Here’s another draft-only specialty beer from a local Georgia brewery that I sampled at my Canton Taco Mac: Red Hare Bitter Hearts Double Black IPA. I am, of course, extremely fond of black IPAs, or India Dark Ales as they are more properly called. But a Double India Dark Ale? Well that is indeed a rare and special treat.

Here’s what Red Hare says about theirs, the latest release in their rabbits reserve series of specialty brews:

Bitter Hearts Double Black IPA is a complex brew, not for the faint of heart. This imperial black IPA is bittered with Falconer’s Flight, Chinook, and Cascade hops. We use Crystal Malts to balance the hops while the Midnight Wheat gives it a rich dark color. We finish it off by dry-hopping it with Summit, Cascade, and Columbus whole coned hops. This beer is dark brown to black in color with a fragrant aroma and an alcohol content of 9%.

That’s a potent brew to be sure, but kudos to Red Hare for not making this a short pour. I got a full 20 ounce mug for a reasonable $6.75.  

Red Hare Bitter Hearts Double Black IPA pours to a jet black color with a medium sized creamy head formation and a decidedly piney hop aroma in the nose. Taking a sip, I get dark chocolaty malt up front and some very good roastiness. The beer is medium bodied with resiny piney hops and a double header roasty-hoppy bitterness in the finish.

As the beer warms, some espresso notes really come out, too, and some minty herbal, grassy hops too. Every time I take a sip I'm taking something different away.

Bitter Hearts isn’t overly thick in texture, which keeps it from becoming an imperial stout. The beer is perfectly balanced between dark malts and hops. It went extremely well with a burger topped with applewood smoked bacon, house made buffalo ranch sauce, lettuce, tomato, and cheddar on a toasted chipotle brioche bun.

This was Brewniversity credit 364 for me, which is fitting for this month since I was born in March of '64. We bought our home in Canton 3 years ago today, and I started my Brewniversity studies 4 days later. So about 10 beers a month here on average seems to be the tally.

I’d love to see this one released in cans, for sure. One of the pitfalls of the draft-only reserve series is that the beers are hard to find, and this is only the third one I’ve had out of five. Still, a very tasty “DIDA” (Double India Dark Ale) that has the trademark Pacific Northwest hoppiness, dark malts, and moderate body. Not the first such hefty IDA I’ve come across (also local Jailhouse’s Midnight Special being a notable example), but this one maintains more of an IPA and less of a stout character I think.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft



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