Bandwagon boarded...
There is always the next big trend in beer styles in the brewing industry, some I am avoiding on purpose, some I'm planning on trying and in this case, there are ones I can't resist. The Cascadian Dark Ale, or Black IPA is not anything new, Stone has been making an excellent one for a few years and Idaho's own Laughing Dog was the first one I ever tried. Recently the beer style has become a bit more common with bigger breweries like Widmer and Deschutes releasing their own versions. The name is still up for debate, Black IPA tells you exactly what it is, a dark beer that is hopped like and IPA, but I have a hard time with that name because having the words "Black" and "Pale" in the same style is a bit oxymoronic. Northwest brewers started using the term Cascadian Dark Ale, which I like, but is very region-specific and Boise is Northwest or Inter-Mountain? Beers bearing both styles have gotten label approval, so I'll just have to decide when I submit for approval.
The name, Star Garnet, I think it works great for the styles of beer. Star Garnets look like just a dark (almost black) gem, then hold them up to the light and there is a four or six point star in the gem. You see a Black IPA and think a dark chocolaty or roasty stout, but you drink it and bam...northwest hops all over the place. I like to think of myself as a genius, on the other hand, I could be trying entirely too hard on names...
Star Garnet
Style: Black IPA or Cascadian Dark Ale
Malts: American 2-Row, Black Barley, Chocolate Malt, Crystal, Munich, Roasted Barley
Hops: Amarillo, Summit
IBU: 70
ABV: ~ 6.8-7%
I am not just making a Stout and putting a bunch of hops in, the Stout I just made has plenty hops already and that isn't the point. The specs may look similar, but as I have said before, there are a lot of things the information I provide doesn't cover. I think this style would be a great year round beer, but I have no idea how many tries it will take to get this one right, so we'll see.
Gotta Hop
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
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Mike, I think Star Garnet is an excellent choice of names for your stout. A thousand points of light...
ReplyDeleteThe Brewers Association added "American-Style India Black Ale" in the 2010 style guidelines. I suspect the key will be getting the hop profile you want, and a FG low enough to have a crisp finish.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brewersassociation.org/attachments/0000/2207/BA_Beer_Style_2010.pdf
I had seen the BA American-Style India Black Ale addition, I haven't heard if the TTB is allowing that for labels though, previous attempts by brewers to name beers India Black Ales, or IBA's did get approval, but there could be more support of it now. I personally like that name best.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest worry with this beer is getting the black color without going over the top with the roasted flavors, if my method today doesn't work I have a few more ideas though.