last friday I stopped by san pedro brew co. to swap some beers and check out JW’s latest lineup.

• I dropped off my house IPA and wild patersbier and sampled a red and brown ale, as well as a killer german pils.  JW was busy cranking out a black IPA, and I watched as he weighed out pounds of hops for the boil additions.  can’t wait to try that one.

over the weekend I also sampled a bottle of my saison, and was pleased to discover that the beer was sufficiently carbonated (not to mention complex and delicious).

• to celebrate, I decided to wax dip the bottles.  I had done some research on inexpensive bottle wax and came to the conclusion that polymer “wax” was the way to go.  I picked up a few pounds of polymer wax on clearance and also grabbed a bag of wax from the local homebrew store.
• in the spirit of summer, I went with green wax for the saison.  I heated up the wax over the stove in a recycled can and held the bottles in the wax for five seconds apiece for a lighter dip that wouldn’t have to be cut off before using an opener.  you can double dip for results similar to bottles from deschutes, etc.
• a few tips: use a disposable stick to stir the wax as it heats, and place the waxed bottles on newspaper to avoid drips sticking to the counter top.  I also noticed that the wax retained heat for a while after cutting the range off (such that I could dip quite a few bottles before applying more heat).
• I used less than a quarter of the one-pound bag and dipped 24 bottles, with plenty of wax left over (the green wax cost me $11-12/lb).  for me, dipping bottles is a great way to produce a more upscale product without having to resort to more costly methods such as corking in belgian bottles.

I recently picked up a bottle of menage a singe black IPA while on a bevmo run and cracked it open last weekend.

• as noted by jay brooks in his article on the black IPA style, this beer is “a special release by the recent San Jose venture between the Tied House and Jeff Moses, former GM of Coast Range Brewery.”
• upon popping the cork, it was clear that this beer was very overcarbed.  it took a minute or two to get a decent pour, which was slightly annoying.
• the use of black patent or some other dark roasted malt dominated the flavor and aroma of the beer and overwhelmed any dry hop aroma that might have been present.
• in my opinion, calling a beer a “black IPA” doesn’t make sense.  how can a pale ale be black?  I think “dry-hopped porter” is more appropriate.
• overall, the beer was definitely interesting, but I wouldn’t buy it again.  if you are gung-ho on this “black IPA” kick, I would recommend something more like stone’s sublimely self-righteous ale.