black And I Want My Baby Back, Black Rye IPA" is brewed with 7 different malts and 6 different hops.
The interplay between the malts and the hops plays a major role in this beer. We've also added rye malt to give the beer a slightly drier and spicier finish.
Black Is Black And I Want My Baby Back has already won many international awards and meets the expectations a Black IPA has to meet very well!
I wish you a lot of tasting pleasure with this beautiful beer!
cheers,
Ronald
