Dark Day IPA
Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub

 

Served On-Tap

A — Pours a very deep dark brown, nearly black, there is a tall off-white colored head that forms and leaves behind very nice lacing.

S — Smells of richly roasted chocolate malts, light sweetness, mostly roasted goodness.

T — Tastes initially bitter and roasted malts, then there is a big and piney, sweet, fresh hop tone that comes across. Very interestingly well balanced.

M — Medium bodied, light carbonation, a bit heavy overall.

O — Very nice overall, especially for a CDA, very unexpected from Cascade.

 

First had: on tap at Cascade, Portland, OR

Poured a slightly hazy mahogany brown color with a small cap of tan head. Aroma is a good balance of malts and hops, with a twinge of resin. Actually got more maltiness and coffee notes at first, with a hop bitterness coming in mid-palate accompanied by a bit of cocoa powder. Nice and smooth, medium body, and nicely drinkable overall.

Poured at the Raccoon Lodge into an imperial pint glass.

A - beautiful deep mahogany color with slight white head.

S - smells like a chilly autumn day. very roasty, malty, and definite raisin bread tones that almost burst out of the glass.

T - i almost want to say the first sip tastes more like a barleywine than an IPA. the bready yeasty smells carry on through to the tastebuds. displays an aggressive but balanced hop bite that i'm going to guess a year of aging in oak barrels would have something to do with.

M - has a nice heavy creamy mouthfeel with a moderate dose of carbonation that prevents it from tasting too syrupy.

D - IMHO this is a sipper and not a session brew. while very tasty and aromatic i don't think i could do more than 2 of these at a time.

If there was a beer mascot for autumn this would be a front runner!

On draught at the lodge, served in a cervoise, Dark Day IPA is a hazy, ruddy brown with a light tan head that leaves nice lace.

Smell is big herbal hops, spicy pine, hint of malty sweetness.

Taste is also aggressively hopped, with a firm bitterness balanced by the brown ale like malt base, bitter sweet, with cocoa notes. Not as porter like as last year's first iteration, I prefer this malt base better.

Mouthfeel is very creamy, with a medium body.

Drinkability is good, this is a great CDA, it warms me to the style more, in spite of the fact that I don't fully embrace it. Definitely prefer the brown vs black malt, it supports the big NW hops better without that weird clash of pineapple and chocolate some of the porter like CDAs bring. Regardless of style, it's very smooth, tasty and satisfying, which makes it highly drinkable.

On tap at Raccoon Lodge served in Teardrop glass 1/16/2010. 7/5% ABV,67 IBU

Clear light amber brew, 1 finger white head, minimal lacing. Big spicy hop hit in the nose. Hops dominate the palate with some fruity esters and a hint of vanilla lead me to believe this was barrel aged. Smooth mouthfeel, nicely carbonated. Very drinkable. One of the highest IBUs beers I've had from Cascade, hoping that when the new location opens they'll have time and space to do some more 'traditional' beers-and more sours, of course. Recommended.