“Blacksmith is a West Coast style IPA with a difference – black as night in the glass, but with a restrained roasted malt backbone on the palate. This allows the all-American hop bill to shine through with aromas of pine, citrus, and tropical fruit. As always, hops are the focus for us, so our brewers have taken care to craft this as an IPA first, and a black beer second. The hops are supported by the roasted malt bill, rather than drowned out by it – just the way we think a Black IPA should be!”

Glassware: IPA.
Appearance: Mostly black except for a bit of light breaking through on the edges. It forms a rocky two finger head which holds its shape well. Not a whole lot of lacing to speak of though.
Aroma: Smells incredible. The face cops a blast of rich and heavily roasted malt, espresso coffee and dark chocolate but it’s the balance of it all that makes it so good – a line of citrus and pine resin cuts through the malts with precision. The fusion of these two elements is why the Black IPA will forever be one of our most favourite styles.
Flavour: Oh hell yeah…brilliant follow through here. We’re getting rich, roasted malts which are offering brawny notes of black coffee, chocolate and ash on entry. Then the hops are introduced and the pine, resins and citrus acidity and sweetness carry it all through the mid and into a roasty, piney and drying finish which lingers on.
Mouthfeel: Smooth with a drying bitterness post swallow. Co2 is spot on and the 6.8% ABV is nicely embedded.
Overall: It’s been a long time between drinks for us and Akasha. There’s a reason which we won’t go into here but it’s good to see that they’re still belting out high quality beers.