21st Amendment Back in Black IPA

I'm a big fan of the 21st Amendment brewery. Their beer and food are both good, and it's in a great location, very convenient for after Giants baseball games. Their beer is easy to find in the Bay Area, and they ship it in cans. They say it keeps the beer fresher, and cans are easier to tote around.

Back in Black is a dark IPA. I've seen a few other breweries with this style of beer. It seems like a logical blending of dark roasted beers and hoppy ones. I think it works really well. The color is very similar to a stout: dark with reddish highlights. There is a nice head that stuck around a while. The nose is toast and coffee and citrus.

It tastes smooth and a little sweet at first then bitter at the end. It's not really noticeably piney but a little citrusy, with some coffee flavors from the dark malt. Overall, it's very balanced and refreshing. I think it tastes more like a red ale than a stout, really, as far as the dark malty notes go. For the IBU (65) it's not really that hoppy or bitter tasting, but easy drinking.

Among the beers they make, 21st Amendment has an IPA that is very good, and a watermelon wheat beer which some people love, but I personally don't care for. I bought a single can of it at the local beer store, and I didn't get through more than a couple of ounces before I decided it wasn't for me and threw it out. I'll stick with the hoppier ones.