Turned out to be an influx of gout. I hate this gout crap - you watch your diet and think you're doing good stuff, only to learn that little tweaky injuries like stepping wrong at the gym or stubbing your toe can bring on an attack, irrespective of your diet, etc. Pisses me off!
If anything, I think this thread has come a long way. It seems to be a bunch of us beer snobs comparing different types of ale. Nothing immature about expanding one's libation knowledge.
All I can say is I'm not a big fan of the new Black IPA movement. The dark grains cut the hops bitterness too much. I'm not sure if it's an increased sulfate content in the brewing liquor to keep the mash pH optimal that contributes to the cut in bitterness, or if it's simply the grain bitterness overpowering the hops. What I do like though is that organic Tripel I had on tap yesterday at Blue Corn Cafe in Santa Fe. That beer kicked ass! I was sad to have forgotten my growler for a fill of that stuff.