Black Cascade
TRVE Brewing Co.

Brewed from Asheville, NC with some different ingredients: Carolina Malt Tennessee 2 Row, Briess Black Prinz & Crystal 40. Hopped with Chinook and Centennial. 6.8% abv. Acquired from the Blue Door Bottle Shop in Hendersonville 2-17-25 for $6.00. No canning date and consumed 4-23-25.

Beer poured light black with a very nice off-white head.

Nose is classic Cascadian, roasted malts along with floral and citrus hops.

Taste follows the nose as the moderately sized roasted malts gives a touch of char and light cocoa. Hopping brings a touch of herbal hops along with a wee bit of citrus. Finishes with a little bit of a piney bite; 6/10 on my bitterness scale.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, kind of smooth, and pretty refreshing.

Overall, this is a nice representation of the style!

 

 

 

 

L - Dark, not quite opaque, brown-meets-black appearance, carried its crown of angry foam for a good few minutes. Not a ton of lacing.
S - Toasty malts, definitely old school hop bill on the nose (smell the pissed off pines! smell them!) - not a lot of nasal character on this but you can get some of that black IPA Char from it.
T - Where it shines, and for a mid 6% black IPA, it's got real character to it. More char, black tar bottom brown ale notes, with a solid troubadour malt backbone to it. Damn I miss these beers.
F - Good, lively carbonation keeps it feeling light and lively, without losing its dark soul.
O - A damn fine lighter black IPA.
KEEP
MAKING
THIS,
TRVE!

Clear yet very dark brow body; thick and frothy bone-colored head. Herbal, spicy hop aroma; touch of roasted malt. Sublime malt-forward taste; light cocoa; subdued notes of pine resin and licorice. Fairly heavy body; smooth and slick on the palate; semi-sweet with a touch of spicy warmth.

Tone down the hops a bit and you'd have a fine brown ale, but the hop bill adds just enough touch of IPA-factor to the mix to make this a fine example of a black IPA (Cascadian dark ale). The rich malts make for a very delicious vehicle for the hops and the mouthfeel.