A collab between Nomad and Stone…hell yeah. This black IPA is brewed with US orange zest and Anaheim chillies. Using NZ hops and debittered black, crystal and caramel malts, the So Cal is born!
Poured into a pint glass, we see a mat black body with a mahogany tinge when placed in the light. Big fluffy head seen here which doesn’t budge at 20 mm. Eventually it fades leaving a big sudsy rim around the glass. Nice aroma of heat coming from the chilli, with roasted malts, bit of a mild espresso hit, and the citrus hops in background. Flavour profile on the palate is of roasted malt and almost gamey. The chilli hit is extremely mild. Almost imperceptible at present which is disappointing. We have had plenty of chilli infused beers and some of them smack the palate for six. Not this one. It’s certainly smooth though. Sitting at 5.5% Alc vol it’s complex for such a ‘light’ IPA. Body is medium with a tapered off back palate but this is expected. Flavours of orang zest, almost sour on the palate like Brett yeast which is interesting. The chilli insignificance is a shame though. Barely hits the back palate. Why didn’t they use more? The aroma is better than the flavour. Overall, we have a BIPA with nice roasted flavours, some nice citrus hoppy notes, extremely mild chilli spice and some sour notes in there. Hmmm it’s ok. More chilli needed.