Dark Lord is a name that comes with serious pedigree in the world thanks to the legend that is and that surrounds 3 Floyds' Russian imperial stout of the name. So, if you're going to adopt it for one of your own, there's probably a bit of pressure. The Dark Lord from The Mill is a beer that Mirek Aldridge had been brewing and tweaking at home for years before launching his brewery: a black IPA weighing in at 6.66 percent ABV.
Black IPA seems to have become a pretty broad church since the oxymoronic style first started appearing Down Under around the start of the decade. Today, you'll find beers that might be as easily termed hoppy stouts, given their willingness to let roastier malt elements come into play. This one reminds us of the earliest black IPAs we saw in Australia, however, the likes of The Thorny Goat or Temple's Midnight IPA, where the aim was to create a beer that, with eyes shut, you might imagine was a pale, rather than black, IPA.
So, while there are hints of soft, creamy chocolate in there, it's really all about the hops, with Citra and Galaxy (at least in the batch we tried – the choice has been known to change) serving up citrus and pine within a smooth, full-bodied beer.
Published March 15, 2017 2017-03-15 00:00:00
