TRAVIS LEFEVRE
Managing Editor
As the old homage goes, “new year, new brew.”
I’m not too sure how this got passed down to me because I’m not really a beer person, but that doesn’t mean I won’t drink it. That being said, I’m also not an expert; this is purely my unprofessional opinion.
I do have a bucket list for this column. One of the big things is to eventually try an IPA to give my take on it. My predecessor wasn’t too fond of them, so I can’t wait to give my take on it. Until then, I will be looking at a dark beer.
It felt good to step back into EBC West after a month away. As a general note, EBC is probably my favorite place to go downtown. There’s an inviting atmosphere and it’s an overall good place to hang out and destress.
I sat down at the bar and kicked off the new semester with Black Hops, a seasonal black pale ale.
Now, as I mentioned before, beer isn’t my preferred alcoholic beverage. Whether that’s good or bad is for you to decide. When I do drink beer, I like it like my sense of humor: dark and bitter.
As expected, Black Hops had a strong and sharp taste to it. If you like Guinness, Black Hops is a good and better alternative. There is a minor difference between pale ale and stouts, but that’s beside the point.
The roasted malt flavor left an aftertaste in my mouth similar to that of burnt marshmallow. For me, that was a good thing because I love a good burnt marshmallow.
However, like most beers, after drinking it for a little bit I got sick of the taste. Not in the sense that I thought it was bad, but more in the sense that it got old for me to a point where I began thinking, “Welp, I gotta finish this now.”
Even with that minor discrepancy, Black Hops is a good beer for any social occasion, especially for fans of black pale ales.
No matter how much of an oxymoron the words “black pale ale” might sound, it can be forgiven due to how good the beer tastes overall.
Rating: 3.5/5
Black Hops is a good choice for a black pale ale. It has a memorable taste could easily serve as the staple of many good memories.
