It looks like both beers I mentioned are no longer being brewed. Haunted House by Allagash is accessable, that might be the last one.
I haven’t seen a Black IPA from any of my local breweries since moving from CA to TX a few years ago. The last one I can remember that had distribution from a major brewery was Sierra Nevada’s Black IPA, and it was pretty tasty!
Wookey Jack is probably my favorite but I ran into some Sublimely Self-Righteous today. It has a canned date from March and it was on sale because it was approaching the enjoy-by date. It was being sold in a refrigerator and it still tasted and smelled fresh. Snap buy.
Bells had a Black Hearted in their IPA mix pack recently. But yeah, most black IPAs I still can get are from locals like Carton’s Epitome.
Short's brewed their Goodnight Bodacious sometime late last year. It's a DIPA. I picked up a single when I loaded my beer fridge in December. It's a good one. Their website lists it as "Limited" but I don't know if they brew it every year.
Would have bought it in s heartbeat as a 6er standalone. Hazy Hearted...sure, separate packaging! Dark Hearted... Ooh. Yuck! (I'm assuming this was mixed pack only)
Definitely an endangered species. I got a bunch of HF S&S#2 a few weeks ago at the brewery. Per Mitch Steele’s excellent book on the history of IPA he talks about the origins of the style in VT with Greg Noonan and then protege John Kimmish and friend/admirer Shaun Hill. Love SH’s 10% version - imy first thoughts were black OJ. If you tasted it blind - you’d never know it had all that deep black color. Cheers to this incredible modern IPA style.
New Glarus is bringing back their India Dark Ale Black Top sometime in mid-September. I’m looking forward to it as I haven’t tried it yet.
In the Northeast, Black IPAs seem to just be a seasonal special for colder months from some local breweries. Often, only available at the brewery. it is rare for me to see one sitting on a shelf at a store.
West Sixth and Burl Brew collabed on one this spring and it was great. I very much enjoy GOOD Black IPAs, but bad ones constantly dampen my spirits. I was able to get a few howler fills to send to a fellow Black IPA lover, but I'm not sure it will be re-brewed and canned properly. I should see if I can make that happen.
Just picked up and been enjoying Black Rajah from The Brew Kettle. 4-pack pint cans, I still see Black IPAs here and there.
Black Rajah was one of my first Black IPAs that turned me onto the style. I Wish (local) Country Boy would come back with their Black IIPA, Heart of Dankness. Then they barrel aged it and called it Infinite Sadness. It wasn't sad at all.
Oddly enough, some of my favorite beers at the last few beer fests I attended have been Black IPAs. Unfortunately, that's where it ended- draught only, and at places I'm not likely to visit due to location. But still, it's a really great style when served fresh. They're out there, but I'm not seeing anything on the shelves.
Yeah that's what I'm seeing too. They're around but there don't seem to be many breweries that think they'll work as a distributed beer
