IPAs

[powpig2002]

we have people that know beer. let's hear your fav. IPAs.

 

[Glenn]

I've always enjoyed Harpoon. Dogfish Head is really good as well.

 

[powpig2002]

drinking sierra nevada torpedo. good stuff.

 

[roark]

Heady topper. Pliny. Ithaca dipa. Harpoon Leviathan.

 

[ctenidae]

Generally don't like the style, mostly because most brewers go too nuts on the hops. The beer should be suitable for shipping from London to New Delhi, unrefrigerated, and srtrong enough to only ship half or so as much.

Sorry, i just think of it as a style that doesn't need interpretation. Bass was one of the first. Done.

 

[jaja111]

drinking sierra nevada torpedo. good stuff.

Ditto. The more cascades the better. Also like Smutty Nose's, Victory's Hop Devil (spicy notes - different kind of IPA), and Great Lakes.

 

[roark]

Generally don't like the style, mostly because most brewers go too nuts on the hops. The beer should be suitable for shipping from London to New Delhi, unrefrigerated, and srtrong enough to only ship half or so as much.

Sorry, i just think of it as a style that doesn't need interpretation. Bass was one of the first. Done.

Wussy.

ETA: you didn't even know Bass was technically an IPA until I pointed it out

 

[ChileMass]

Sierra Nevada is a classic as is Harpoon here in Boston. Saranac is a good semi-mass-brewed choice upstate.

Was just in NJ this week and had some Hoffman Helles which was very tasty. I guess it's technically a lager, but it was very hoppy and I considered it an IPA........

 

[Geoff]

Generally don't like the style, mostly because most brewers go too nuts on the hops. The beer should be suitable for shipping from London to New Delhi, unrefrigerated, and srtrong enough to only ship half or so as much.

Sorry, i just think of it as a style that doesn't need interpretation. Bass was one of the first. Done.

this

I don't care for the overhopped mess churned out by US breweries that once were microbreweries. I think Sierra Nevada is close to undrinkable. Long Trail has too heavy a hand with a lot of their beer.

If you go to the UK, a pint of bitter actually tastes good.

 

[BMac]

Dogfish 60 min and Brown's Harvest IPA are my fav. The Harvest is made with all NY hops so unfortunately there isn't much of it and it never last more than 2 weeks.

As far as Sierra Nevada and Long Trail being mass produced swill, I always thought I was a beer snob until now.

 

[powpig2002]

this

I don't care for the overhopped mess churned out by US breweries that once were microbreweries. I think Sierra Nevada is close to undrinkable. Long Trail has too heavy a hand with a lot of their beer.

If you go to the UK, a pint of bitter actually tastes good.

ahhh, who asked ya? wait, what? oh yea. i did:beer:

 

[ChileMass]

As far as Sierra Nevada and Long Trail being mass produced swill, I always thought I was a beer snob until now.

Good comment.......

 

[riverc0il]

As far as Sierra Nevada and Long Trail being mass produced swill, I always thought I was a beer snob until now.

:lol:

I understand where the IPA nay-sayers are coming from. Its become quite common place to have really strong and aggressive IPAs. It certainly takes a lot more effort to make them taste great and make them at least somewhat easy to drink. I really enjoy IPAs but I have to be in the right mood for something aggressive when drinking many of the stronger offerings out there. Sometimes they really are truly too hoppy even for my taste. But that doesn't mean people don't enjoy them and breweries shouldn't continue to try to do new things with them just because the beer is no longer following the true path of its name sake.

The Harpoon Leviathan IPA was really good. While I like IPAs, my favorite beers are decidedly not IPAs even though I am always seeking new IPAs to try.

 

[powpig2002]

had a harpoon ipa today. first one in years. don't know if i'd buy another. funny how they are all different. harpoon-so so. dogfish, sierra nevada or raging bitch- excellent. but must be in mood for IN YOUR FACE.

 

[Greg]

I like virtually any IPA. The hoppier, the better. That's the whole point as far as I'm concerned. I like Hi.P.A and Lucky Kat from Magic Hat. Red Hook Long Hammer is good too. Harpoon, fine by me, and so is Long Trail, but I'm nowhere near a beer snob, and will drink Bud Light in mass quantity too, so what so I really know....

 

[Geoff]

As far as Sierra Nevada and Long Trail being mass produced swill, I always thought I was a beer snob until now.

I said "mess", not "swill". Sierra Nevada is a national brand and it's grown to be roughly the same size as Boston Beer's Sam Adams brand. It is not a microbrewery. It is a large corporation that has branded itsself as a craft brewer. I like their wheat beer but I think their flagship IPA is undrinkable.

Long Trail has grown like crazy. They bought Otter Creek recently because they had run out of capacity in their Bridgewater plant. It was some culture shock in Middlebury when the plant went from a sleepy little craft brewer to a beer factory with multiple shifts cranking out as much product as possible.

 

[Cannonball]

Magic Hat's Demo is treating me pretty damn well at the moment. Part of their "Tour of IPAs"

 

[ctenidae]

There are some good IPA's out ther, I just can' tthink of them, and most are not good. Result of our "extreme" culture, I suppose. No one's doing a malt devil beer, I notice.

 

[BackLoafRiver]

I like virtually any IPA. The hoppier, the better. That's the whole point as far as I'm concerned.

Agreed. I like to be able to chew the hops.

I have several favorite IPA's. The Lagunitas IPA is delicious.(not distributed in Maine but you can get it in Mass) Also like Bell's Two Hearted but I can't seem to get it up here.

My "go to's" are: 1)Stone's Ruination and 2) Red Racer IPA. The red racer is a new discovery and it is quite good. You can get it in a 6 - pack and it comes only in a can.

The DFH 90 minute I enjoy far more than the 60.

Recently discovered Stone's Lucky Bastard. I have only seen it on tap but it is absolutely spot on.

Has anyone tried the new Sam Adams IPA?? (I think it is called 48 longitude or some such thing) I am generally not a fan of their stuff but was intrigued.

:beer:

 

[roark]

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (Green label) is not an IPA. It pretty much defines the 'American Pale Ale' style and nearly singlehandedly kicked off the microbrewery trend. The sharpness you're tasting is not an overabundance of hops but rather a lot of crystal/caramel malt (like, 3-4x what one would normally see in a british pale ale). Yes, there's some cascades in the aroma, but not as much as you might think.

And yes, they've grown since then.

What thrills me is that american microbreweries have driven innovation worldwide. In the 80's, even the small breweries still produced just the standard british ales or german lagers. Now we have an ever expanding array of choices. If a standard old british style IPA still gets you excited, well good for you. I'm happy to have something that makes me say WOW.