Outdoor Culture
Payette Brewing

uplsope collaboration, makes sense since they bought payette, a black ipa, which we dont see much anymore, i think the abv was listed on their menu at 8.0% abv, definitely drinks a little bigger and stronger, and this is tasty if short of amazing, sweeter and fuller for the style, not as roasty and deep as i expected, and pretty intensely hopped. dark brown with reddish edges but not black, definitely not, looks viscous and sturdy, even a little hazy maybe, without looking as dark as anticipated, short lived off white head on top from the tap at the brewery here in boise. the nose is leather and molasses and dark toast, with some sweetness immediately apparent and a piney familiar northwestern hop profile, some bitter bite, spruce tip and even a sage herbal thing, fresh enough, light coffee in the mix as well, pleasant but maybe slightly disjointed and sweeter than these usually run. the flavor is pretty solid, although this does have a really long bittersweet linger, almost overly malty for me, they could stand to drop out some of the middle richness in favor of more roasted barley, that aspect is missing a bit, and i get not wanting it to be bitter from grain and from hops, but they played it almost too safe i think, especially for a stronger one, i miss more of that roast in here, and the caramelized middle is a lot. that said, its good, i like the earthy layers, the freshness of the hops, hints of menthol, grapefruit pith, pint sap, and even weed to the hops. i get light baking chocolate, raisin fruitiness in the middle, and good natural process coffee beans roasted light. no real sign of its alcohol strength but it drinks pretty slow and big anyway. not totally dialed, but i jump when i see black ipa these days, and this scratched that itch for me pretty effectively. probably more collaborations between these two on the horizon...

Taster at Payette. Dark brown pour, thin foamy beige head. Roasty malty aroma, fairly prominent. Taste is roasty, malty with a mild hop presence. Solid throughout.

On-tap at the brewery, served in a tall tulip glass. Sits with a dark reddish hue in the glass, light showing through the edges, capped with tan foamy head. Does the black IPA thing pretty well, juxtaposing roasty and malty character with hoppy notes of pine needle, orange and orange peel, and lime. There is a definite note of caramel in the malt body as well. Decent enough!