Bell's Two Hearted beats Pliney

[Homercidal]

Had Two-Hearted on a few occasions. Did not know it was a "ranked" beer and definitely would not have suspected it. I liked it, but nothing really made it stand out.

Back in the day, Two-Hearted was kind of special. It was a less-bitter, yet still hoppy IPA and it was produced in mass quantities.

Then came the IPA craze. The number of IPAs exploded and there were new hops coming out, different styles of IPAs, etc.

It's still a solid example of the American IPA style. Probably the defacto standard. But there are tons of IPAs out there now, and this malt/hop combo has been done to death by now. And drier, more aggressively bittered IPAs are more common now.

And don't forget the whole Lupulin shift that's sent IPAs into APA category, and DIPAs into IPA category.

 

[lowtones84]

Back in the day, Two-Hearted was kind of special. It was a less-bitter, yet still hoppy IPA and it was produced in mass quantities.

I think this is why it's -still- a great IPA to this day. It's a classic example of American IPA in my opinion that showcases a single, great hop. And it does it well. Better than Pliny? Dunno, because I haven't tried it. But there's something to be said for IPAs that don't use 5-6 different hops and are triple dry hopped. Not that those are bad either

 

[beernutz]

How many people have even tried Pliney versus Two-Hearted? It is hard to prefer a beer if you've never tried it. The last match up was likely decided by which beer had the greater distribution.

 

[beernutz]

I don't know if this is still the case but when I lived in Alabama you could not order a beer in a restaurant on election day until the polls closed.

I think they were afraid someone would get drunk and vote for a Democrat.

That law has thankfully been repealed though I think a couple of other states still have such laws. Somebody is still voting for Democrats here as they control about a third of both the house and senate though who knows how that could change if the Love Gov is impeached.

 

[DurtyChemist]

East coast USA today picks Midwest to win. Also picks Dogfish head over HT. Obviously biased.

With that said I'd def trade a Pliny for a bells and may be looking on BEX. Sorry King on the BCBS trade, wicked weed won that battle but I'm not going anywhere should 2016 be unavailable here

 

[domdom]

anyone know if they have changed up the recipe for 2 hearted recently? the few i've had in the last few months have been really great, better than i remember from the last couple years. thought it might have been a change in recipe or possibly a better than average hop harvest they are using.

 

[Jimbodaman]

I feel treasonous as a Michigander to say that I don't really care for Two Hearted that much, then again I've only had one IPA I really like and that's hopslam. I've tried to love IPA's, once you've had hopslam nothing else will do tbh.

 

[Homercidal]

How many people have even tried Pliney versus Two-Hearted? It is hard to prefer a beer if you've never tried it. The last match up was likely decided by which beer had the greater distribution.

And this is one reason why I think these kinds of competitions are bogus.

Don't get me wrong, I still think Two-Hearted is still the defacto standard and a fine beer. I'm just explaining why I think some people don't see it as that special anymore.

And to be honest, after having Pliny, there is not competition. Pliny trumps Two-Hearted easily for me. Maybe it's the rarity that makes it so special?

Bottom line for me is this "competition" is worthless for any reason except to introduce new beers to people who may not have known about them.

 

[m00ps]

I feel treasonous as a Michigander to say that I don't really care for Two Hearted that much, then again I've only had one IPA I really like and that's hopslam. I've tried to love IPA's, once you've had hopslam nothing else will do tbh.

Hopslam is the best IPA you've had? I feel for you brother, I really do

 

[Redlantern]

Back in the day, Two-Hearted was kind of special. It was a less-bitter, yet still hoppy IPA and it was produced in mass quantities.

Then came the IPA craze. The number of IPAs exploded and there were new hops coming out, different styles of IPAs, etc.

It's still a solid example of the American IPA style. Probably the defacto standard. But there are tons of IPAs out there now, and this malt/hop combo has been done to death by now. And drier, more aggressively bittered IPAs are more common now.

And don't forget the whole Lupulin shift that's sent IPAs into APA category, and DIPAs into IPA category.

I hear ya and truly appreciate that viewpoint. It was one of the first IPA's I have ever had. For me, I kind of felt like "I get it, but want a little more that that". It is easy to see why people would get interested in an IPA with such a nice start, but there was not enough there to keep my attention. My first go at chinook hops from a home brew IPA, I was hooked. Bell's was too "nice" for me going forward - no attitude.

 

[orionol73]

Back in the day, Two-Hearted was kind of special. It was a less-bitter, yet still hoppy IPA and it was produced in mass quantities.

Then came the IPA craze. The number of IPAs exploded and there were new hops coming out, different styles of IPAs, etc.

It's still a solid example of the American IPA style. Probably the defacto standard. But there are tons of IPAs out there now, and this malt/hop combo has been done to death by now. And drier, more aggressively bittered IPAs are more common now.

And don't forget the whole Lupulin shift that's sent IPAs into APA category, and DIPAs into IPA category.

This.

Two Hearted wrote the book for American IPA's. It is a great beer that drinks like a session but catches up to you quickly! There is also a heavy pineapple undertone from the proprietary yeast they use. Harvest some from a 6er some time, it is great yeast!