Duality Black IPA

Style: Black IPA
Producer: Crooked Moon Brewing
Origin: Sweden
Size: 44cl
Alcohol: 6.9%
Price: 40kr
Systembolaget: 3146214

Crooked Moon began as a pair of tattoo artist brothers who asked to do a collaboration with Mikkeller. After the success of their first beer, a DIPA, they have continued brewing, with this being a recent release. Black IPA, also known as Cascadian Dark Ale, originated in the Pacific Northwest of the USA in the late 1990s. Brewers wanted to combine the bold, hop character of a West Coast IPA with a jet-black appearance, without the heavy roast flavours of a stout or porter. As this was a combined beer and chocolate tasting, I knew I wanted a black IPA to round out the selection. Unfortunately, it seemed to be a bit of an under developed genre in Sweden, so there wasn’t that many choices. I chose this eventually, and I’m rather happy that I did!

This poured deep black with a soft tan head, immediately giving off a mix of roasted malt and piney hop aromas. Upon tasting, it struck a nice balance between dark, slightly coffee-like bitterness and classic IPA citrus notes. The aftertaste led more toward the hoppy side, with a crisp, dry finish that kept it drinkable rather than heavy. There’s a subtle chocolate and charred edge in the background, but it never overwhelmed the hop character.

Black IPA can be a hard style to get right, with both dark malts and resinous hops both needing room to shine. This did a good job of doing just that, with a great balance between the two competing sides. An easy to drink black IPA that is well worth your time.