Night Island
Casita Brewing Company

Aggressive pour produced a tall thick tan head on top of this black look IPA. Scent of dark malts mixed with sweet citrus IPA on the nose...interesting. Decent flavor where I get mostly roasted malt flavor with a IPA piney hop mix in there. The finish is stout like and bitter leaning. Thinner feel compared to an Imperial Stout with more carbonation. They’ve successfully melded these flavors here but this just isn’t a favored style for me.

Opaque, black-ish body; thick, dense and creamy khaki-colored head; spidery flecks of foam stick to the glass. Intriguing smell comprised of spicy, dank hops, raisins and licorice, plus a mild whiff of cocoa nibs; pine sap. Outstanding lightly roasted dark malt flavor; light bit of chocolate; spicy and pine-like hop flavors; mild bitterness. Heavy body; rich and robust; tingly presence on the palate; mild to moderate sweetness.

I'm glad that some breweries still produce a black IPA. There is something pleasant, rich and nearly sensuous about combining the best parts of a dark ale's rich malt goodness with the spicy hop profile of classic west coast IPAs.