Rock Bottom San Jose Day of the Dead I.P.A.

Brewed by Rock Bottom San Jose
Style: American Strong Ale
Campbell, California USA

Draught at the brewpub. Black with a small beige head. The aroma is just a nbit messy really, with the light roast of the (I’m assuming) debittered black malt pretty much squashing the hops. There is some citrus, but is is equal parts with chocolate and caramel corn. Not bad, but not really IPA worthy. Maybe a little halloween though? The flavor is better, with lots of grapefruit-laden hops coming through the middle and finish. The malt had a nice dry chocolate character that helps lead into the nice hop bitterness in the finish. The flavor is overall nicely hoppy for an IPA, but the aroma just seems to suffer because of the roasted malt not clicking with the hops. Pleasant, but far from the top of the new "black IPA" style.