My pleasure! I took the photo as a reminder to myself, so it was a nice coincidence that this thread was started. They're in Bay Shore, but we couldn't make it down there that day.
I sincerely love black IPAs as my love for other kinds of IPAs dies a sad, painful death. I can still find some here in Tokyo sometimes.
Perhaps for those that can’t find any, is there a way to blend a roast stout with an IPA to get a good Black IPa? Probably discussed under another thread.
That could be an interesting exercise but as a reminder @dbrauneis mentioned in post #9: "It is an endangered style for sure and done well is amazing but a non-optimal hop + roast pairing is not nearly as appealing." Maybe just pour enough of the Stout to achieve a desired color and thereby mitigate the clashing roast aspect? Cheers!
I've noticed them here and there but they seem to be relegated to a seasonal style for most local breweries in Texas and Oklahoma. Rahr Black IPA, (512) Black IPA and Dead Armadillo's Black Hop are the only 3 I can remember seeing at all within the past few years while out and about.
There seems to be a small revival in the India Dark Ale category. I bought Lakefront Brewery's Black Bird yesterday, and it is a relatively easy going beer per style that still brings much joy. New Glarus' Black Top is so good that I've bought several 6-packs of it during its current availability. And if it were to be launched from scratch today, the delicious hoppy porter Three Floyd's Alpha Klaus would likely get relabeled as one.
I feel like I've been seeing more of 'em out here lately. Many are on-site draft only, but I've run into 4 of them just in the last 2 weeks. I'll take that! When you compare that to the other IPA subcategories that popped up (red, white, Belgian, hopfenweisse, brut, cold, sour, citrus, rye, etc. etc.) it seems like it's one of only a few with consistent representation.
I always wait for Doom Sauce to come out but this year it hasn't landed in my area. I really want to try the El Jefe one from The Alchemist but can't find anyone to trade with me for it.
Way back in the day, when Mekong in RVA had both Hopslam and Expedition Stout on draught, they would mix them and call it a Darth Vader. It was really good, but not quite a BIPA.
I just saw that Dreaming Creek in Richmond KY just off I-75 put their Black IPA on tap. I might need to make a visit.
Right now, I'm close to the end of my Firestone Wookey Jack case, but I just picked up my yearly case of Three Floyds Alpha Klaus. It's labeled as a Christmas Porter, but it has all the 'hop meets roast' notes that I want out of a Black IPA, and I happen to love this goddamn beer.