Akasha Black IPA

For IPA Day 2017, Akasha did what it does best: released an IPA. The difference to the norm is that this one is a black one. With brewery founder Dave Padden professing a love for all things West Coast USA and hoppy in nature, he’s a bit fussy about what constitutes a “proper” black IPA. His contention is that many brewers have the right intention but perhaps approach from the wrong angle, focusing too much on the malt and colour and ending up with a a dark beer that too closely resembles a roasty porter with a whole bunch of hops hurled at it.

Akasha’s Black IPA, on the other hand, was developed as an IPA through and through before being reverse engineered to find the point where the darkness could could fit in. The result is an IPA that is black. Using only US hop varieties, it’s plump with pine and resin and gives you delicious little citrus fruit tingles, but has precious little roast character - the kind of beer that'd be an interesting to throw into a blind tasting of paler IPAs and see how it fares. Whatever your colour, these guys certainly do know how to turn out a quality IPA.

Nick O

Published August 4, 2017 2017-08-04 00:00:00