From The Back of the Bashah Bottle – What does it mean? Yes, what indeed does it all mean. Meaning of course is elusive and illusive. It can’t or shouldn’t be found on this bottle. Should it? Yet what if it was? Would you begin to look for pearls of wisdom or life direction on a beer label? Perhaps it’s been there all along. Since meaning is a mere illusion, perhaps we shouldn’t let it have any influence on our destiny. This particular beer refused to succumb to the illusion of meaning or allow capricious parameters to have any influence on its own fermented fate. Are we even asking the right question? Are you feeling frustrated in the emptiness? If so, that could be because someone got to this beer before you, and thus there’s a reason for that emptiness. It’s empty. And if so, perhaps there indeed is not any meaning for you here after all. Style over Substance, or Substance over the scriptures of Style? The latter, thank you very much. Twice.

BrewDog and Stone Brewing – Bashah – The Black Belgian-Style Double India Pale Ale -  11.2 oz bottle poured into a goblet. 8.6% abv. Purchased at Dawson’s Liquors in Severna Park, MD

Appearance: Almost black with darkest brown at the edge of the glass. No head whatsoever even after an aggressive pour (may have been too cold, though).

Aroma: Dark malts, caramel, hints of coffee and chocolate, pumpernickel and just the tiniest whiff of pine resin.

Taste: Dark, dark chocolate (that 70% cacao gourmet stuff) and a bit of sweetness on the tongue, giving way to massive hop bitterness on the finish. The best flavors of an Imperial Chocolate Stout and a Double IPA complementing each other perfectly.

Mouthfeel: Thick and viscous and clings to your mouth for a very long finish.

Overall: This is certainly one of the most complex beers I’ve ever had. There’s so much going on that you constantly doubt exactly what kind of beer this is. One moment it’s a Stout, the next it’s a Doppelbock, then it’s a Double IPA and a Black Ale. So, so excellent.

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