Commercial IPA Taste-off

Went to my local grocery store (HEB) and picked up this selection of IPAs for a taste off. Invited my beer drinkin' buddy over and after scoring, this is how the scores fell...




The Final Line Up.
(ordered left to right by highest to lowest score)

1. Dogfish Head 60 Min 6.0% 60 IBU
2. Stone IPA 6.9% 77 IBU
3. Stone Arrogant Bastard 7.2% 100 IBU
4. 1516 Victory Hop Devil 7.0% 65 IBU
5. Breckenridge Double IPA 9.2% 70 IBU
6. Flying Dog Double Dog IPA 11.5% 85 IBU
7. Independence Stash IPA 8.0% 65 IBU
8. Snake Dog IPA 7.1% 60 IBU

Looks like you had a good time. Arrogant Bastard is my favorite of the bunch

It's crazy how you scored them, that is very close to how I would rate those beers. 60 min and stone are my two favorite IPA's.

How were the snake dog and the double dog?
The Victory is my favorite of the bunch I like the real Orange/Centennial Citrus flavor in an IPA backed by the Munich Malt.

Solid representation you got there! Although, hate to nitpick, but isn't Arrogant Bastard an American Strong Ale? Whatever it is it's great.

I think Victory's Hop Whallop is better than Hop Devil... Was at their brewery yesterday! Their Scarlet Fire (Rauchbier) was very good.

BAH!

I didn't realize they had scarlett fire on tap again! Last time they had it i had them fill all 3 of my growlers with it. I LOVE that stuff.

Hop Wallop is delicious too. Its even more incredible on tap.

The Snake Dog was the only one that I would say that I disliked. I found it grassy, bitter and hot.... way more than the IBU or ABV would allow. I suspect it was not malty enough for my taste to find it in balance. Not looking to start any fights, but it sucked...

The far other end of the spectrum was the Victory. (I could see why many would like it.) My tasting note went something to the effect of "this is so smooth that I can not believe the stated IBU" It was a very drinkable IPA, with no harsh bitter aftertaste or alcohol.

The Arrogant Bastard and the Double Dog probably should have been removed from the lineup. With the very high IBU, they were definitely in a different class. I really enjoyed both of them, but they fell a few points against my prefered 60-70 IBU selections.

I will be going to AHS to get a Dogfish Head 60 clone recipe.

I would have put Stone IPA ahead of DFH but that's a matter of taste. AB doesn't belong in the class but I love it anyway.

If you can get it, you should add Lagunita's IPA to the lineup , we're starting to get it in our Kroger stores now. I hate to be such a fanboy for them but they're realy good.

West Coast's The Green Flash, Smuttynose IPA, Peak Organic's IPA is decent as well add to the spectrum.

howabouttheiris said:

I will be going to AHS to get a Dogfish Head 60 clone recipe.

Click to expand...

Check out Yoopers 60 minute clone in the recipe database. You won't be disappointed!

The 2008 BJCP style guidelines call Arrogant Bastard a "Specialty Beer" (Category 23). IMO, it is closer to a IIPA (category 14) than to a Strong Ale (category 19).

According to Wikipedia:

American Strong Ale
American strong ale is a broad category used in America to describe ales of 7.0% abv or higher. Beers in this category may also be classified as double India Pale Ales, barley wines, or old ale depending on the style.