Emerging Beer Style: Cascadian Dark Ale
There’s a bit of controversy brewing over an emerging beer style.
The style? Well, it’s dark in color, with a prominent “Northwest” hoppy aroma – citrusy, piney and resinous – with sweet malt, hints of roastiness and toasted malt. The flavors strike a beautiful balance between citrusy-resinous Northwest hops and, to a lesser degree, roasted, chocolate malt or caramel notes. The body is reminiscent of an India Pale Ale, not heavy like a porter or stout.
This is not an easy balance to strike: It takes a very deft hand to make these flavors play well with each other together so they don’t fight one another; and the flavors must work in a way that they don’t resemble another beer style – such as a hoppy porter or American brown. But when that perfect balance is struck, something sublime happens; the result becomes more than the sum of its parts and another, completely different beer style is created.
So, what’s the brouhaha that’s brewing? Well, it’s about what to name this new beer style. Because of the basic, underlying style and its unusual color for such a style, there’s a natural inclination to call it the oxymoronic Black India Pale Ale or Black IPA. Others think it should be called India Black Ale or India Dark Ale. But a growing faction wants to call the style Cascadian Dark Ale.
Cascay-what?
Let me explain: Cascadia is a term derived from the Cascade Mountain Range; it is often used to describe the Pacific Northwest region that runs from British Columbia through Washington, Oregon, parts of Idaho and down into Northern California. That is where this style originated, thanks to brewers such as Rogue’s John Maeir, of Newport, Ore., Jacob Leanord and Bob Craig at Walking Man Brewing in Stevenson, Wash., and Matt Phillips of Phillips Brewing in Victoria, BC – to name a few.
After Maier debuted Skullsplitter, basically a dark version of his ever-popular Brutal Bitter, at the Oregon Brewers Festival in 2003, other Northwest brewers started playing around with making a dark, roasty IPA. The style has been found in the Northwest at a growing number of breweries, often as a specialty beer created for a festival. Widmer brewed a version as part of its Collaborator series – a program where homebrewers from the Oregon Brew Crew get to go pro and brew their winning beer on Widmer’s pilot system for distribution throughout Portland (proceeds of the beers go back to the homebrew club). And then, Widmer won gold in the experimental beer category at the GABF last year with W’10, a beer that is just now being released across the country – also called Pitch Black IPA, even though on the back of the label, the beer is referred to as a Cascadian Dark Ale.
Thanks to the additional exposure from Widmer and other larger breweries, other regions are jumping on the Cascadian Dark bandwagon. And that has inspired a group of Northwest brewers, beer journalists, experts and enthusiasts to jump at not only trying to get this new style sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program, but to make sure the nomenclature appropriately fits the style’s original appellation. Hence, the push to call it Cascadian Dark Ale.
Full disclosure: I am among that group. And here’s why (in no particular order):
1. Black IPA and Dark IPA are oxymoronic. Black Pale Ale? Dark Pale Ale?
2. India Black Ale would, no doubt, become IBA. India Dark Ale would be shortened to IDA And Black IPA would become BIPA. Imagine the poor bartender at a busy, noisy pub trying to determine if you just ordered an IPA or an IBA or IDA. The term CDA would, no doubt, become the preferred nomenclature for Cascadian Dark Ale. CDA is a great bar call.
3. One of the things that endears people to a beer or beer style is the story and history behind it. While Cascadia isn’t a term familiar to the general population, it would prompt curious beer drinkers to learn more about the beer in front of them and the story behind the style.
4. Cascadian Dark ale celebrates the appellation and also the Northwest hops that give the style its unique hop character.
Last Saturday, I attended a symposium on Cascadian Dark Ales last weekend (thanks to Belmont Station Bottle Shop & Bier Cafe for hosting) designed to help get the style in front of the BJCP so it can become an actual sanctioned beer style.
What do you think? Is Cascadian Dark Ale a good name for the style? Do you prefer Black IPA? Can you think of a better name? Should the style even be categorized?
19 Comments to “Emerging Beer Style: Cascadian Dark Ale”
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Cascadian Dark Ale is a wonderful name to depict the richness of invention and origin of ingredients of the great Pacific Northwest. San Diego may think they invented hops but let’s see ‘em grow ‘em. Even more important that that, our passion and palate for gregariously hopped beers goes unsurpassed, even by the creative brewers of Scandanavia and Nordia. Cascadia deserves more recognition for what has been done in the craft beer market as well as the value of our distinct, unparalleled, and important biome.
It seems too early to me to put this “style” into the BJCP guidelines. It’s so new and a bit faddish yet. Let’s see if if lasts and how it develops before codifying it into a full-fledged style.
Of the two options, Cascadian is certainly more poetic. Your 4th reason will resonate more with the beer geeks too. I don’t think it will take too long to get a new category as long as brewers keep using it on labels and tap handles, eventually it will stick.
It’s a romantic name, but my understanding is that the first versions were actually brewed by Greg Noonan at the Vermont Pub and Brewery in the early 1990s. There’s a few blurbs about it over here:
http://hillfarmstead.blogspot.com/2009/11/quiet-return-home.html
I love seeing all these style discussions popping up… makes it fun.
I’m with you on that. And I just like saying “Cascadian”…
I like Black IPA. The oxymoronic name is sort of the charm, and I imagine one of the catalysts for the beer’s creation to begin with.
Indeed – Lisa, why don’t you give Mitch Steele at Stone a phone call or drop him an email. He’s been doing a bit of research into origins and history behind different variations of IPAs and the ever mysterious “Black” IPA phenomena. No joke, it didn’t originate with John Maier… even though he may have inspired myriad West Coasters. Noonan may not have been the “father”, per se, but he was a long predecessor to the Northwest…
Cheers,
Shaun e.
I agree with your reasoning. Of course, calling it a ‘no brainer’ would be infammatory, but, in addition, India is a historical imperative derived from the events and conditions of the 18th and 19th century British imperialism. We don’t really need to generationalize this. So this beer is hoppy! It is also American and at the time that IPA was being established, America – i.e. The United States, was gaining it’s own identity apart and indeed at war with the British Empire. The U.S. Northwest has pioneered in the art of brewing lo, these many years and now deserves a beer classification of its own!
Yeah, if the BJCP to recognises it then it’s “officially” a beer style.
How about Black Cascade? or is that too inappropriate to say when drunk?
If it’s packed with aromatic hops, then it must be drunk fresh. However, we mustn’t forget the colour – it’s dark.
Why not call it ‘Fresh and Dark’? FAD. Yeah, has a nice ring to it!
I like India Black Ale… Cascadian anything just has too many syllables! The style sounds extremely tasty though. I can’t wait to try it. I don’t live in the PNW, I wish the article gave some good examples of accessible brewers….
Rogue indeed, their seasonal Mogul Madness Ale from the early to mid 1990’s was the first of this “style” I can remember drinking, very hoppy ala IPA and roasty chocolate ala Porter
Excellent. Lovely evocative name for a lovely evocative beer.
Even McMenamins have one called Black Opal..seen it late last year in the Salem locations.
I have to disagree with the proposed name of this beer. I think Cascadian Dark Ale is both erroneous and pretentious. Sure, there has been a large amount of movement to develop this style in the last few years, but the effort is not only in the hands of the Pacific Northwest. The push to name this style comes from a proud and strong beer culture, but I feel it is far too limiting.
I think what the guidelines need to propose is something more along the line of an American Dark Ale. The true origin of this beer is really still unclear, but the style has history and roots all over the United States, and while has flourished in craft beer heavy Oregon, there’s plenty that points to other regions for the true origin of the style.
Sure, this beer is an example of Northwest hops. That’s where hops grow in our country. The first comment made a crack about growing hops in San Diego. It would make little sense to even try to grow such a water-intensive crop in the middle of a desert. I’m sure if a hop farm popped up here, people would call it irresponsible from a “green” standpoint.
I understand it would be a point of pride, such as when Garrett Oliver pushed to have the IIPA renamed to a San Diego Pale Ale, however I still don’t agree despite the understanding that our region produces most of good examples of what he was referring to. Pliny the Elder is heralded as one of the best beers in the world, would fit the descriptor perfectly well (and is pretty much why the style developed so fully in San Diego), but is now made far, far away.
Or you know what? Just call it a black IPA. Or an India Black Ale.. People get it. None of the bartenders I know have a problem comprehending any of the 50 taps they have on at some of the local bars, and I doubt they’d have a problem with this one. Let’s not make excuses as to why we need to name this beer something that clearly sounds like an ego-trip, and just let it be what it really is. A darker version of an established style.
Sorry, I just don’t see it taking hold in any place other than the PNW.
I don’t see the need for another hop bomb.
Lame. This is just a lame attempt by these upper “west coast” brewers to try to grab some much desired recognition after having their asses handed to them by the SoCal scene for so long. These guys hid behind conservative mediocrity for decades, and then the SoCal guys came along in the 90’s and blew the lid off of things. Everyone knows that the ” West Coast IPA” just as well shouldve/ couldve been called “San Diego IPA”… Also the whole “ordering in a noisy bar” argument is ridiculous. When one is ordering a quaff, one generally orders the beer by name, not style. As in “give me the SSR, or Black Warrior IPA, please”. As far as Widmer goes: just a lame brewery that’s been putting out mediocre at best, crap beer for years and now riding the new wave of craft beer popularity thanks to pioneers like Cilurzo, Wagner and Arthur.
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