Widmer pitch black IPA

Has anyone tried this yet? I'm trying one and it's pretty good. The bottle mentions roasted barley and black malt but the flavors of those really don't come though much. I get a slight roastiness in the aroma but that's bout it.

I'd love to know what else is in this. There has to be carafa because it's very black without the flavors roasted barley and Black patent.

So black yet so smooth.

Very nice. I'm not a big Widmer fan at all, but I think this is the first Cascadian Dark Ale I've seen in 12 oz bottles, so I've got to hand it to them for being first.

Haven't tried it, but there has been a great deal of experimentation with CDAs. Roasty and hoppy don't seem to mix well, so the good ones are focusing on color and just a hint of dark flavors. I had great hopes for this style, as I like dark beers.

10oz through my first one. very tasty. Great nose. I like it.

jmo88 said:

Has anyone tried this yet? I'm trying one and it's pretty good. The bottle mentions roasted barley and black malt but the flavors of those really don't come though much. I get a slight roastiness in the aroma but that's bout it.

I'd love to know what else is in this. There has to be carafa because it's very black without the flavors roasted barley and Black patent.

So black yet so smooth.

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I just came here specifically to make this same thread! Debates about the suitability of the name aside, this is one DAMN TASTY beer!

I've had a few. It's a great IPA but the pitch black part is kinda gimmicky. Not sure if I was blindfolded I would have guessed it was a black IPA. Tastes just like a regular IPA with maybe a slight hint of the dark malts. Very tasty overall.

Here's some info from Widmer's website:

bitterness 65 IBU
alcohol by volume 6.5%
original gravity 16° PLATO
malts Two Row Pale, Caramel 10 L, Special Roast, Carafa Special II
hops BITTERING: Alchemy
AROMA: Alchemy, Cascades
DRY HOP: Cascade T-45

http://www.widmer.com/beer_w_series.aspx

HOOTER said:

I've had a few. It's a great IPA but the pitch black part is kinda gimmicky. Not sure if I was blindfolded I would have guessed it was a black IPA. Tastes just like a regular IPA with maybe a slight hint of the dark malts. Very tasty overall.

Here's some info from Widmer's website:

bitterness 65 IBU
alcohol by volume 6.5%
original gravity 16° PLATO
malts Two Row Pale, Caramel 10 L, Special Roast, Carafa Special II
hops BITTERING: Alchemy
AROMA: Alchemy, Cascades
DRY HOP: Cascade T-45

http://www.widmer.com/beer_w_series.aspx

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To quote Lumbergh from Office Space:
Uh, yeah...I'm gonna have to go ahead and, sort of...disagree with you there.

I don't think this tastes like a regular IPA at all. It anything, I'd say it tastes more like a highly hopped porter (with a slightly thinner body). I've never had any other "Cascadian Dark", so maybe that's part of it, but for me, this is something uniquely apart from an IPA. And I sure am enjoying it

paint_it_black said:

I don't think this tastes like a regular IPA at all. It anything, I'd say it tastes more like a highly hopped porter (with a slightly thinner body). I've never had any other "Cascadian Dark", so maybe that's part of it, but for me, this is something uniquely apart from an IPA. And I sure am enjoying it

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I'm enjoying it too, but a highly hopped porter it's not. I do detect the dark malts, but their very much in the background compared to the hops. It has a nice malt backbone to contribute some balance, but the intense chocolate or roasted flavors common in dark beers just isn't there IMO. Sounds like this is how Windmer intended it.

It is almost a traditional IPA but it is instead brewed to the emerging style of Cascadian Dark. We add a modest amount of a specially made debittered black malt to give this IPA a very dark color but without the characteristic dark malt flavors

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I had one (or four) for the first time last night and really liked it. I think the hoppiness would be a bit boring and one dimensional for a normal IPA, but actually went well with relatively simple malt tastes. Just a bit of dark roast, very light body. It's an easy drinker and pretty good.

paint_it_black said:

To quote Lumbergh from Office Space:
Uh, yeah...I'm gonna have to go ahead and, sort of...disagree with you there.

I don't think this tastes like a regular IPA at all. It anything, I'd say it tastes more like a highly hopped porter (with a slightly thinner body). I've never had any other "Cascadian Dark", so maybe that's part of it, but for me, this is something uniquely apart from an IPA. And I sure am enjoying it

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Really? Just close your eyes and take a sip. It's an ipa. You have to search for those roasted malts. The color is very misleading and influences the impression of it. Those dark roasted malts and roasted barley are certainly in the background.

Waiting patiently for it's arrival in San Francisco.
I must try this.

Yeah I just stumbled into one at the local pub last night, and without having any real high hopes, I was pretty damn impressed! But I could definitely pick up the dry hopped floral goodness of this beer from the get go with a small roasty kick to it. I told my brother about halfway through it that this will be my next project..........Feel free to throw recipe suggestions my way

Now, back to the laboratory!

jmo88 said:

Really? Just close your eyes and take a sip. It's an ipa. You have to search for those roasted malts. The color is very misleading and influences the impression of it. Those dark roasted malts and roasted barley are certainly in the background.

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Well put. If you were drinking it out of a brown paper bag and had never looked at the beer, you would classify it as an IPA. There are slight roasty elements to it, but they are subtle.

Overall, I like this beer but I won't go out of my way to have it again.

I may have to keep an eye out for this. I've only had one beer from Widmer and wasn't really impressed.

I do like the idea though, as I've though about brewing a black IPA or a "Hop Stout" myself.

Normal IPA with your dark malts thrown in the mash tun at the beginning of the sparge for color with little to no roasty?

Had a 6er a few weeks back and I enjoyed it. This was my first Black IPA and I wasn't disappointed. Like others have said the hops were most prevalent for me with roasted malt/dark malts in the background as a nice addition. I wouldn't mind brewing one to see how it comes out.

I just tried this, and LOVED it. I'm a malt-o-holic, so most IPA's put me off a little, but this had just enough malt for me to really appreciate all that hop aroma. I recommend everyone try this beer.

I just tried this brew on Saturday. I guess I'm in the minority here b/c I just didn't care for it too much. Don't know if its b/c I'm getting over a small cold and my taste buds are off but as a comparason my dad didn't care for it too much also. We both are big Pale Ale and IPA fans, and while the hop aroma and flavor was there the taste was too much like a stout for us. We had one pint and switched to a Broken Halo instead.

I liked it. Maybe my favorite widmer. Tastes like mild IPA with a malty aftertaste.

I've "sampled" a few cases of this over the last few weeks, and I was really impressed with it.

I might look into brewing a black ipa of sorts once I get room...

Okay, I'm still a certified greenhorn when it comes to brewing, but I've been drinking beer for a number of decades now, and I really like this stuff. So last week I find out that Widmer's only makes it from January through April . . . . With all the discussion, has anyone attempted a clone yet? I could care less about the color (though I do kind of like it, but it's secondary to the nose and flavor)-- what can I make that would approximate this particular ale?? Thanks in advance!

if this is what i think it is, you might check out the current BYO. It has a whole section on cascadian dark ales and i think there is a clone for this one in it.

I made an attempt at making a Pitch Black IPA influenced by The W'10 from Widmer. I just put it on gas tonight, so I will have my first sampling Sunday night (I follow the 30 psi for 48 hour method).

I actually had a few pints last night at a local bar and I have high hopes for my first attempt at it. I don't have my Beersmith recipe handy, but once I taste it I will post back with results and the recipe and any changes I would suggest. I saw the BYO recipe and mine is slightly different, so will see.