Decker Black Rye Double IPA
Dark Sky Brewing Co.

Pours a very dark brown color, like a black IPA. The head is a half finger high and mocha in shade. While it has a wonderful texture, it doesn't seem to retain itself very well. However, a consistent sheet of lacing sticks to the glass.

The style according to BA is DIPA - yet the aroma has a wonderful dark chocolate overtone that puts many imperial stouts to shame. Notes of brownie batter, espresso, and cream also show up. Hoppiness, however, is subtle. Touches of pine and flowers come through to balance out the sweet chocolate and coffee. As it opens up, the hops shine a bit better. While it's more of a hoppier-than-normal imperial stout than black IPA, it still offers a wonderfully satisfying yet nuanced aroma.

It tastes a bit hoppier than the nose suggested; just a bit, though. Gentle notes of tobacco, pine, and flowers open it up, quickly giving way to that wonderful dark chocolate note the aroma promised. Additional qualities of vanilla cream, caramel, and graham cracker give it a wonderful dessert quality - yet the finishing hop bite keeps everything in check. It doesn't have that vivid rye flavor of a Wookey Jack, however. Despite the moderate bitterness, I'd call it a dessert beer, but one with a nice balance and refinement.

Although it's creamy in body (avoiding the overt sharpness a rye beer can frequently feature), I think it's a bit thin considering how it skews more toward a hoppy stout than a 'typical' black IPA. And after a while, it becomes slightly too sweet. It's absurdly smooth for 9%, however. Carbonation is fairly low - this fits the beer quite well.

It's more of a hoppy stout than black IPA to me. Who cares? The hop bite does its job - it balances the sweet elements wonderfully. It could use more rye flavor, more body in general...and that's pretty much it. PS: This has the worst fucking cork jammed up oh-so-tightly in it - hell, the brewer himself it had the wrong cork size stuffed in the bomber. Guys, there's a reason nobody C&C's a 22oz bomber! Buy this, but bring a cork puller or something else that's industrial strength.

3.88/5: Almost like dark chocolate-covered hop cones (that's a compliment)