Monday, November 7, 2011

Upland Brewery - Komodo Dragonfly Black IPA



Komodo Dragon Black IPA
ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 65.5
SRM / Coloring: 49.6, jet black

Here we go baby. Having worked in a brewery before I've gotten to try a black double IPA which was fantastic, so seeing this on the chalkboard at the Upland tasting room I had to see what was up.

As a black IPA, or also referred to as an Imperial IPA, it has the initial properties of an IPA, but then is infused with the malts to add more flavor. This can draw away from the hoppiness of the beer, but at the same time it makes it more bitter.

The Komodo black IPA is pretty good, but I wonder if it would be better if they simply focused on one major aspect of the beer; the malt or the hops. Whether that is an issue with Upland's take on the beer or just the nature of the beer itself, who knows. You can definitely notice both aspects, but they're subdued due to one another's presence. I will say it is much smoother than most imperial stouts I've had, but the malt simply overpowers the normal kick of hops that a standard IPA is known for. At any rate, it's a unique and complicated beer with subtle flavorings that push the boundaries of how beers are made a classified.

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