Signalling its intent from the go, Black’s papaya coloured IPA can art evokes warmer weather and tropical fruit punch before even a single drop has hit the glass. El Dorado hops, supported by Citra and Chinook, ably deliver on this promise with papaya, mango, passionfruit and a pithy orange undercurrent featuring in a relatively lean beer.
Not quite a West Coast IPA and not a classic Pacific Northwest IPA, in true Black fashion this IPA charts its own path to create a beer that’s lighter in style and bitterness (53 IBUs) than many but comes with a confidently convivial vibe that says: "I’ll have more than one."
With the XPA retired for now, this is the largest core beer for the brewery at 6.4 percent ABV and yet it feels nimble, balanced and dangerously drinkable.
Guy Southern
