Seek & Destroy by Black Market Brewing is a 12.7% ABV Smoked Quadruple India Pale Ale.
Label:
Our Black Market brewers were in need of an amazing and unique brew to break up the winter doldrums. We think that this quadruple, smoked IPA is just the ticket to do the job. The smokey flavor and aromatics are from American hardwood smoked malts, adding just the right qualities to stand up to our piney and resinous experimental hops. Try pouring into a brandy snifter and slowly enjoying it as it warms.
==Introduction==
A Quadruple IPA?!?! Yes, it happened and a smoked one at that. Not to mention the fact that it has the song from Metallica, Seek and Destroy. Released by Black Market brewing which is making a lot of great beers. So far, almost everything I have had from them is delicious and amazing. Now they were able to break the boundaries of the Triple IPA and went into the Quadruple IPA. Which technically I could say Dogfish Head 120 or the BrewDog Sink The Bismarck are more quadruple IPAs than anything. This one is smoked so from there, it changes the path that the typical citrucy, herbal and tropical IPAs take. It is not a black IPA so that makes this one much more interesting. Let us see what this one is all about.
Aromas:
Citrus, Italian herbal, floral, piney, grapefruit, grassy and dank oniony hops, smoked oak, campfire notes, BBQ notes, dark fruit raisins, plum sauce, teriyaki sauce, molasses, rich dark cherries, black berries, toffee, biscuit bread, mango, pineapple, dragon fruit, honey dew melon, prickly pears, mild sweetened condensed milk, marshmallow, graham crackers, blood oranges, butterscotch, cinnamon and brown sugar
Flavors:
Grapefruit, citrus, piney and grassy hops, Smoked bacon, smoked jerky, BBQ sauce, chocolate, teriyaki sauce, honey, caramel, vanilla, dark fruit raisins, plums, figs, rich dark cherries, black berries, toffee, biscuit bread, mango, pineapple, dragon fruit, honey dew melon, prickly pears, mild sweetened condensed milk, smoked oak, campfire, marshmallow, graham crackers, blood oranges, butterscotch, molasses hints, Italian herbs and spices, dank oniony and garlicky hop notes.
Aftertaste:
Smokey notes, caramel, BBQ, smoked jerky, Honey, tropical notes, toffee, dark cherries, Italian herbs, piney, grassy, grapefruit, dank onion, garlicky and earthy hops notes. Slight alcohol in the taste but not detracting from the flavors, mildly syrupy mouthfeel, sipping drinkability, crimson light to moderate body.
Overall:
The merit of being its own smoked IPA style, this one is probably the best in that class. Judging it as a regular IPA it is great as well, but the merit is given on it being a smoked IPA is more. Quite the unique style as it does not seem to fall into the black IPA or regular IPA category but regardless is damn delicious. It is its own perfect style. I really enjoyed this one but if you do not like smokey beers or IPAS, maybe this will not be a beer for you. If you like IPAs but not smokey beers, maybe it will be to much too. I base my rating on its uniqueness overall.
Anime Corner:
Kagami Sumika from Muv-Luv alternative was used in this pairing as I wanted to do something with the label and seek and destroy. Kagami in this picture looks hurt like her vehicle was taken down as someone was seeking to destroy her. She isn’t done yet; she can get up and fight as the look on her face states that she’s ready for that counter attack. She also reminds me of Megaman in the sense that the song, Seek & Destroy was used in the Flash Man Theme or at least inspired by it. So there is the other connection there. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTNpKZs_Sao
Sources:
http://e-shuushuu.net/images/2011-03-12-383061.jpeg