Alaskan Pilot Series: Double Black IPA

Brewed by Alaskan Brewing Company
Style: Black IPA
Juneau, Alaska USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Bomber pours black with large fluffy brown head. Aroma is citrus, pine and floral, with some roasted malts behind all around cherry sweetness. Taste has up front roasted and chocolate malts, smoke, aftertaste has a slight hop bitterness like an IPA. Taste has a nice balance in aroma between dark malts and IPA however it doesn’t transfer to the taste. Still a nice beer though.

Bottled sample. Might be one of the finer beers innate ever tried. Reminds me of half pints black ipa

On tap at OBriens, backlogged rating. Sweet malt throughout, with much more roasted coffee overtaking the bitterness, unlike most other black IPAs. Subdued bitterness on the back end; mild hops bite.

On tap at Bailey’s Taproom in Portland, OR. Colour... essentially black with a very thick tan head. Nose... decidedly hoppy with a dandy balance between citrusy hops and piney hops. Palate... nicely thick though not necessarily coating with coffee-like flavours, bits of bittersweet chocolate, roasty malt and resonating waves of hops that play along nicely on the back palate and through the finish.

Draft at Stone Bistro. Pours a dark cola brown hue with fluffy khaki head. Aroma is on the weak side but has some hop notes present (pine) and also dark roasted malts. The flavor has notable dark bitter chocolate up front. Then it moves into notes of thick sticky hoppiness with some pine and citrus. There’s bittereness here and it’s hard to know if it’s coming from the dark roasted malts or the hops (or both). The creamy mouthfeel is more reminiscent of a stout. And there is more of that confusing bitterness in the finish along with more bittersweet chocolate and some black coffee. This is more like a hoppy stout or porter than what I think of as a black IPA. This is decent, but there are better examples of this blended style. (51, 413)

Pours a very dark brown (almost black) with creamy brown foam. Smells surprisingly like a barleywine with malts, hops and alcohol all blending together. Tastes very bitter, like an imperial IPA should, but doesn’t finish with the citrusy notes that hops often excrete, but the bitterness combines with the coffee aromas that the malts give. One of the best black IPAs I’ve had.

Pilot Series labeled bomber at Papago Brewing in Scottsdale, AZ. Dark brown pour supporting a medium tan head with plenty of retention and very good lacing. Strong aroma of roasted coffee, pine resin and bittersweet chocolate. Starts out like a straightforward IPA with herbal hops, citrus, and bready malt followed strongly and quickly by coffee, caramel and smoke. Smooth texture and medium dry finish that ends as it starts with a brisk hoppy note. Glad I found this brew and extremely glad I found Papago Brewing.

Pours a tan rocky head which looks like a stout, rather than an IPA. Black body with some carbonation coating the glass. However, there’s no question that this is an IPA once you get a whiff of the aroma. Nice Left Coast hop bouquet on the pine and citrus side. Wouldn’t surprise me to find out they did a bit of dry-hopping to achieve this. Flavor is also a jekyl and Hyde experience. At first touch very clearly a strong hop character, but that’s quickly taken over by roasted and burnt malts, leaving little hops on the palate. Bitter malts linger quite long in the aftertaste. Light mouthfeel as would be found in an IPA. As for it being an imperial IPA? Perhaps in alcohol level, but I’ve had some IIPA that will slap you silly with hops. This isn’t one of them. Still was a good one to try. Hopefully, they add it to their revolving profiles.

22 oz. from Chuck’s. Beige head and predictably dark. Definitely tastes like the lovechild between an IPA and a robust stout. This is the first "black IPA" I’ve had that actually tastes like this. Is this what the style is supposed to be? If so there are a lot of terribly mislabeled beers out there. An interesting beer and one to be savored.

Poured into my Alaskan shaker glass from a 22oz. bottle. Pours really deep brown with a reddish greenish hue. Head is light brown, and thin. Aroma is very complex, starting with earthy hops. I also note dried fruit flavor, like raisins maybe. Flavor comes right out with chocolate and roasted flavors. Also pretty bitter from the hops, and no alcohol flavors come through like other high alcohol beers. Good mouth feel, full bodied with lively carbonation and finishes dry. Overall a delicious combination of chocolate and bitter!! Really enjoy this beer!