Tap List | Calibration Brewery’s Back to Black IPA

Behind the Beer: Calibration Brewery Goes Back to Black IPA

Calibration Brewery (119 Armour Road, North Kansas City, Missouri) put Back to Black IPA on tap in mid-July as a special release that’s still available. Previously, brewer Jack Owen once made 10 gallons of a black IPA using a homebrewing recipe. When brewery owner Glen Stinson sought a fresh addition to the tap list, Owen suggested black IPA.

“He hadn’t really had a chance to push the boundaries of the recipe for large-scale brewing,” Stinson said. “Black IPA is a fairly new beer [style] to the world of craft beer. We thought it would be a great way to show off Jack’s brewing chops, have a little fun, and introduce something that you don’t see everyday to our lineup.”

While the brewing process for the beer is fairly straightforward, Owen used an array of hops and malts to achieve a layered and balanced flavor profile.

“This beer uses Magnum, Chinook, Sorachi Ace, Cascade, Tettnang and CTZ (Columbus, Tomahawk, and Zeus) hops,” Owen said. “It also incorporates three black malts – a chocolate, black wheat, and Briess malt.”

Based in Chilton, Wisconsin, Briess Malt & Ingredients develops and produces a range of handcrafted specialty malts and malt extracts. Owen also dry-hopped the beer to add another layer of complexity.

“Tettnang is the main aroma hop. The bitterness comes from the Magnum and Chinook hops,” Owen said. “While this beer uses a variety of hops to add complexity, spiciness, and, of course, the signature bitter qualities found in an IPA, it has a nice balance between the truly aromatic hops and the more German lager-style hops.”

This easy-drinking beer derives its color, subtle warmth, and sweet flavor from the trio of roasted malts. Touting 90 IBUs, the beer begins with a hoppy nose and finishes with a smooth balance of bitterness and sweetness.

“The mouthfeel is smooth and light,” Stinson said. “The six-percent ABV puts this beer solidly in the ‘session Black IPA,’ category. So far, this seems to be a hit with our crowd.”

Stockyards Brewing is holding on to summer with a new Mexican lager. (Pete Dulin | Flatland)

Tap Scouting 

KC Wineworks (1829 McGee St.) has just released a new Hopped Apfel — a hoppy cider under its KC Ciderworks label. It’s available by the glass and bottle.

Josh Eans, the chef and co-owner of Happy Gillis (549 Gillis St.), went down to St. Louis to brew another batch of the Preserved Lemon Gose beer that he created in collaboration with 4 Hands Brewing Co. The beer also features herbs from Prairie Birthday Farm. Last year’s brew was a tart interpretation of preserved lemons made with lemon basil, lemon verbena and lemon zest.

Stockyards Brewing Company (1600 Genessee St., #100) has a new Mexican style lager. Cerveza Royale is out now.

Poppy’s Ice Cream (307 SE Douglas St., Lee’s Summit, Missouri) has created an ice cream featuring Crane Brewing Company’s Tea Weiss. It’s available by the cup or cone.

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— Pete Dulin writes about food trends for Flatland and is the author of the “KC Ale Trail.” Follow @FlatlandKC and #TapList on Twitter for more food news and trends.

[Editors Note: An earlier version of TapList incorrectly identified the name of Stockyards Brewing Company’s Mexican style lager.]