Black IPA
Beéche Cervecería Artesanal

this is another style of beer i didnt expect to find in costa rica, but here it is before me, an excellent craft black ipa, tasting incredibly fresh and although somewhat predictably familiar, also a nice surprise given the location and the style. its a little flat from the bottle (cool labels!), but rich dark brown looking and with a great aroma of piney northwestern type hops with a lot of bitterness and quite strongly dosed to come through the dark malts so clearly. there is a coffee aroma to this too, sort of fresh brewed and roasty from the grain, nice balance between the two elements. the flavor is balanced as well, with more of the grain up front, dark chocolate, ash and black coffee, followed by the hops in the second half, green and vegetal and fresh, very bitter with pine notes from the aroma carrying over, and a long drawn out finish. a little sweetness to it helps prolong the experience, not at all too much, and plenty of body. it could stand a little more carbonation to really liven it up, but this was great beer. it was the only black ipa i saw during my ten days in costa rica. very tasty!