BrewDog Bashah Black Belgian Double IPA

BrewDog Bashah Black Belgian Double IPA, an iconoclastic offering from Scotland’s up and coming iconoclasts BrewDog, poured a somewhat sickly brown/black into the glass, with very little head over the somewhat flat ale.  The nose led with chocolate and oranges, but fruity yeast and light woody smoked notes were also detectable. 

BrewDog Bashah Black Belgian Double IPA hit the palette sweet and smooth, with milky chocolate providing a core over which spicy orange hops hit the top of my mouth.  The hop bitterness became a bit too medicinal in the middle, which clashed with the one-note sweet malt profile.  The ale ended on a bitter and heated fade as the alcohol took over the sweetness.

BrewDog Bashah Black Belgian Double IPA is an interesting hybrid of styles, and is an interesting ale, but seems to miss or under deliver on the best characteristics of each: the malt profile isn’t as interesting as a stout or porter, the hops weren’t balanced, clean, or interesting enough, and the Belgian yeast doesn’t come through enough in the flavor to make the ale test “Belgian”.  I’m keen to try other BrewDog offerings, but this one was a little disappointing (especially for the price and hype).