It’s going to blow until the cows come home.
I remember walking into the gym for my first high school dance. The only reason I remember is the first song I heard the band play was Smoke on the Water, and I was hooked on Deep Purple from that day on. So when you hear Storm Chaser you may be thinking of Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton watching a cow fly by their truck*, but for me I immediately thought of the Deep Purple album and song Stormbringer. **
We have sampled a few Black IPA’s to date with less than stellar results. There was 4:33 and we cracked the code, and the reunion tour as well for another rock n roll reference. They are complex brews and trying to mix roasted malts with strong hops is a tricky recipe. Although Mae West thought that too much of a good thing is wonderful, and Reeses got a winner mixing peanut butter with chocolate, the jury is still out on Black IPAs as far as I am concerned.
Case in point, Lake of Bays’ Storm Chaser. They tell us “a storm’s a-brewin’”. Dark malt, grapefruit and kiwi, chocolate, tiramisu and pine, blueberry, hardwood. You might have a shorter list of what isn’t in this beer. If we peel back the layers will we find onion in there too?
A stout like pour, thick and meaty, with a full tan head of storm clouds on the horizon.It is an attractive pour. A porter roasted cafe aroma from the glass but some hops during pouring itself. First taste is espresso coffee with hops, and a fizzy finish. Although I didn’t know what to expect, it was not what I was expecting. Coffee black, with no milk or sugar. This coffee has been in the pot more than 20 minutes.***
It does have a nice body and smooth mouthfeel, but it’s an over roasted malt espresso finish that’s over the top. I am acclimatizing. It’s actually a refreshing quaff, just a harsh finish but the finish doesn’t create an aftertaste, maybe an afterglow? The roasted malt coffee hoppy finish is a black ipa ending that is unique and also not that endearing in my books. It feels like it is trying to make an imperial coffee stout refreshing and it actually does to some degree.
This is a complex, unique and challenging brew. I don’t usually suggest food pairings but in this case I will. Have some food with this beer. Really, you need to have something to take the edge off. Anything.
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