It is finally time to settle the question, what is the best Black IPA brewed in the small town of Cold Springs, Minnesota? Cold Springs is a small rural town with a population less than 5,000 people. Despite being such a small town, Cold Springs calls itself home to two large breweries, Cold Springs Brewing Company and 3rd Street Brewhouse.
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| The Contestants |
In 2012, Cold Springs Brewing Company spent $12 million dollars to expand and build 3rd Street Brewhouse. The new Brewhouse was build to address problems faced in the old brewery-consistency and quality. The new state of the art brewhouse utilizes the newest technology in brewing systems and packaging equipment. 3rd Street also recruited a list of talented brewers from places such as Rock Bottom, Town Hall, and Summit.
3rd Street Brewhouse
Color: Black
Alcohol Content: 6.5% abv
Appearance: Pours a dark black color with almost two fingers of ivory head that had very good retention before settling to a thick cap. There was a moderate amount of lacing is left down the side of the glass.
Smell: I initially get chocolate, burnt caramel, toffee, a little bit of molasses with a subtle hints of citrus orange and grapefruit from the hops.
Taste: Just like it smells. There is a good balance of dark malts and spicy hops. The dark roasted malts add a big taste of chocolate, burnt caramel, toffee, and a bit of molasses. There is a good mix of spicy and mildly bitter hops that give it the earthy, pine resin, and some light citrus notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Starts out sweet and finishes pretty dry.
Overall: A pretty good dark ale. Veers more towards a hopped up porter or stout than a black IPA. It is full of flavor and is easy to drink.
Alcohol Content: 6.8% abv
Alcohol Content: 6.5% abv
Bitterness (IBUs): ???
Malts: Pale, Caramel, Munich, Roasted, Black
Malts: Pale, Caramel, Munich, Roasted, Black
Hops: German and US (Magnum, Hersbrucker, Amarillo, Cascade)
Yeast: Not listed but I'm going to guess Wyest 1056 American Ale
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| 3rd Street Brewhouse Bitter Neighbor |
Appearance: Pours a dark black color with almost two fingers of ivory head that had very good retention before settling to a thick cap. There was a moderate amount of lacing is left down the side of the glass.
Smell: I initially get chocolate, burnt caramel, toffee, a little bit of molasses with a subtle hints of citrus orange and grapefruit from the hops.
Taste: Just like it smells. There is a good balance of dark malts and spicy hops. The dark roasted malts add a big taste of chocolate, burnt caramel, toffee, and a bit of molasses. There is a good mix of spicy and mildly bitter hops that give it the earthy, pine resin, and some light citrus notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Starts out sweet and finishes pretty dry.
Overall: A pretty good dark ale. Veers more towards a hopped up porter or stout than a black IPA. It is full of flavor and is easy to drink.
21st Amendment Brewing Company
Color: Midnight BlackAlcohol Content: 6.8% abv
Bitterness (IBUs): 65
Malts: Rahr Pale, Caramel 45L, Munich, De-bittered Black
Malts: Rahr Pale, Caramel 45L, Munich, De-bittered Black
Bittering Hops: Columbus
Flavor Hops: Columbus, Centennial
Dry Hops: Centennial, Simcoe
Dry Hops: Centennial, Simcoe
Yeast: Canned product uses Safale US-05 and the brewpub uses US-05 or White Labs WLP001
Appearance: The beer pours a dark brown to black color with a cream-colored head.
Smell: It smelled of citrus, pine and roasted malts.
Taste: Starts out with a strong but not over-powering burst of hops bitterness that is quickly followed by flavors of black coffee and a little bit of citrus fruit. The roasted malt character is hearty but not too heavy and brings a very good balance. The after-taste is slightly hoppy and slightly sweet.
Mouthfeel: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is dry and slightly sticky.
Overall: Very tasty, goes down quite easily, not too filling, decent kick, very good representation of style, this is a very nice beer worth drinking for a long time. No wonder it is considered on of the best in the style.
Appearance: The beer pours a dark brown to black color with a cream-colored head.
Smell: It smelled of citrus, pine and roasted malts.
Taste: Starts out with a strong but not over-powering burst of hops bitterness that is quickly followed by flavors of black coffee and a little bit of citrus fruit. The roasted malt character is hearty but not too heavy and brings a very good balance. The after-taste is slightly hoppy and slightly sweet.
Mouthfeel: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is dry and slightly sticky.
Overall: Very tasty, goes down quite easily, not too filling, decent kick, very good representation of style, this is a very nice beer worth drinking for a long time. No wonder it is considered on of the best in the style.
...21st Amendment Back In Black!!! (just barely)