I’m in Columbia, MO this weekend for my fraternity’s annual golf tournament. Followers of this blog will often see me trying new beers on my trips to the town of my alma mater, and this trip was no different. We arrived in town and immediately stopped at a new beer bar in town called 44 Stone. They had a very good craft beer list with a ton of great bottles available. I’d had several of the craft beers on tap, but haven’t had Schlafly’s Black IPA yet, so I started with that one.

Location: On tap and served in an imperial pint glass at 44 Stone in Columbia, MO.

Numbers: ~ 6.5% ABV, ~ 190 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: Obviously, it was black in color, but it was very black, with only some slight ruby hightlights visible when held up to the light. It had a very thin, tan colored head on it. Citrusy hops were the most apparent aromas, with some coffee-like roasted malts in the background.

Taste & Feel: The body was light and the body was slightly crisp from carbonation, but also slightly oily. The flavors up front were roasty with a good amount of malt flavors. In the middle, a light bitterness was apparent, but it was hard to tell if it was from the coffee-malt flavors or the hops. In the finish, the bitterness of the citrusy hops came through, making for an interesting mix of citrus and coffee maltiness.

Food Pairing: This is a very tough beer to pair, as the mix of roasty and citrus flavors is not one that often goes together. However, I think it could be an interesting pairing for something like a barbacoa taco with a mango salsa. The roastiness would mix well with the bobacoa and the citrusy flavors would bring out the mango salsa.

Overall Impression: I’ve had a few black IPAs before and usually they end up a bit like a hop bomb and don’t let the malt come through. I thought this beer did a good job of allowing the malts to come through, while finishing strong with bitterness and hop flavor. It was very drinkable, and at times it was a bit tough to determine whether the bitterness was coming from the roasted malts or the hops. I was a bit surprised by the light body and lack of head or retention, otherwise, I would have rated it higher.

My Rating:

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