Black IPA by this craft brewery in Alicante in Spain, longneck bottle bought at De Apotheek, a new craft beer boutique in Ghent. Thick and foamy, pale mocha-beige, pillowy and regular, dense, stable head, initially clear very dark chocolate brown robe with mahogany edges - black in general appearance, but a storm of swirling bubbles is visible in the mahogany glow near the bottom of the glass. Powerful aroma of grapefruit peel, toasted onion, pine resin, roasted walnuts, black coffee, wet leather, black peppercorns, dried blackcurrants, burnt raisins, toasted rye bread, fresh bayleaf, marmite. Cleanly fruity onset, vague dried blackcurrant and fig sweetishness, touches of porcini-like umami and a thin sourish undertone, medium carbonated with rounded, soft, resinous mouthfeel; oily bitter black-chocolatey and toasted rye-bready core with notes of hard caramel and eventually black coffee, the latter supporting a piney and peppery hop bitterness with some leafy extensions as well as a grapefruity retronasal aroma - providing long, stretched-out bitterness, which nevertheless remains relatively soft and smooth for the style. The classic piney and oniony hop aromas are there, however, more so than in many other European BIPAs I had through the years, and while the hops could have been more outspokenly tonic-bitter, they do last for a long time and deposit a spicy-bitter coating on the root of the tongue, matching well with the roasty coffee-like malt bitterness. Quite classic in its make-up, the rye adding smoothness and spiciness and the hops being sufficiently aromatic, I cannot but conclude that this is a more than decent 'Cascadian' - I had many more disappointing examples than this one. Quite delicious if you are into this style, if this is Althaia's general level of quality, then I cannot wait to taste more of their beers.