ranger ipa...

So an ipa by definition is a very hoppy beer...

BrewsClues said:

So if 420 is the apa, what is the ipa?

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Sweetwater makes one specifically called "IPA"

http://www.sweetwaterbrew.com/Brews.php

I had a list of likes very similar to yours when I first started drinking something other than keystone or bud. I have a feeling in a year or two you will love ranger and many other IPAs and probably not like a lot of those beers on your list now. I love DIPAs and sours and porters ect. now and I used to hate all of those when I first got out of Marcos. Glad to hear you are getting into better beer though.

So an ipa by definition is a very hoppy beer...

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From what I understand, IPAs were originally produced because Pale Ales were spoiling during transport, and the extra hops helped preserve the beer for a longer trip. This was during the wooden barrel days before refrigeration.

My IPAs tend to be more of the Brit style... rather than american... more malt flavor and even add some toasted Maris Otter or Victory or biscuit malt. just a bit more rounded. but that's just my preference.

That being said I do like the Ranger... and will drink pint after pint when it's fresh on tap at the local bars.

420 seems to me more as an american pale ale...

GodsStepBrother said:

I am a malt guy firstly and secondly an Hop guy. But Ranger for some reason, (though i like it) gives me a massive headache after the second pint.

Its happened 3 times that I drank it and only it, yet ended up with an ugly head ache.

On another note I remember the days I thought dos equis, bluemoon, new castle, and sam adams where the best beers ever. Now they are good beers, but I was completely ablivious to craft beer at that point. Keep trying beer!

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I tried Ranger last night and loved it. However I woke up with a headache as well after only a few pints. I am wondering if maybe this has something to do with the 2 pounds of sugar. I really want to brew this. Does anybody have any suggested substitutes and quantities for the sugar? Perhaps more 2-row? Thanks

i think ranger's a great example of an american IPA. not overly hoppy (65IBU) and a nice malt backbone. it's nice'n dry so you can easily drink a few (or 8).
i agree with the posters saying that as your beer palate develops, you'll learn to like things with more flavor that aren't mass produced light beers. when i was in my late teens/early 20's, Sam Adams was about as flavorful a brew as i could handle, by 25 i was drinking IPA's and stouts like most people drink budmillercoorslightlime, now in my mid 30's there's not a style of beer i don't love. if it's well crafted, i'll drink it, enjoy it, and drink it some more. in fact, many of the brews i used to like, Sam, Dos Equis, Molson Canadian, etc. NOW taste like macro swill to me. give me craft, or give me PBR! :rockin:

I think Ranger is a great beer, it's the closest I have found to DFH60 Minute that I can get local.

BrewsClues said:

I've been trying all kinds of new beer because now I'm brewing it. So far beer that I've loved: dos equis, sweetwater blue, blue moon seasonal spring blounde ale, and Mich. Amber bock wasn't too bad either. Now beer that I hated: ranger ipa... Tastes like somebody mixed up the ingredients and put 10lbs of hops instead of grains!

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I'm not a big New Belgium booster in general, but Ranger is good stuff, IMO. Plus, they list the hops on the label, which is always nice. Try some other styles, then try a few more IPAs - I've found that good beer sometimes doesn't hit me at first.

I thought Ranger ipa was awesome,every time. It beat Stones ipa for shure for me. Although i dont like all of their stuff that is one of the better ones, i only liked one of their belgian series also, and im about 50/50 on the rest.

It's a funny thing about beers. I used to be where you are...didn't like the hoppy stuff. But as my beer chops got better, the more I realized just how much fun hops bring to the party. I like Ranger, but for me the best IPA I've had (to date) is Sweetwater's. It is a grapefruit citrus BOMB. Hoppy as all hell. But balanced.

That's what you want to look for is balance. Hops for the sake of hops tastes like a flaming sack of dog poo.

NPK said:

From what I understand, IPAs were originally produced because Pale Ales were spoiling during transport, and the extra hops helped preserve the beer for a longer trip. This was during the wooden barrel days before refrigeration.

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Pretty much...

Looky here..

jonmohno said:

and im about 50/50 on the rest.

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Next Fall, if you haven't yet done it, give Hoptober a try. I had no appreciation for New Belgium until I tried that beer. Honestly, it has the best nose on it of any beer I've had. Happy in a Glass, even more than a typical IPA.

I wonder if I got a bad bottle. Had Ranger once, and you'd have to pay me to drink it again. And I'm a fanatic hophead!

jonmohno said:

I thought Ranger ipa was awesome,every time. It beat Stones ipa for shure for me. Although i dont like all of their stuff that is one of the better ones, i only liked one of their belgian series also, and im about 50/50 on the rest.

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The Ranger is OK at best. No way it can compare with Stone. But having said that, I buy the cases of the Ranger 22oz bombers. 12 bottles for 12.99? Christ, I couldn't buy 22oz bottles from my LHBS for that kinda cash. So the beer is free in my eyes. At least I tell myself that as I choke it down.

Some people just like the lackluster, highly advertised, big brands. Some people realize that the multi-billion dollar advertising campaigns don't turn yellow fizzy swill into great beer. It's just a matter of taste.

If you decide to pursue home brewing as a serious hobby, you should sample as many styles of beer as you can and decide what you like. I consider home brewing to be a hobby. A hobby is something that you do for your own enjoyment. Your taste may, or may not, change in pursuing this hobby, but it will be an experience either way.

Personally, I never really enjoyed beer before I started brewing. After exploring the beer world, I find that I really enjoy sampling different beers and attempting to recreate the attributes that fit my taste.

Some guys like skinny girls and some like plump girls. There's a woman for every man and there's a beer for every man. Being in my mid-60s, beer is a lot better for my health than women

Happy Brewing,

Bob

Ace_Club said:

I hear you...I tried a Ranger a week or so ago. I don't understand the hoppy beer fad. Maybe people like making these because they can hide the flaws under the massive amounts of hops.

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Yeah; I'm certain that's the reason. The brewers at Russian River and Sierra Nevada and lots of other award winning breweries whose lineups include an IPA or two only brew them to conceal an absolute lack of skill and finesse.

Countryham said:

When i started out on my journey into good beer, i was all malt. The darker, thicker, and maltier, the better. I may not necessarily like all beers now, but i appreciate them all for what they are. I love ipa's and barleywines both. I'm not a big fan of the esters in alot of the belgians, but not all of them are bad. I used not understand hop heads at all, but now i drink them with the best of them.

And for what it's worth....
Ranger:

8.25 lb 2 row pale
2 lb cane sugar
3 oz crystal 120
1 oz chinook (60 min)
.5 oz simco (30 min)
.75 oz cascade (15 min)
.5 oz cascade (0 min)
1.25 oz cascade dry hop
wyeast 1792, wyeast 1272, or whitelabs wlp051

og: 1.059 fg: 1.009 ibu: 70 srm: 7 abv: 6.4

mash at 148
90 minute boil
ferment 68 F
dry hop 7 days

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Where did this recipe come from? It seems pretty accurate I guess. I just would have thought there were more hops. 2.75oz of hops in the whole boil? I must be doing something wrong because this beer is hoppier than most of mine, and I don't remember the last time I used less than 5oz in a 5 gal batch.

On a side note, this is my favorite beer from New Belgium. I just drank a 6er of a few days ago!

I think that's the recipe from BYO magazine last year.

djfriesen said:

Next Fall, if you haven't yet done it, give Hoptober a try. I had no appreciation for New Belgium until I tried that beer. Honestly, it has the best nose on it of any beer I've had. Happy in a Glass, even more than a typical IPA.

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+1 on Hoptober, that was a great beer. I like their Snow Day winter ale is good too.

Snow day is delish.

You sir are not a hop head. Welcome to the club. I love New Belgium beers, but Ranger, Snowday and Hoptober are horrible to me.....but I hate IPA's and any overly hopped beer.

smalliewader said:

You sir are not a hop head. Welcome to the club. I love New Belgium beers, but Ranger, Snowday and Hoptober are horrible to me.....but I hate IPA's and any overly hopped beer.

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Sorry, this post lacks logic to me...How does one who hates hoppy beers determine that someone else he's never met is NOT a hop head?

Since they share a dislike for what is reputed to be an over-hopped IPA?

Hang Glider said:

Sorry, this post lacks logic to me...How does one who hates hoppy beers determine that someone else he's never met is NOT a hop head?

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Regardless of what one thinks of that logic, i think the conclusion is probably accurate. I certainly am a hophead. And in my opinion, Ranger is not overly hoppy. Ergo, I would say that someone who found Ranger too hoppy would not be a hop-head.

Not that "hop-head" is a title that one should aspire to. Drink what you like!

Ace_Club said:

I hear you...I tried a Ranger a week or so ago. I don't understand the hoppy beer fad. Maybe people like making these because they can hide the flaws under the massive amounts of hops.

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Really, if you think Ranger is hoppy, I'd hate to see you taste anything by Stone Brewery.

I did, i still liked ranger more than, stones ipa-overrated. Maybe i got a super fresh ranger, and a stalish stone,but i was disapointed with that. With many of stones other offerings, i think are very good,their ipa,pale ale just seemed mediocre to me,just my opinion i guess. I drank some bombers which had freshness dates and they were still very good 3-4 months past them like the smoked porter,ruination.

Just have to add: Ranger is the beer that transitioned my sister and SWMBO into hop heads last year. Before that, neither would drink even a pale ale because it was too hoppy.

I agree too ,that a Ranger is a good entry level gateway ipa, its a really good hoppy ipa that is clean and quaffable. I would recommend this to anybody unshure of ipa's. I think its along the lines of 2 hearted but more candylike and maybe hop flavored than too bitter,not shure but I think alot of pale ales can be too bitter myself,certain ipa's have a great balance and ranger is one of them. I certainly easily drank these over bells pale ale or sirra nevada pale ale, as far as bitter balance.

i love hops, so ranger, celebration, hoptober... great beers. snow day: my mouth is watering at the 2 i still have cellaring. awesome stuff