Our Tastes-- The Incredible Hop

And finally for me The Imperial Black IPA (which may have been the 1st in the series), but I can't confirm this. I was turned on to this style of beer at GABF 2010, when it was first being considered as a true style according to GABF guidelines. At the time, T-rav (BJCP) and former brew master at BlackStone Brewery, was tasting Imperial Stouts, CDAs (Cascadian Dark Ales or Black IPAs) and something else. I just remember his palate and liver being bombarded with the styles he was assigned/chose. Bull n Bush had one on tap and a legged back a couple from Deschutes called Hop in the Dark. These are outrageous brews. However, see previous Junk's Junk posts for Stone's version of the same style of beer, so there's a bit of an argument as to where the style originated? It pours a healthy black with reddish hue and flattening light brown head. I've read 10% but the series seems to hold true at 9.5%abv. The aroma of grapefruit jumps out of the shaker (or tulip) to your nose. These types of beers have really started to grab me by the shorts because of my amour with dark beers but the perplexity of the hop aroma/palate. This one is no different. It gained a 96 via ratebeer and thoroughly deserves it. This one apparently pushes the calorie content but you end up with a fresher mouth:) I'd buy this one over the wheat, but it's a toss up on the BIPA due to the complexity of the yeast.