The 12 Best Black IPAs of 2022

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Team Untappd

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 15:00:05 +0000

An intriguing style, black IPAs combine darker malts with a bevy of hops. This style falls perplexingly in the middle of a Venn diagram with a sort of dry Irish stout in one circle and a West Coast IPA in the other.

"In simple terms, it's an IPA using dark malts," says Jeremy Moynier, senior manager of innovation & supply chain at Stone Brewing. "I'm a stout lover and an IPA lover, so this is a sweet spot for me."

Sound polarizing?

That's because this style is.

"I was one of those naysayers when the style came onto the scene because it didn't make sense to me," says Matt Brynildson, brewmaster at Firestone Walker Brewing Company. "Do you mean a hoppy porter?"

But one by one, brewers and drinkers alike have been bowled over by the black IPA. Brynildson eventually brewed Firestone Walker's own version, the gnarly Wookey Jack, in 2012.

After a flash in the pan in the early 2010's, this style slipped into oblivion. Now, black IPAs are experiencing a bit of resurgence with both Stone and Firestone Walker releasing limited-edition one-offs in the past year.

Could the black IPA be back from the brink of oblivion? We might not go that far, but it is a unique style to worth investigating more.

What Exactly Is a Black IPA?

Honestly, Moynier probably said it best, "It's a hoppy dark beer; that's the simplest way to put it."

In other words, a black IPA incorporates darker malts, yes. But those roasty grains meld together with American hops for a beer that pours out dark but drinks with the body and hop-forwardness of a West Coast or American IPA.

And not just any dark malt; it has to be one that imparts color without the astringency associated with a stout or a porter.

Brynildson mentions that, in almost every black IPA, it's common to find a type of debittered black malt, "so you get a ton of color, but you don't get the astringency."

But make no mistake—at its core, this beer is an IPA.

"If you ran into this beer on the street and no one told you it was a black IPA, you'd think this is a delicious hoppy IPA," says Brynildson. "It's almost a mind trick to see a dark beer that tastes more like an IPA than say a stout or a porter."

Which becomes very apparent when you look at the list of hops going into both Wookey Jack and Sublimely Self-Righteous.

"You have to use hops and probably a lot," laughs Moynier, who tossed in Simcoe and Amarillo for Sublimely Self-Righteous. In 2007, these were fairly new hops. "Obviously, those hops are huge now…but back in the early and mid 2000s, these were two hops we had our eye on," says Moynier. "It seemed like a no-brainer to put them together."

Amarillo also made a big appearance in Wookey Jack along with Citra because, "by far, that is the most caddy, dank, wookey hop we had to use," says Brynildson. When the Firestone Walker Brewmaster finally caved to fans shouting for a black IPA, they decided to really go for it. "If we do it, we're going to make the gnarliest, crazy beer," laughs Brynildson.

That meant using the "two gnarliest and intense hops in our hop closet," says Brynildson, which in 2012 were Citra and Amarillo. Firestone Walker had used small amounts of both hops in other beers, but never focused specifically on that hop combination.

And it's that unique interplay between big hops cozying up to dark malts that has folks either hating or loving black IPAs.

Go Over to the Dark Side

Sure, this style might send people into hate it or love it camps, but every now and then, the complexity and mystery shrouded around a black IPA has its merits.

"They're unique beers, right?" says Moynier. "You don't see them everywhere…but the idea behind a dark IPA is fascinating to people…and now more than ever, consumers are more open to trying different kinds of IPAs."

All in all, it's worth going over to the dark side. If only once in your life.