Back In Black

The details: 21st Amendment Brewery Back In Black Black IPA, 6.8% ABV, 65 IBU, served in a 12oz can

Our wedding was, in some ways, different. Not bad different, just reflective of us, which made it something that will be often remembered but likely rarely duplicated. 

We were not cake people. We didn't cut it. Didn't smash it into each others faces. Instead, we had pie.
We had one of our best friends perform the ceremony. He wrote it. We said yes. In the middle of that we took a break so four people could get up and read the lyrics to/feel awkward to John Prine's "In Spite Of Ourselves" because we thought it really summed us up.

When we booked the DJ's we gave them a pretty solid list of songs not to play. Soon the husband of the DJ couple/team discovered that I used to live in DC, and we went down an hour long rabbit hole about Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers.

We kinda fell into the catchphrase "Holy Crap" for the entire thing, and then we got my nephew who was ten at the time to walk down the aisle with a sign that said "Holy Crap." He was only embarrassed to say those words.
We didn't walk down the aisle to a boring version of Pachelbel. Amy and her crew entered to a song by the Beach Boys. For the lads and I, I chose a slightly heavier path that reflected our attire for the day. We entered to AC/DC's "Back In Black."

So when I saw that 21st Amendment made a black IPA with the name Back In Black, I had to get it. I also didn't realize that I haven't written about a black IPA here yet, so I get to go back to science! 

Well, it turns out it's not so easy to figure out what a black IPA is. It's not really an IPA - too much malt. It's not really a black ale - to much hops. The name itself has caused fights in the brewing world. I've read a number of descriptions (is it a Cascadian Dark Ale? Is it an American Black Ale? Is it an India Black Ale?) and the best I can figure is this: it really should be called something like American Hop-Forward India Black Ale.

To help decipher this beer, it's good to know what it's made of. There are six different malts and three different hops (used as bittering hops, flavor hops, and dry hops) in this can in front of me. If I read that sentence about any other beer I'd expect something that was bready and sweet but also bitter as hell. This beer nails the bitter part but misses the sweetness. It's almost crisp - not as crisp as a pilsner - but refreshing to drink. There's sweetness, but it's muted; it reminds me of putting one packet of sugar in coffee - you maybe taste a little bit of it but what you really have is black coffee with some sweet sludge at the bottom. 

It's an interesting style, and I like it. I'd recommend it - it's easy to drink, has some potency but won't destroy your head. And if you're like me, you can't stop hearing Brian Johnson growl the name every time you pick up the can.

The verdict: 4.0 out of 5 (on Untapp'd - follow me @slownumbers to see what I'm drinking!)