Sierra Nevada Blindfold Black IPA. Alc 6.8% by Vol.
Dark brown, nearly black, shining crimson highlights at the edges, large, lightly tanned head, slowly slipping.
Aroma: Caramel and cocoa tones start it off, with citric hop notes bursting through. A deft blend of malt and hops.
Taste: Starts off, again, creamy, malty and chocolatey, then a sharp turn on the palate into hop country. The two sides keep up with each other, a tasty tango in the mouth. Hop bitterness hangs on just a bit in the finish, and it's stay is a happy one. Medium bodied, and moderate in every way. Here's one of the "black IPAs" (is safe to not call them Cascadian Darks, right? No Portlandites around me?) that I don't mind, and in fact, can enjoy. The clash between the two elements is not as large and loud as in the others that turned me off, and possibly away from the style entirely.
What do they tell us on the bottleneck label? "Blinfold blankets us in darkness yet maintains a surprisingly light body, and bold, hoppy character. This black IPA emerged from our Beer Camp program and builds on Sierra Nevada's legendary love of hops with roasted malt for depth and complexity, Like it's namesake, Blindfold is a bit disorienting--the color of a stout and the intense, hop-forward flavors of a classic American IPA."
No comments:
Post a Comment