Brodie’s Brewery
Dalston Black IPA
7%
Leyton, East London, UK

This has been a long time coming. I’ve spent a couple of years yearning for a pint of Brodie’s but have never seen it in pubs and I’ve never been able to locate it in my usual bottle shop haunts. Brodie’s was formed by husband and wife partnership James and Lizzie Brodie in 2008 after they took on the defunct Sweet William Brewery in Leyton. They run the brewery out of the King William IV pub on the High Road in Leyton.

Brodie’s are always featured in “Top 10 Breweries in London” and most recently the Dalston Black IPA was featured by Time Out as one of their beers you must try. So when I spotted it in Clapton Craft I had pick up a bottle. I find myself regularly going for Black IPA whenever I see them so my expectation was really high for this. The Dalston Black IPA pours incredibly dark and has a very grapefruit and citrus smell to it.

This style of beer sits alongside the porters and stouts of the world, however the black IPA isn’t quite as thick as those types of beer. Which allows you to drink it very easily, something you wouldn’t expect from a beer that is 7%. The after taste of this is rather bitter and after half a bottle I’m getting more bitterness than a hoppy flavour. And the more I drink it the more I think it tastes like a stout. It is a very good beer and has made me want to try more Brodie’s beers.

OVERALL: 3/5