Recommend IPA?

[rack04]

Last time I was at Spec's (my local liquor store) I got to talking with their beer guru about India Pale Ale's. I can honestly say that I've never tasted an IPA before. Any recommendations for a good IPA to cleanse my pallet?

[yourchoice]

There are a ton of awesome IPA's. I may be forgetting one or two, but here are some of my favorites...

Dogfish 90 minute IPA
Dogfish 60 minute IPA
Victory Hop Devil
Stone IPA

I think all of these are pretty available nationally. Good luck with them, IPA's are some of my favorites.

And BTW, you'll need to cleanse your palate after the Cowgirls get beat by the Birds on Sunday

[ResIpsa]

Dogfish Head 90 Minute is an outstanding IPA.....

not really a big fan of IPA's but when I'm in the mood that's as good as it gets.

[Spect]

This is going the other direction, but I think IPA is really nasty stuff. That is of course, unless you like things like peach, mango and apricot in your beer. The hop should be very bitter almost like a dry hop, but a lot of the IPA's I've had are just dry and sweet.

[nortmand]

Originally Posted by Spect

This is going the other direction, but I think IPA is really nasty stuff. That is of course, unless you like things like peach, mango and apricot in your beer. The hop should be very bitter almost like a dry hop, but a lot of the IPA's I've had are just dry and sweet.

I don't know where you get that idea, but I've tried hundreds of IPAs and the only one with any fruit was Dogfish head's Aprihop. It is possible to interpret some of the hop aromas and flavors as citrus or tropical fruits, but generally there is no actual fruit added to the brew.

A quick lesson in hop usage: hops are used at different times in the brewing process to provide bitterness, flavor and aroma. Dry hopping is a process done after fermentation to provide additional hop aroma, and has nothing to do with bitterness.

Also, dry and sweet are essentially opposites, so it would be tough to describe something as "dry and sweet."

As to the original poster, IPAs are wonderful, if you like alot of hops. If you are new to good beer, then they can be a bit much.
If you want to try IPAs that typify the American approach, go for those produced on the west coast, especially southern california and the pacific northwest. East coast IPAs are generally more "English" focusing on malt, with a more subtle, but still substantial hop kick. Midwest IPAs are generally somewhere in between, with alot of hops with a good malt backbone.

[rack04]

Originally Posted by yourchoice

There are a ton of awesome IPA's. I may be forgetting one or two, but here are some of my favorites...

Dogfish 90 minute IPA
Dogfish 60 minute IPA
Victory Hop Devil
Stone IPA

I think all of these are pretty available nationally. Good luck with them, IPA's are some of my favorites.

And BTW, you'll need to cleanse your palate after the Cowboys whoop my lifeless Eagles on Sunday

Thanks for the IPA recommendations and your kind words about my Dallas Cowboys.

[Darrell]

A lot of folks really like IPA Redhook. I'm a big beer fan, but hate IPA's except for Redhook. It's pretty good.

[Smoked]

http://www.stonebrew.com/ipa/

http://beeronthewall.com/online-stor...niversary.html

[Spect]

Originally Posted by nortmand

I don't know where you get that idea, but I've tried hundreds of IPAs and the only one with any fruit was Dogfish head's Aprihop. It is possible to interpret some of the hop aromas and flavors as citrus or tropical fruits, but generally there is no actual fruit added to the brew.

A quick lesson in hop usage: hops are used at different times in the brewing process to provide bitterness, flavor and aroma. Dry hopping is a process done after fermentation to provide additional hop aroma, and has nothing to do with bitterness.

Also, dry and sweet are essentially opposites, so it would be tough to describe something as "dry and sweet."

As to the original poster, IPAs are wonderful, if you like alot of hops. If you are new to good beer, then they can be a bit much.
If you want to try IPAs that typify the American approach, go for those produced on the west coast, especially southern california and the pacific northwest. East coast IPAs are generally more "English" focusing on malt, with a more subtle, but still substantial hop kick. Midwest IPAs are generally somewhere in between, with alot of hops with a good malt backbone.

Dry hopping is done to impart bitterness, flavor and it gives you that nice hoppy smell. Also, your right I misspoke, "dry or sweet". I know there's no actual fruit in the beer but I can almost always detect fruit flavors in IPAs.

[rumballs]

a couple that are easy to find and always good:
Harpoon IPA
Sierra Nevada IPA

[jcarlton]

SKA Beer

[kjjm4]

Originally Posted by mmblz

a couple that are easy to find and always good:
Harpoon IPA
Sierra Nevada IPA

Sierra Nevada's IPA is one of my favorites.

[Mark C]

I'll second Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head. Both are great.

Dogfish Head also makes a 120 minute IPA, in addition to the 60 and 90, though that's harder to find.

If you like bitter hop flavor, try Tupper's Hop Pocket. One of the 'hoppiest' I've ever tasted.

[nortmand]

Originally Posted by Spect

Dry hopping is done to impart bitterness, flavor and it gives you that nice hoppy smell. Also, your right I misspoke, "dry or sweet". I know there's no actual fruit in the beer but I can almost always detect fruit flavors in IPAs.

I'm still going to have to disagree with you. Dry hopping will not add any bitterness, and although it may impart a bit of flavor, brewers dry hop for aroma only.
You are correct on the fruit flavors. Alot of fruitiness in ales comes from the yeast. Especially those that have some caramel malts. Lighter ales generally don't ferment enough to impart alot of phenols, and the dark malts in darker ales tend to hide the ale yeast character. So IPAs, being ales with caramel malts and copious amounts of hops will often have fruity flavors.

[hova45]

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/174



this one is my personal fave hard to find though
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/141/35225