BY MATT STEVENS for WEEKLY VOLCANO 3/6/26 |
This week’s beer in question is the collaboration between E9 Brewing Co. and Dustin Striplin from the Brown’s Point Homebrew Club for Tacoma Beer Week 2026, a Cascadia Dark Ale. The CDA was added to the staple of hop-forward beers about 15 years ago as a takeoff of hoppy IPAs. It’s a dark beer, made with lots of darker malt, unlike IPAs, which use mainly two-row and pilsner malt and rarely have much color depth to them. From those darker malts, a great CDA also has some small amount of roast feel. Think some coffee or smooth dark chocolate. The pairing of the piney or tropical hop flavors and the chocolate of the malt makes an unexpected but beautiful combination, and the CDA is one of my favorite styles of beer.
Cracking the can, the initial appearance of this CDA is great. It pours a dark chocolate color, almost black but not quite. There is a beautiful big head on the beer. It’s not as viscous or thick as a stout but still thicker than an average IPA or pilsner. A great start.
The initial smell is also great. I’m getting big pine flavors with hints of melon or tropical fruit. I prefer my CDAs with pine, as I think it pairs best with the slight chocolatey roastiness from the malt.
The first sip of a CDA for a new initiate is always a whammer. If you are normally a hop-forward IPA drinker or a roasty stout lover, this beer doesn’t give you what you are expecting. The pine flavors and the chocolate roastiness blend and seep into the corners of your mouth, and you keep tasting one and then the other. This beer from E9 and Mr. Striplin really nails that combo and how they work so well together, even though they are unexpected.
The mouthfeel overall is good. I appreciate that it doesn’t feel overly heavy. Because the beer has so many flavors and packs a wallop at 7.5 percent alcohol, often CDAs can feel like chewing through beer. Although on cold fall evenings in front of the fireplace, I do love that. I don’t need it all the time, and this beer comes in and won’t knock you out in one sip.
Overall, the beer is great. It’s a delicious beer and a great way to celebrate Tacoma Beer Week.
If you haven’t yet made it out to any of the Tacoma Beer Week events, you can catch the Collaboration CDA on tap at E9 Brewery downtown at South 25th and Fawcett at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 8. Five-dollar pints on some of the special beers.
