Beer Review: Hop in the Dark C.D.A.

Price: $4.98 for 22oz
Brewery: Deschutes, Bend Oregon
Style: Cascadian Dark Ale (Black IPA)
ABV: 6.9%
Color: Black, opaque
Aroma: Hoppy.
Body: Light-Medium
Stomach Aspect: Little.
Head: Poured to a quarter inch but only lasted a minute before fading. The head is a tan colored with tightly grouped bubbles. The head has a nice velvet aspect like Stouts.
Head Retention: OK, leaves a nice ring from the previous pull.
Taste: Front of the tongue there is no sweetness in the brew. Little roasted malt flavor mid-tongue. Back of the tongue strong hop bitterness, and flavor.
Conclusion: I am not sure where to start with this brew. I like the label on the bottle, the idea behind the label was nice. Pouring the beer into my pint glass and instantly you see a nice dark color, and your brain goes "oh, Porter or Stout", you sniff the brew and your brain goes "WTF?" I am looking a dark beer, I smell no Roasted malt. The brew has a simple aroma, it's nothing but Hops. Taking a sip and your nose gives you the idea you're drinking an IPA, or something close to it. However, seeing the dark color you think Stouts or Porter. Continue to take that sip and instantly your tongue goes on Hop alert. The Roasted Malt is so faint that it leaves your tongue as fast as it shows up. It doesn't linger enough to make make you want more Roasted Malt. Move the brew to the back of your tongue and viola! Hops are present and accounted for. The Hop flavor is very bitter, almost like sucking from a lemon bitter. Swallow and the hop presence is even more pronounced. The finish is a little malty, but the brew does leave a thick film on your tongue, and after a pint, it gave me "Cotton Mouth." The brew itself isn't bad, but it's just like the other Dark IPA's I've reviewed. They (Breweries) take an IPA recipe and add enough Roasted Malt to color it black. The bottle says ""welcome to the curious place where the Velvet Dark of Roasted Malt meets the Hop snap of IPA." I disagree, the Roasted Malt is so faint it's not even present. Curious yes, my brain is going what am I doing drinking this? The label should have read "we used just enough Roasted Malt to color an IPA, without imparting any Roasted flavor." As you may know I am a Stout drinker, the darker, heavier the beer the happier I am. I am not a fan of this style of brew. Mixing Roasted Malt with massive Hops to obtain a dark beer in color is just wrong in my opinion. I mean, it's like someone buying a Hybrid car and saying they're going green, meanwhile they still drive the 8 MPG SUV all the time. See my point? IPA's have their place in the beer world and in the Pacific Northwest, they should be hoppy, they (IPA's) should be Gold to a deep yellow in color. They (IPA's) should have an off white head. They shouldn't be black. They (IPA's) shouldn't have a tan colored, velvety head as Stouts do. If I was sitting at brew pub and saw a pint glass with this brew in it I would think Stout because of the deep black color. I've said it before and I'll say it again. If the IPA's are boring to brewers and drinkers, improve the beer by making it better within it's realm of IPA. If you want to step up to the big heavy Stouts then drink one, don't phone it in and puss out with a Dark IPA.
Public Aspect: I think at first hop heads are going to be put off by the color of the brew (if shown in a glass). The one thing most beer drinkers hate are the dark, deep heavy, full bodied beers. This brew (by looks) will fool some to believe it's a Stout. But yet, drink it and there is no mistaking this brew for anything other than an IPA. This brew is a "Faux-rrari." A Pontiac Fiero dress up on the outside to look like a Ferrari 308. Some people are going to like this style of brew, which is fine, I guess. But if you want a dark beer wouldn't you rather just have a dark beer? If you wanted an IPA, wouldn't you rather have an IPA? The price of the beer is tolerable for the size of the bottle. But in reality I think this brew won't grab and hold the attention of either the Stouts or IPA drinkers. So please, don't show up to a public event with this style of beer. Find your calling, listen to your taste buds, and be proud of the style of beer you drink.