8 Second IBA
Three Creeks Brewing Co.

16 oz glass at Growl Movement in Salem OR
$4
Very dark brown body..with a small tan head..
Aromas of semi dark chocolate and mid roast coffee with lemon zest hops..yes it goes.\
Taste of chocolate, coffee brown demerara sugar and honey..with nice pine/zesty hop profile.
Very smooth and fast mouth feel.
An excellent CDA..very drinkable

On tap at Typhoon! in Bend poured into pint glass.

I echo the previous reviews re categorization as the ubiquitous IBA. Perhaps the Cascadian Ale will be recognized in next revision. In any case, this certainly isn't an American Strong Ale.

That being said, dark brown almost opaque body dark tan head with tiny bubbles, quick disipation with minimal lacing. Toasty malts dominate the nose, the hops are well hidden. Too malty re more bready than toasty on the tastebuds, hops are only evident on the back end. Smooth mouthfeel and fairly dry finish, and certainly drinkable, but very confusing as to what they were trying to achieve. Perhaps with clarification of the 'new' style I'll have a better grasp on this, but this left me a bit perplexed.

EDIT- Had on tap at Three Creeks 12.28.11. The roast has been bulled back a bit, on certainly more resiny hops, especially noticeable once it warmed. This is not an American Strong Ale. Amped up taste score to 4.0, still not a lot going on aroma-wise, may be attributable to pouring temperature.

Appearance: dark brown to black, almost opaque, nice layer of creamy foam, lace

Aroma: fruity, hoppy, malty lusciousness; a bit tropical smelling (guava? papaya?)

Flavor: hearty malt backbone sliced through with roast and a scrumptious passion-fruit hop flavor; hints of dark dried fruits and smoke; finishes semi-dry with a smooth lingering bitterness

Mouthfeel: medium body, terse carbonation, silky, slight alcohol warmth

Other comments: This is a damn fine ale! And you get to re-live it with occasional hoppy burps (in a good way). Much more interesting than the run-of-the-mill pre-requisite brewpub IPA.

IBA purports to represent the India Black Ale, a style that doesn't exist in any fixed form but has seen a few budding representations, particularly in central and eastern Oregon. I'm not entirely sold on the concept especially as presented here, though I've met a few individuals in recent months who appreciate this darkened push of the envelope more than myself.

8-Second emits a strange aroma of scorched grains that somehow evokes the aftermath of a house fire. Hops contribute herbal flavor and firm bittering but no perceptible aroma. This makes the implied comparison to an IPA somewhat remote. Its color is not entirely black either, but is more of a deep ruby. The taste is of raw cereal with charred edges.

I'm more acclimated to straightforward stouts or northwestern IPAs and meeting the two halfway seems like a stretch from both ends. But 8-Second, named for the duration of a rodeo event, has a light velvety head, secure lace and enough personality to find an audience somewhere. But not particularly with me.

India Black Ale they claim.
Had a long internal debate about the style. It's not an IPA when it's this black, so says BJCP style guides...and its not a hoppy porter, i just dont know!

I finally decided to classify it a strong ale, since thats kind of a catchall for beers that don't fit the typical styles. It'll cuddle up alongside Lagunita's Brown Shugga and Hairy Eyeball, DFH's Immortale, Fat Weasel, and all those other off-style fellas.

Pours a dark black, with some lighter highlights. Light escapes this one, but not easily. Foamy beige head.

First whiff is some thick molassasy char and then bam, sharp high-alpha hops.

Flavor is hops, at good PacNW IPA levels, with some really nice smooth roasty dark malt in there. As far as a balance, it's complex enough that the rich dark malt and the sharp herbal hops really do play well together. I never get both flavors at once, but they play back and forth, each taking over at different points in the taste. Finish and aftertaste are also complex, with the tastes appearing to change jsut by my breathing. One breath is hops, the next is roasty rich malt. Neat!

This is gunning to be their flagship beer, me thinks.