But why India at all? It’s never been to India and probably not going to India. It has alcohol and hops in it, doesn’t mean that India has to be part of it.
Call it American Black Ale if you like but I don’t get why it has to refer to IPA.
IPA came about because the regular pale ale the Brits were shipping off to their troops in India was arriving ‘stale’. They added more hops (a natural preservative) to help extend the beers shelf life and help it make the journey to India and arrive still drinkable.
This concludes IPA 101. 
How about Black Ale?
Thanks but I understand where and how IPA was developed. Don’t really need IPA 101. My point is that it is already a style. As people started adding more and more hops and upping the alcohol content, it morphed into American IPA which is a lot different than traditional IPA. It seems to have retained the I portion of the name because it was heavier hopped and higher alcohol from what I can gather. That seems to be the only thing tying this to an IPA.
When people started brewing stronger porters with roasted barley, the name changed to stout porter, eventually the stout dropped off and became it’s own style. I’m saying this is far enough removed from IPA to drop the India reference.
Like the post above says, American Black Ale
Our friends at Swamp Head Brewery in Gainesville named theirs “Floridian Dark Ale”
I like it. Perhaps everyone should have a regional version and name.
Oh-ho… peat smoked malt is acceptable, but only in quantities of 0.5 ounce or less per 5 gallons. My recent Scotch ale proved this to myself.
American Pale Ale started the same way as American IPA. The only difference is that you were around and paying attention when it happened. American brewers all call their products IPAs. They used to be in the same judging category. If you made a traditional IPA, it would do horribly because judges would expect the American version. So we split them. I invented the names American IPA and English IPA to distinguish them for judging purposes. It’s a shorthand. People understand what it means. If you say “Black IPA” then I understand it’s an IPA with sinamar. If you say “Imperial Brown IPA”, I know it’s a strong IPA with chocolate malt. If you say “American Dark Ale”, I don’t know if you mean a porter, a stout, a black IPA, or something else. Category names don’t have to mean something historically. Was anything ever called “Classic American Pilsner” or a “Northern German Altbier”?
If you’ve got a better system, let’s hear it. What the BJCP does is meant to simplify judging; it’s impossible to get it to align to every beer in the marketplace and what each of them is called.
I agree. The name makes no sense to me either.
Well, guy, there are white Africans, thus there could be white African Americans…what be your point, son?
Do white people born in Africa go by something other than African? Seems we always assume African Americans are black. We even call people African American when they’re from the Dominican Republic. Make sense? Of course not, friend.
I find all this labeling rather shallow and pedantic, mmmyes shallow and pedantic. Just gotta put a label on everything don’t we? Gotta claim things for our own (CDA) don’t we? What could be more arrogant, shallow and pedantic than the North westerners trying to claim this beer style as their own when they didn’t even create it!!
Enough of this!
Like someone else said, American Black Ale, if you wanna put a label on it.
I’m not sure how the race anaolgy applies, but yeah, American IPA vs. ‘original’ British IPA - either way. I was just making a funny observaton - not trying to start a debate on the subject.
[quote]All of the ones you mention are references to strength and make sense in that context. Something can’t be black and pale, no more than it can be invisible and pink.
[/quote]
Invisible Pink Ale, I like it.
This is not a style I expect to like (never tried it, too much homebrew to drink to drink many commercial beers and I’m not a hophead) so the RDW homebrewer in me doesn’t really care…but the pedantic nerd in me says don’t give it an oxymoronic name (Black and Pale) nor a historically inaccurate name (Cascadian). Why do we have to latch onto some previously used words anyway, let’s make up a new word for the style. Like…Vermontener. Or Sinamarian Ale. Or Noonanian Ale. CDA and BIPA are so unimaginative. :) I think if I brew one I’ll just call it Johnson.
yay Swamp Head Brewery!
I like it. Sounds like something they’d drink on NCC-1701.
On that note, I’ve always wondered why Romulan ‘Ale’ is blue (and non-carbonated). What the heck kind of grains do they grow on that planet!? lol
It’s non-carbonated so they don’t have to replace it between takes.
Takes? You mean it’s a show? I thought we had a window to the future!
(I’m sure you’re right - that’s also why you never see ice in drinks much in TV or films - it melts between takes).
Imperial only makes sense as a descriptor of high strength because you and I and the other beer drinkers agree that it does. Outside of the beer context, or by simply using denotation, Imperial makes as little sense to describe a strong beer which is unrelated to Imperialism as black IPA to describe a beer which is a lot like an IPA but black. As far as I can tell we did all agree to the general “black IPA” type terms for many years until a targeted naming campaign for a style at least 15 years old was begun last year. If brewery A wants to call theirs CDA then fine, we all know what is in the bottle basically. If brewery B wants to call it Black IPA, same story. The only people that I think need to figure out what to call it are bodies like the BA and BJCP that may need to promulgate a description of the style. I don’t see why the rest of us should deeply care what they or what the individual breweries call it. If the consumer has an idea of what is in the bottle or what is going to come out of the tap, mission accomplished.
I think beer styles are misnomers nearly as often as they aren’t. I do not understand the fixation on this one in particular. I mean, weissbier isn’t white, amiright? Let’s campaign to call it Bavarian Straw to maybe Amberish Ale. I’m sure they’ll appreciate our efforts and our correction on the meaning of the word white.
LOL (to the Star Trek references)! (and I thought I’d never use the term LOL)
Seriously, folks… about 99% of these black colored ales would fit just perfectly into either the existing Robust Porter or American Stout categories. I think it’s time to wake up and smell what’s already been out there for many many years.
I think that styles will evolve and develop as they have since the development of lighter colored lagers during the 19th century. As can be witnessed by this thread, we are continuing to see this development. It’s an evolutionary process of sorts and as the craft beer movement continues to evolve at it’s current pace, we will be challenged as a community to grasp and embrace these developments.
We are witnessing the largest craft beer movement in history. Microbreweries have been popping up all over the country at a record pace and as they do, we will continue to see more and more beer styles development over time. BTW…I think it’s a beautiful thing.
Don’t resist it…you can’t stop it. ;)
Who wants to restrict it/stop it? I LOVE it! We’ve had several new breweries open up in Seattle in just the past year alone - and more are coming. 
Isn’t that just about exactly what the Brewer’s Association did with their guidelines…
American-Style Black Ale
American-style Black Ale is perceived to have medium high to high hop bitterness, flavor and aroma with medium-high alcohol content, balanced with a medium body. Fruity, floral and herbal character from hops of all origins may contribute character. The style is further characterized by a moderate degree of caramel malt character and dark roasted malt flavor and aroma. High astringency and high degree of burnt roast malt character should be absent.
Original Gravity (ºPlato) 1.056-1.075 (14-18.2 ºPlato) ● Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (ºPlato) 1.012-1.018