Beetlejuice Black NEIPA
Black Hops Brewing

What the??? I had a can of Beetlejuice Black NEIPA sitting in the back of my fridge and I haven’t cracked it yet – such a travesty is not befitting a craft beer aficionado of my caliber! “By "caliber," of course, I refer to both the size of their gun barrels and the high quality of their characters... two meanings... caliber... it's a homonym... Forget it.” [Dr. Evil FYI]. According to the Black Hop rep this is the worlds first Black NEIPA – first brewed in 2017… I somehow find that hard to believe, because, you know: America – that really big country that has 6,000-odd craft breweries that is constantly inventing then re-inventing new beer styles, it’s difficult to conceive that no one had thought of doing a Black NEIPA [“then again Doc, it isn’t inconceivable that Black Hops came up with something new” – the counter argument].

Poured from a 375ml can into a Duvel tulip.

A: Yep, she’s black alright – like some sweet obsidian slumber Beetlejuice forms a delightful murky soup inside my tulip glass. Head is tan, yet it doesn’t stay for long, retreating to leave whispers of lace-work. 8/10.

S: Punchy tropical fruit character with lychee, overripe jack-fruit and paw paw, hint of grain and roasted coffee provide a nice earthy tone that tries to balance the tropical fruit, without a great deal of luck – that tropical character lays down an iron monkeys fist, a challenge to duel with our senses. TL;DR: It’s good, overly hoppy – if that’s your thing [it is my thing, so I’m pretty chuffed]. 9/10.

T: Bit of a pendulum swing back towards malt – with those tropical hops taking a backseat (the lychee, jack-fruit and paw paw noted above) to the roasted malt, which gives an earthy/nutty/forest floor character overall. Finish is mildly bitter, as a good NEIPA should be, with dry notes and grassy hops coming through right at the end. Flavour profile is decent, however – as with several Black Hops IPAs – lacking punch due to being on the lower ABV side @ 6% ABV. 8/10.

M: Medium bodied with a creamy/dense carbonation… yep pretty spot-on given the style/ABV. 8/10.

D: Feels like a bit of a missed opportunity from Black Hops – if only they had knocked it up a notch with the flavour/ABV, then they would have been on to a winner winner chicken dinner. TBH I suspect that Beetlejuice is using the same base beer as G.O.A.T. Both have a similar hop profile/ABV/are overly dry – yep it’s hard not to think G.O.A.T. and Beetlejuice aren’t in cahoots here. 7/10.

Food match: Damn I really feel like a chicken dinner now :|