Beer of the day on this fine day is Despair Came Knocking by Black Lodge Brewery and I’m already in love with the name as it’s a song name by the recently departed Daniel Johnston. If you’re not aware of his work, you really should be – he was incredible and has left behind a beautifully poetic legacy.

Despair came knocking
At my door
And I let her in
For a while
She sat on the couch
In the end, smoking
She said nothing
Suddenly I felt tired
I began to feel tired
And all of the sudden,
the room seemed dizzy and dirty
Despair came knocking
And I let her in
For a while
(Despair Came Knocking – Daniel Johnston)

So… Beer? Despair Came Knocking (the can) clocks in at 5.9% ABV and lists itself proudly as a Black IPA. I’m already keen on the idea of a black IPA as I’ve had black ales and lagers in the past but never a Black IPA so my interest has been piqued. The ring is pulled and out wafts the malty, fruity aroma that you’d pair up with an IPA but with it, there’s a sort of dank IPA aroma that I’d put with a porter or something like that. Jaysus, this is exciting. Let’s have a go.

On the tongue, it’s surprisingly light, malty, fruity and chocolatey I’d even dare to say. It’s pleasant as all heck and I was honestly not expecting it to drink so smoothly, with that sort of aroma on the nose, you’d expect it to be heavier like a porter or something would be. But this is smoothly drank and goes down really well. Peering into the can, I see nothing, total blackness, the absence of any light and a darkness that could only be fully described by using a H.P. Lovecraft version of the thesaurus.

Black Lodge Brewery, nice work! I really enjoyed that and need to check out more of your range for sure. That was a really tasty surprise and drank really well.

Out of 5? I’d give it 4.1 levels of dankness.

G’luck,
Seán