The Brew SiteBashah
Last year, Stone Brewing teamed up with Scotland’s BrewDog to brew up a collaboration beer, and Bashah was the result: a “Black Belgian Double IPA” (how’s that for a style designation?) that weighs in at 8.6% alcohol by volume.
(Yes, this was last year’s beer—this is a review from February I hadn’t posted yet, though I’ve still seen Bashah on the shelves, so if you have a decent bottleshop nearby there’s a chance you can still find it.)
You might be thinking “Black IPA,” and that’s more-or-less what I thought when I picked it up. What I found instead was a much more Belgian-influenced character without being overpowering.
Appearance: Black pour without much carbonation at first except a light brown head that built up gradually. Deep ruby when held to the light.
Smell: Roasted malts with a bit of earthy hops but with a chocolate “funk” that strikes me as Belgian and reminds me of earthy mushroom at the same time.
Taste: Definitely hoppy but also spicy up front—peppercorns and radish greens in the mix. Roasted malts and bitter cocoa powder with a bit of sweetness like… honeycomb? Raw honey maybe. Hops again follow up with a minty “green” bitter-spice.
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a lightness on the tongue, finishing the sweetish body with a roasty dryness.
Overall: Unusual and tasty, not the assault on the tastebuds I’d feared. Nor (for me) nearly as bitter as expected. Nice, interesting mix of flavors happening.
On BeerAdvocate, it scores an overall grade of B+. On RateBeer, it scores 3.66 out of 5 and is in their 97th overall percentile.
Interesting you posted this just as my brother and I were talking about this beer! Or rather creepy 😉
I’ve been lucky enough to have it on draft, and my brother tasted it for the first time a few weeks back.
The Bashah really is great, and the flavors blend extremely well. I personally would have preferred a bit more hop flavor and a tab bit more bitterness but that’s of course just me.
I have no real problem with the beer and the partnership….EXPECT…
The $7 price tag per 12oz bottle for this stuff.
It’s not that the beer is bad. Rather good in fact. But do I personally think it’s worth the $7 price tag for that small of an amount? Nope. Not even close. It’s def. worth the price to try at least once…no question there…BUT on an even some what regular basis? I honestly don’t think so.
Great beer, but for me it’s not something that stands out as “OMG!” or one that will go down in my books as one of the greatest. Many far cheaper brews that I find far more memorable.
And of course…thanks for taking the time out to write up the review! 🙂
Ilya
Sounds like a great drink. I am not generally a fan of heavy bitter beers, but your last comment makes me think that there is a chance of me enjoying it!