Is This Black Diamond IPA Worthy of a Glowing Review?

For some, the India Pale Ale style of beers can be intimidating. This is especially true of the Double India Pale Ales. The bitterness of the beer can dissuade the casual beer drinker from enjoying this style of beer. That is unfortunate, because they are not enjoying one of the better representatives of this brewing style. A truly high quality Double India Pale Ale should have a bitterness to it, but it should also have a clean and refreshing flavor as well. Black Diamond Brewing hits on the bitterness for the style, but is it a refreshing beer?

Appearance: Typically a double IPA has a clean and refreshing appearance to it. It's either a golden or a pale copper color. In the case of the Black Diamond Rampage Double IPA the color is a cloudy copper. It does lace the glass nicely and has an average lasting head when poured. No sediment can be found at the bottom of the glass or bottle. It's lacking compared with the best in it's style, only scoring seven out of 10 points for appearance.

Aroma: Overall the Black Diamond Rampage provides a very pleasing aroma. It has the typical aromas of grapefruit and pine found in a Double IPA. There is a hint of spice to the aroma as well as a little sweetness from the strawberry. The strawberry is not typically expected from this style of a beer, while not entirely unpleasant, it's confusing to the beer drinker. Due to this it scores four out of five points for the aroma.

Taste: Typically a Double IPA will have a little more bitterness than an India Pale Ale, but it will also have a little more malt to balance it out. The Black Diamond Rampage Double IPA attempts to achieve this balance with a little sweetness from the strawberry. Honestly, the strawberry gets a little overpowered by the hops side of the beer. This allows the bitterness to dominate a little more than the top beers in this style. It's not a bad beer, but just not a standout, scoring seven out of 10 points.

Mouth Feel: There is a lively carbonation that hits you at the beginning of this beer, making it smooth and refreshing. The bitterness and dryness quickly dominate though, as is typical of this style of beer. It finishes dry, and scores four out of five points on mouth feel.

Drinkability: If you are looking for a nice clean and refreshing beer, Black Diamond's Rampage Double IPA is not quite a classic. Unfortunately the bitterness borders on the edge of sourness instead of bitterness. It feels a little heavy, and more filling than you would expect from a Double IPA. Above average, but there are better choices, as it scores 16 out of 20 points.

Summary: The Black Diamond Rampage Double India Pale Ale scores 38 out of 50 points, which is a 3.8 in traditional beer rating systems. Overall this makes it a beer that you might not mind drinking it it is being sold at a discount during happy hour, but you would not go out of your way to find this beer on the shelves at your local liquor store. The bitterness is not balanced well enough for this to be a refreshing beer of choice.