Kaiju! Beer ‘Cthulhu’ Black IPA

Rating:

image“The beer on the moon sucks. Ask Cthulhu – he knows the gravity’s too low. Partial to an oxymoron, when he’s thirsty he always reaches for a Kaiju! Black IPA…. and destroys it.”

This is our second installment of this breweries range. Served in an IPA glass the mat black pour generates a huge 3 inch tan head that slowly settles to an inch-high cap on top. Thick, blotchy lacing is omitted all the way down the glass. Instantly we are loving this aroma, the hops are only just dominating the roasted elements so there is a good tussle going on here. In the hops corner we have fruity and floral wafts of pine resins, lychee and grapefruit while in the malt corner we have roasted coffee, chocolate and grain. in the mouth it’s slightly thin but is saved by a decent IBU (60) and lively carbonation. Medium-full body. Another battle is raging on the tongue as the aggressive hops launch an attack on the taste buds upfront. Bitter notes of espresso and a faint hint of grapefruit create a lip puckering dryness through the mid-palate and deliver a dry, bitter finish with lingering hints of coffee and dark chocolate. Neither win in the end, so we revel in this bitter, yet nicely roasted BIPA. Great balance. 6.5% ABV is so well hidden we couldn’t pick up any scent or taste of it. So good to see these talented little microbreweries emerging onto the scene. 2/2, bring on the next one.