black ipa or imperial porter: where do we draw the line?

[charliethebum]

So last night I was at the brewpub, enjoying a glass of their wonderful black IIPA, when I realized it tasted remarkably similar to an imperial porter I recently had at a different brewery. Now my palate isn't exactly what you would call refined, but these two different beers, from totally different styles, tasted very alike. My question is what is the difference between a roasty, malty black IPA and a hopped up porter? Does it just boil down to whatever the brewer wants to call it or is there a definite distinction? Maybe there is just a grey area in between styles they both fall into. I would really like to know y'alls opinions.

 

[m00ps]

I'd say its mostly a question of hop character. Black IPAs are more hop forward and the goal is usually to have as little roast flavors as possible. This helps the hop take center stage. The black IPA should also be lighter in body to once again accentuate the hops. A imperial porter will be much more focused on roasty chocolatey flavors and have a fuller mouthfeel. And obviously, less hops. Black IPAs will use citrusy/fruity/piney/dank/floral hops. Porters traditionally use the more noble/spicy/earthy hop varieties.

It sounds like either that Black IPA you tried wasnt a very good black IPA (muddled hop character) or that porter was abnormally hoppy

 

[atom]

in my opinion a black ipa or american black ale or cascadian dark ale or whatever you want to call it should not be overly roasty...it should be black in color and focus on the hops. a porter on the other hand should focus on the roast/malt and the hops take a backseat. a hoppy porter...that could go either way...troegs dead reckoning comes to mind. the call it a porter but i'd say it's on the line.

 

[outside92129]

If the porter was heavily hopped I'm guessing that it should have been called an imperial stout.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=124874&postcount=2

But there's a lot of grey near the style edges.

 

[charliethebum]

yeah the hops didn't really explode the taste buds. it was listed at 100 IBU, but then it had a lot of roasty backbone, possibly bordering on a slight astringency to mask all that bitterness. (muddled is a good term) I enjoyed it, the second more than the first (the 9.5% abv helped with that I'm sure) and it didn't necessarily have the thin body and dry finish the style is supposed to sport. I guess it's all up for interpretation. and I think you're right about the porter being a bit over- hopped. Brewers here in Colorado seem to like the west coast- hop grenade thing, even on styles that don't call for it:cross: