Just what was Jung smoking?
I’m not scared of my own shadow, but one thing I do find truly frightening is when the Department of Labour whips up a new to do list for me. That being said, to meet my shadow, as in this dark and dangerous Imperial Black IPA, can also ignite my fright to flight or fight reflex, or is that reflux? *
Our favourite simian aviators, those high Flying Monkeys, have stitched together this Franken-stein craft, an IMPERIAL BLACK IPA with berries! They tell us, and I quote “Darkness blooms in the shadows where sly sweetness prowls through hidden depths of dusky dreams.” Darkness blooms? Sly sweetness? Dusky dreams? Some abject adjectives at play here. Their ChatGPT must be wired into a Roget’s Contrarian Thesaurus. Or they’re using the same marketing group as Sneaky Weasel.
A yin yang pair of jungle cats grace the can, I’ll call you jaguar if I may be so bold. ** They’ve toned down the psychedelic philosophizing of past pints on this one, a brew darker and more mysterious than any Aristotle ale or Plato pint. Perhaps this one is a Freudian Aerosmith medley? Dream on Sigmund. ***
Truth be told, we at COMDB have not been enamoured, or even amoured for that matter, with the black IPA genre. **** We’re big time fans of Flying Monkeys, but when it comes to beer tasting our loyalties are as fleeting as a snowflake in hell. *****Time to meet our shadow.
A blackberry black pour, off-white head, intimidating and at the same time inviting. An aroma of dark lager with berries, not very hoppy on the nose. First taste is very berry with some cocoa and roasted malt in the mix, with a hoppy bitter finish. Dark berries but not much IPA, it’s not too boozy. Actually it tastes pretty good. A bit of dark IPA shines through occasionally but never overpowers the berry base and roast malt body. A big swigger imperial?! Say it isn’t so. So! The berries are the not-so-secret ingredient that make this imperial storm trooper super. Who would have thought to put blackberries in an Imperial Black IPA? None other than those smarter than your average bear brewers at Flying Monkeys.
*Editor’s Comment: Meeting your shadow means to explore the hidden or repressed aspects of your personality. It was conceptualized by psychologist Carl Jung.
**Editor’s Comment: From the 1971 song Jeepster by Marc Bolan and T.Rex.
***Editor’s Comment: Freud’s most famous book, published in 1900, was The Interpretation of Dreams. Aerosmith’s most recognized and popular song, Dream On, was written by Steven Tyler and recorded by the band for their 1973 debut album.
****Editor’s Comment: Although Black IPAs have received no super suds ratings from formal reviews to date, Bootlegger Black IPA from Lake on the Mountain Brewery received an average rating of 15 out of 20 at the 5th COMDB AGM (Annual Golf Meeting).
*****Editor’s Comment: Your ability, or lack thereof, to combine two seemingly unrelated metaphors is both uncanny and unsettling.
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