Malabar Black IPA is a black IPA made with Roast and Toast's Malabar India coffee and a slew of cascade hops. I'm a huge fan of black IPAs, but there are not many breweries doing them. Maybe that's why I like them. The first thing that caught my eye was the bold packaging. It's got a nice design and it's that color draws the eye.
The beer poured a very dark brown color. It's not true black like a stout, but it is a dark beer. There was a solid creamy slightly darker tan head that died down to a thick lacy ring. That lace lingered and stayed all the way to the end and it left some nice rings of patchy lacing behind.
The aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of sweetness. It a slight alcohol sweetness that's pretty forward. The is followed by a nice rounded citrus, floral, and generic hop aromas.It's pretty balanced and no single aspects sticks out the more than one another. This aroma ends with some doughy yeast and malts which add a roasted and slightly charred notes.
The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a lower amount of sweetness.Theres a mild amount of hop that hits the tastebuds. Then I start to get some more doughy yeast notes that are followed by some a mild coffee flavor. It more roasted charr than true coffee, but it welcomed. I get some very mild citrus and pine in the finish. It's bright and leaves a great taste in the mouth.
The mouthfeel is fairly smooth too. I would say the crisp and dry dominate the feel and are very noticeable in the finish. It a great alternative to a stout because it's a dark beer that has a lighter side. THat's the whole point of a black IPA.
Overall, I thought this was a decent beer. I would say this was pretty close to be an average example of the style, Its slightly better than average. I think i wanted more coffee or roasted notes. It's probably not a beer that I would go out of my way to find, but if I saw it I would buy it again.
Cheers,
