Ode to Blackstack (2021)

They are the reason I will never trade for another IPA out of area again. That and the fact I never trade anymore

 

You had me up till 12.5%, that's way too much booze for my liking in an IPA. I'll sip a big RIS all evening long, but prefer IPAs a bit lighter.

I've heard good things, do they have any sessions or maybe something in the 5-6.5 range?
Thanks for the info., cheers!

 

My sister, who lives out of state, is really into hazy IPAs. Whenever we'd get together I'd usually grab her some random four-pack of something from Blackstack. I didn't even need to look at the label. She seemed to enjoy them.

 

I am more sour on Blackstack than perhaps any other local brewer.

IMHO their IPA game early on was bloody amazing. They made beers - On One, Loud Pack, Thread Count, among others - that could stand up to any brewery in the country, including Tree House & Trillium. I was thrilled to have a brewery pumping out that kind of quality IPAs on a regular basis. I was buying every new four pack that came out.

Then something happened. I'm not sure if the brewery got lazy, if their quality assurance slipped, or what. But suddenly Blackstack's IPAs all started to taste the same - monotone hops, sickeningly sweet, no character at all.

Being a shitty brewer is one thing. Going from making world-class IPAs to bland sugar-water in short order makes me sad. But obviously I'm in the minority!

 

I totally agree with you. I loved their IPAs for a while, but now they all taste the same and, even worse, they're way too sweet. Relatedly, I don't like that the ABV keeps climbing higher. 8-9% is almost always too high, even for a DIPA. And 10-12% for an IPA is just dumb. I'd be much happier to see regular IPAs around 6.5% and DIPAs around 7.5%.

 

Not sure when you and maximum last tried crowlers. I agree with you that they fell off for awhile, but this summer I felt the crowlers I had were back on point. I'm also more of a fan of the 7-8% variety, but they make enough IPAs that I can usually grab something that I like.

 

Fair enough, I haven't tried many of their more recent options. I think the last one I tried was Participation Trophy a month or two ago, which I found pretty underwhelming.

 

Their Pilsner (Italian style, if you please) or Pilsner(s) are among their lower strength offerings. With “Fugazi” they seemed to get things where I can have more than one:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/48592/472480/

 

Ah, that makes sense. I'll make a stop when I pass through. Thx!

 

Perfect! I'll check it out!

 

It sounds like you guys got this settled, but I'll just add the I'm also in the boat where I stopped buying them because they all taste the same. They're not bad (they're actually pretty good), but for the price point I'd like them to mix it up a little more.

 

Is this the "IPA Factory Breweries" thread?

 

Fugazi is a really nice beer in my book, and the price is reasonable. Local 755 at 6.6% is a solid hazy, always hits the spot. I'll grab 755 instead of Pseudo Sue if canning dates on the Sue packs are old, even if it's a few dollars more.

 

I just wish they would stop putting lactose in their foeder fermented sours.

 

Double 755 was proper. Brewery floor had to be covered in orange peels lighting cigarettes afterward.

 

BlackStack is fairly new to the Milwaukee market. Drinking my first BS beer - Local 755. Decent stuff but not a game changer by any stretch.

 

Like others I was a big fan and then they all started to taste the same. Also, I wonder what they have against stouts. They’ve been open, what, over three years and not a single BA stout yet