Beer suggestions for IPA

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natural

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Hey,

I am having a hard time getting into IPA's. Where I live there's not a whole lot of great places to buy beer. It's just not huge here. The craft brewing section of our liquor stores is a joke and mostly made up of local breweries which there aren't many of.

However there's one beer store that is the king of all stores. I'm having a hard time getting into IPA's because a lot of the ones I try taste like burning hair. Maybe they're just not for me, but I feel like with some good solid suggestions I might be able to find some that I could get into.

I've had a few that I really really enjoyed and others that I just find awful. Their IBU's aren't even that high but the after taste they're leaving is just really dank and the only way to avoid it is to shovel more down haha. Most of what I tried I feel lack balance.
 
Well, some of my favorite IPAs, which it sounds unfortunately you may not be able to get are: Troeg's Nugget Nectar, Lagunita's Sucks, Deschutes Inversion, Jai Lai, Ithaca Flower Power, Evolution #3, Founder's All Day IPA (great lower ABV for summer), Founder's Centennial, Heavy Handed, Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Lagunita's Little Sumpin' Sumpin, Racer Five, Firestone Union Jack, Terrapin Hopsecutioner. All very good! Oh, and my one almost hard and fast rule, I don't like almost any IPA w/ABV >8%. Lose flavor, taste alcohol, imo.

Now, I am brewing a Lagunita's Clone(ish), and its in the fermenter now. My next IPAs will be the All Day IPA by early May, and there was a recipe (below) that was posted on a thread here by Yooper that won 2 American Homebrew awards. Its a long thread, and lots have made this and loved it. I plan on trying that soon too. Here it is:

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: White Labs California ale
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: 2 vials
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.065
Final Gravity: 1.012
IBU: 65
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 7days @ 68f
Additional Fermentation: 7 days keg conditioned while force carbing
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14days @ 68f
Tasting Notes: not the hop bomb you normally expect from an american IPA, but damn it's tasty

Mash at 154 for 60min. I had 70%eff
American Rahr (2 row) Pale: 11.50lbs
American Briess Crystal 20 1.00lbs
American Briess Light Munich 0.75lbs
American Briess Carapils 0.75lbs
American Briess Torrified Wheat 0.25lbs

Chinook (Pellet) 1oz 30min
Cascade (Pellet) 1.5oz 30min
Williamette (Pellet) 0.5oz 15min
Cascade (Pellet) 1.5oz 15min
Williamette (Pellet) 1oz 5min
Cascade (Pellet) 2oz Dry in secondary

Don't worry about the lack of a 60minute hop addition. The bitterness is spot on.

This IPA won gold in the IBU challenge at the IBU Open in Iowa earlier this year and gold at 8 Seconds of Froth a few months ago.

Cheers! :mug:
 
I would suggest finding a brewpub that does tasting flights. Most good brewpubs or good bars will usually have an IPA flight. This will give you a chance to taste many varieties. I have found that IPA's can be all over the place. Some taste great and others seem to stick to my tongue. The other thing to remember is that European IPA's will have earthy hops and American IPA's will have citrusy or floral hops. See if you can do some research before buying a particular type.

You could also try Pale Ales and American Pale Ales which have good hop flavor but are not too over powering.

I would also try IPA's or brew your own that just use a single hop. This gives you an idea of the flavor to help you decide if you like that type of hops and can move on from there.
 
Do you have a store nearby that let's you "mix your six" like total wine or bevmo? Get 6 different ones and try em out.
 
I would say a Green Flash IPA if you can get your hands on it. It was one of the first IPA's that I actually enjoyed. After that maybe a Stone Enjoy by. Both of those beers are worth a taste
 
+1 to the Bells Two Hearted. Also Founders Centennial IPA is really good. What you should really do though is brew some one gallon batches of your own. Start with low IBU and work your way up. Don't worry, you'll soon be wanting more and more IPAs I promise. :)
 
Start with Sierra Nevada pale ale then move to Founders All Day IPA...mellow bitterness and not as sticky to your tongue.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
My suggestion is go with several local IPAs and find one you like. No reason to try to find an import that is expensive and very hard to get. Maybe the guy at the liquor store can give you some suggestions.

Two things which make a big difference that everybody knows but worth repeating.
First, make sure you buy an IPA that is fresh (also a good reason to buy local), the older the bottle gets the less hop flavor.
Second, make sure to use a proper glass at the proper beer temp. You want those great hop smells to be released and a the glass helps dissipate the bitterness a little as well.

Happy tasting!
 
Correct Seph!

Our brew pubs are lousy. The beer everyone here calls piss is what they have on tap. Everything else is bottled and most of the people aren't entirely familiar with them, but i've written down everyone's suggestions and the next time i'm on that side of my city i'll be checking to see what they have available. They carry a great selection and IPA's take up a lot of inventory haha. They bought out the store beside them and dedicated it entirely to beer.

Thanks everyone!
 
my rule of thumb is not to buy IPAs/IIPAs unless they have a date on them or I know when they were released

too many shelf turds that unfairly reflect poorly on the beer

if you aren't sure, ask the store owner/worker what is fresh
 
My first batch is Bell's Two hearted is almost gone already, I sampled alot of IPA's this year and the Bell's clone tastes completely different than anything, maybe its the Centennial hops. I'd highly recommend it
 
Awesome, if I can't find it i'll definitely brew it myself. Someone mentioned earlier that the IPA will vary and should be out of a proper beer mug at the right temperature. I decided to pour this IPA that came in a taster pack from a brewery that I hated out of the bottle and absolutely loved it out of the glass.

Why does this make a difference?
 
Awesome, if I can't find it i'll definitely brew it myself. Someone mentioned earlier that the IPA will vary and should be out of a proper beer mug at the right temperature. I decided to pour this IPA that came in a taster pack from a brewery that I hated out of the bottle and absolutely loved it out of the glass.

Why does this make a difference?

At least two things I am sure of, and one that is a pet theory...

One, in the wide-mouthed glass the hop aromas are fully expressed.

Two, most people drink a bottled beer too cold, the pouring and sitting out lets it warm up a touch.

Three (my pet theory), I think a highly hoppy beer, like a red wine or a piece of citrus fruit, needs a slight bit of open-air oxidation to become ideal.
 
Bell's 2 hearted ale and Dogfish Head 60 minute and 90 minute IPA are good ones that are not quite as mean tasting as some IPAs. Bell's is pretty easy to find across the US I think but dogfish head can be a bit tougher to find and a bit pricey.
 
I will second/third/whatever Founder's All Day IPA if you can find it. I never developed a taste for IPA's when I first started trying craft beers, but recently bought a six pack of this because I was curious again.

It was fantastic!
 
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