Beachwood BBQ: Hop Vader

​Settling into our table at my favorite local Brewery, Beachwood BBQ in Long Beach, I was pleasantly surprised to see Hop Vader back on the tap list. This was my go to beer last July, when it was introduced during Beachwood's first anniversary and for me it was love at first sip.

A black IPA, Hop Vader features a huge hop bill including a heavy dose of dry hopping with Columbus and Simcoes giving the beer a fantastic hoppy nose, which is followed by a huge hit of Pacific Northwest aroma/bittering hops that lend a wonderful citrusy/piney note on the front of the palate that fades into a fantastic hop bitterness throughout the finish. All of these hops are balanced by a dark almost black beer with both a malty sweetness and roasted malt astringency that compliments the hop bill. Overall another fantastic beer from Julian Shrago and the team at Beachwood that holds up well against the growing list of Dark IPAs.