Brewery- Blank Slate
Beer- Fork In The Road
Style- India Style Amber Ale
ABV- 6.8%
IBU- 70

The first beer in Blank Slate’s “Traveling IPA” series. Autumn is a time of change and mother nature is at a fork in the road as the bright summer gives way to fall’s darker colors. This beer sits squarely at the fork where darker malts and brighter hops meet. Munich and CaraRed malts give it an amber color and bigger malt presence than a standard IPA. Generous amounts of Citra and Centennial hops remind you that it’s still an “India” style beer nonetheless.

What does IPA mean anymore?  To me, ‘IPA’ is a perfect example of how traditional styles can be changed, how they can grow and evolve as the tastes of craft beer drinkers do.

Bending the style to fit in with the fall, this beer was created by Blank Slate, and almost immediately fallen in love with by the masses of drinkers in Cincinnati that were tired of the ‘normal’ IPAs that they were so used to.  Why not then put it into the rotation as part of their first run of cans?

My Thoughts On Blank Slate Fork In The Road

I would never classify myself as an “IPA guy” – don’t get me wrong, there is a time and a place for everything, and sometimes, a nice big hoppy IPA is fantastic.  I’m not the person that walks into a new taproom and just grabs the IPA off the tap list, though.  All this being said, I am a big fan of Fork In The Road…  Its malt presence puts it in a category of its own.

There are a ton of big citrus aromas that greet you upfront, but if you start digging your nose in you’ll find the layer of toast that throws it into a whirlwind of styles.

This really starts to shine when you start sipping away at it, though.  The taste is much maltier than the aroma would make you think that it’s going to be, filled with sweet toastiness in just enough proportion to keep the hops from taking over too much.  So well done, so delicious.