Cascadian Dark Ale/Black IPA: Should it be a new style in BJCP?
After looking over multiple threads on these forums I have seen quite a few dedicated to this 'style'. And, in many of those threads people mention that it should be a style included in the BJCP with its own guidelines and descriptions. So, I ask you, do you think that it deserves its own category?
For me, I'm not really convinced I've seen any reason to. From the commercial examples I have tasted like Stone's Sublimely Self-righteous, and Victory's Yakima Twilight - I really haven't tasted anything that differentiates these beers from American IPAs/IIPAs - there may be a slight roast character to them but nothing that is anything more than barely detectable. The only thing that really is different is the color - and to me, that alone isn't a reason for its own category in BJCP. Also, looking at the several recipe threads in this forum, none of them really incorporate the rich malty/roasted/coffee flavors we all associate with dark/opaque beers. I'm not asking for a hoppy stout or imperial stout, but just enough of something different to set it apart.
Perhaps though, being on the east side of the country, I haven't really experienced the best examples for the style, and I'm definitely open for suggestions on what good beers would better represent this style.
There is some inertia against adding new styles to the BJCP. The criteria for adding it would be first that a lot of home brewers are entering it into category 23 and second that some enterprising subject matter expert drafts the guideline, and ideally home brewers would submit this draft as instructions to the judges along with the beer they entered into category 23.
The preliminary style guide has been drafted. It will probably be in the next revision. Both the BJCP and BA style guides are driven by commercially available beers and there are several dozen CDAs out there.
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BJCP Style or not, this is getting brewed this weekend. MLT is constructed, yeast starter is crash cooled. All I gotta do is clean up my messy-a$$ kitchen before brewday!
Anyone know of any commercial varieties of this style I can try that I can get here in Chicago?
I agree with the above. Even though I am definitely focused on getting some ribbons in the future, most of my beers would not fit into any of the categories other than 23.
Styles are a great place to start. I'm not convinced they are a great place to end. The fact that a new pigeon hole has to be created for a new beer that doesn't fit any of the other pigeon holes convinces me to look in the opposite direction.
Perhaps though, being on the east side of the country, I haven't really experienced the best examples for the style, and I'm definitely open for suggestions on what good beers would better represent this style.
This is a style I have little experience with, but I have been drinking the heck out of Upland Brewing's (Bloomington, IN) Komodo Dragonfly Black IPA. 65.5 IBUs and heavy on coffee and burnt malts, I don't know what style it should fall under, but man oh man is it good.
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BJCP Style or not, this is getting brewed this weekend. MLT is constructed, yeast starter is crash cooled. All I gotta do is clean up my messy-a$$ kitchen before brewday!
Anyone know of any commercial varieties of this style I can try that I can get here in Chicago?
I can get Victory's Yakima Twilight in Milwaukee, so you should be able to get it in Chicago. It's dangerously delicious.
Cascadian Dark Ale/Black IPA: Should it be a new style in BJCP?
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