Lots of people like to drink craft beer these days, more than ever before. In fact, anybody that has walked into a liquor store recently can tell you that. One need only take a gander at the shelves in the beer aisles, bursting with a large variety of craft beer brands and styles. According to the Brewers Association, in fact, craft beer comprised 6.5% of all beer sales in the Unites States in 2012 by volume sold. That may not sound like much, but consider that it almost didn’t exist a scant 35 years ago. Measured against the fantastic volumes the megabrewers crank out, that 6.5% seems a lot more impressive. And it grows every year.
So, as I said, lots of people like to drink craft beer these days, more than ever before. With that growing demand, there’s a need for more brewers; somebody’s got to brew up all that wonderful beer after all. Raising capital to open a brewery is no small feat, and one tool increasingly used by small brewers is crowd sourcing on websites like Kickstarter. This is exactly what Hillsborough, North Carolina’s Mystery Brewing Company did, and the rest is history. Hat’s off to all the fine folks that contributed through Kickstarter. You can read that honor roll by clicking here.
I haven’t yet been to Mystery Brewing, but of their delightful Mystery Brewing Benedict Black IPA is any indication of just how good their beer is, I need to. A good friend dropped me off a growler of this tasty beer just this week, and I’m still smacking my lips over it. An India Dark Ale in style (I am on record against the term Black India Pale Ale, how can it be black and pale at the same time?), and a very nice one at that, this is a one-off specialty brew form Mystery. I hope they’ll reconsider, though, as I just love this style and they’ve done it up just right.
India Dark Ales/Black IPAs have become very popular in recent years, though the style dates back to the early nineties. Sometimes, the style is called Cascadian Dark, but that is unacceptable to me. The Cascade moniker comes from the Pacific Northwest mountain range of the same name, and India Dark Ale absolutely did not originate there. Rather, Greg Noonan of the Vermont Pub and Brewery is generally acknowledged to have originated the style in 1994 with his Blackwatch IPA.
Benedict Black IPA has an alcohol content of 6.6% by volume and a whopping 103 IBUs according to the website. My friend and I popped it when he arrived and each enjoyed a glass; I drank the remainder a few nights later. This one was so smooth, creamy, and hoppy that it was hard to stop drinking, and when the growler ran out I was peering into the bottom of it in hopes of finding just a bit more.
Mystery Brewing Benedict Black IPA pours to a dark black (but not opaque) color with a thick creamy head of rocky foam and a delightfully busy nose that can’t decide if it wants to be hoppier or roastier. A thick layer of Brussels lace coats the side of my glass as I take a pull, and follows the liquid all the way to the bottom of the glass. Taking that sip, I get delicious dark malty notes at first, quite roasty with a gentle hint of espresso but more bittersweet chocolate. There are softer chocolate pudding notes too underneath, you know, the kind your mother used to make on the stove top with the skins on when it came out of the fridge. Minty-Grassy (English probably) hops emerge in the finish, imparting herbal aroma and a long, dry, sharp, in your face hop bitterness in the finish.
What a delightful beer. I am really digging the interaction between roasty malt and bitter hop, the hallmark of a great India Dark Ale. The body is moderate, too, keeping this IPA-like and not letting the beer become a stout. Nicely done, Mystery. This one is a hit for sure.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
(G)=Growler