Deschutes Hop in the Bark:
Greetings fellow beer travelers and welcome to our little stroll down the dark side of the beer.  Today we venture into that seldom ventured area of the beer world: dark IPAs.  We are going to look at an India Black Ale from Deschutes Brewing called Hop in the Dark (yeah I love the name too).  This black beauty has been on my ”must try” list for a while so instead of being funny, punny, or witty let’s just get down to the brass tacks and look at what really is one of the better beers I’ve had so far this year.  The beer was poured from a tap with a pitch black color, a small chocolate milk colored head and a nose of chocolate, toffee, hints of dark roast coffee beans and subtle hops.  The beer’s initial taste is one of a nice mellow IPA with strong pine notes that bloom into a subtle back note on a growing dark chocolate flavor that finally matures to a coffee back end and after taste.  While all the flavors sound like they would make a heavy beer this beer is more medium bodied akin to a Guinness than a heavy porter.  The addition of the hops allows a nice contrast in the dark beer notes and the carbonation allows the flavors to develop more then most dark beers usually would.  I really loved this beer which, honestly, surprised me since most dark/black IPAs I’ve had so far have been okay but nothing to write home about.  This is a widely available beer so if you run across it, like hops, and want something different but still familiar, this is your beer.  Enjoy.