Worst. IPA. Ever.

[Yeastieboy]

BJs Blowhouse HopStorm IPA

 

[brewprint]

Yeah, I am not sure what they were getting at here. Sometimes I wonder, (because I see so many new flavors from them, esp. Along the lines of flavored beers) if they don't have some kind of strategy to like make a new "seasonal" flavored beer when, like they don't have the right market demand or right supply of ingredients, or what, for something else.

I mean, the grapefruit flavoring covers up a lot of what is going on in the base beer itself. Couldn't tell you much about what the base "beer" (malt/hops/etc) is/was, but I doubt it was designed for this beer...

Either that or they decided to go after a demographic of untapped market of potential craft beer drinkers, like women, under the misguided impression that marketing it with a label and artificial flavors resembling a fruit will make them (or their significant others) want to purchase it in hopes they will like beer...

I was so disappointed... I thought they were gonna make a "grapefruit" IPA by using lots of aroma hops with "grapefruit" flavors. I should have taken them literally (or read the fine print). Still, it is terrible. I get a lemon-pledge taste to be exact.

Yeah I don't know who they're trying to tap into. I thought the beer may be a competitor to the sculpin...which is why I tried it. I haven't even had the actual grapefruit sculpin so I couldn't say if theirs is terrible either.

I agree though. I have no idea what hops were used or malt. Lemon pledge? I believe you're onto something here.

 

[Killshakes]

I know this is an old thread, but I just had a can Guinness Nitro IPA yesterday and it has definitely made my Top 5 Worst IPA's list. Imagine just tossing a handful of pocket change into a pint glass, filling it half-full with some slightly skunked Yuengling lager and then topping the whole thing off with Guinness Stout. And there you have it. I simply can't imagine how a company like Guinness could have put its name on this product. I drank about half of it and dumped the rest.

 

[arnobg]

I know this is an old thread, but I just had a can Guinness Nitro IPA yesterday and it has definitely made my Top 5 Worst IPA's list. Imagine just tossing a handful of pocket change into a pint glass, filling it half-full with some slightly skunked Yuengling lager and then topping the whole thing off with Guinness Stout. And there you have it. I simply can't imagine how a company like Guinness could have put its name on this product. I drank about half of it and dumped the rest.

You're not alone. I tried it probably a year or two ago and it is still to this day the only IPA I have ever had to dump because I couldn't even swallow it.

 

[CrimsonYeti]

I know this is an old thread, but I just had a can Guinness Nitro IPA yesterday and it has definitely made my Top 5 Worst IPA's list. Imagine just tossing a handful of pocket change into a pint glass, filling it half-full with some slightly skunked Yuengling lager and then topping the whole thing off with Guinness Stout. And there you have it. I simply can't imagine how a company like Guinness could have put its name on this product. I drank about half of it and dumped the rest.

I add a 3rd to this. Flat and not bitter. Very uninteresting flavor profile. Sometimes nitro is bad but i think this just started as a bad beer.

 

[Hanglow]

I know this is an old thread, but I just had a can Guinness Nitro IPA yesterday and it has definitely made my Top 5 Worst IPA's list. Imagine just tossing a handful of pocket change into a pint glass, filling it half-full with some slightly skunked Yuengling lager and then topping the whole thing off with Guinness Stout. And there you have it. I simply can't imagine how a company like Guinness could have put its name on this product. I drank about half of it and dumped the rest.

Guinness have a long history of being unable to make a decent beer beyond porter and stout. All their attempts to date have been terrible - their recent rye pale, golden ale and lagers have been contemptible

Which is funny as Arthur Guinness originally tried brewing ale, but failed and had to get an english porter brewing family in to make his company successful

 

[MHBT]

Any IPA that sat too long and turned into a caramel bomb

 

[mitchard]

Any IPA that sat too long and turned into a caramel bomb

As long as it was a double IPA, you might end up with a nice session barleywine!

 

[dyqik]

I have finally found an IPA worse than Greene King's notI, notP, barelyA:

Long Trail's Evergreen Blaze IPA

They've made a selection pack (Blaze Box) of different versions of their pretty good Green Blaze IPA - the Grapefruit one is good, the original is good, and the Citra option is good. The Evergreen one made with spruce tips tastes of nothing other than fake pine smell - pure Pinesol and/or car air freshener. I'm sure spruce tip beer can be OK, but combined with the "thickness" you get from well-hopped IPAs, it also has the mouthfeel I imagine Pinesol does.

Not only is it the worst IPA I've ever tasted - no one present managed more than one sip - it's easily the worst beer I've ever tasted that didn't have a major technical flaw.

 

[Mainer]

Shipyard Black IPA. Did they add the roofing tar during the mash, or at flameout?

 

[BigCrazyAl]

Magic Hat Blind Faith. I had to choke that one down. There was something unpleasant in addition to the hops that didn't sit well with me. An off flavor I couldn't put my finger on. I don't think I've had a beer from them that's above mediocre.

 

[Javaslinger]

Founders ReDankulous... Turned out to be just over 1 year old and it tasted AWFUL. Knew it was bad as soon as I poured it. Got it pulled from the shelves.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I honestly love IPA's and I can honestly say, the one that I've had that I'm not a huge fan of is Lagunitas IPA. Not sure what it is about that beer but something really seems off about it.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Pretty much any IPA southern tier brewing creates. totally dumpers.

 

[Phingertoes04]

I don't like Hop Stoopid and I will never drink it again!

Whoa there fella...that stuff makes me pretty dumb but its tasty to me!

 

[stratslinger]

You're not alone. I tried it probably a year or two ago and it is still to this day the only IPA I have ever had to dump because I couldn't even swallow it.

I've actually dumped two surprising ones for the same reason:

Habanero Sculpin (it sounds like I just got an exceptionally hot bottle, but that stuff almost lit my esophagus on fire)

Green Flash West Coast IPA (only the first time I tried it - again, wound up with a weird bottle that tasted like I licked the inside of a hops packet - I've had the beer numerous times since and it's been consistently great and completely different from that first bottle)

 

[Killshakes]

I've actually dumped two surprising ones for the same reason:

Habanero Sculpin (it sounds like I just got an exceptionally hot bottle, but that stuff almost lit my esophagus on fire)

Green Flash West Coast IPA (only the first time I tried it - again, wound up with a weird bottle that tasted like I licked the inside of a hops packet - I've had the beer numerous times since and it's been consistently great and completely different from that first bottle)

I like Green Flash West Coast IPA! I guess you must have gotten bad one.

 

[troglodytes]

Founders ReDankulous... Turned out to be just over 1 year old and it tasted AWFUL. Knew it was bad as soon as I poured it. Got it pulled from the shelves.

I've only had a fresh one of these once, but it was really good.

The worst IPA I've ever had is mine. It was supposed to be a citra heavy double IPA that got over carbed. It was overly dry, CO2 burn on the tongue. After leaving it a minute for the CO2 to come out of suspension a little it tasted like an IPA would if you left it out on the coffee table overnight and then drank it in the morning.

 

[TungstenBeer]

Another vote for the Guinness Nitro IPA.

I've had some really bad nano-brewed beers or all styles that tasted like straight up astringency or diacetyl or [pick your poison] but at least with them, you know they don't know what they're doing. With Guinness, they're large enough and have plenty of resources, so you know if they put out a beer then it in theory tastes how they wanted it to taste. So they are my vote.

Pretty much any IPA southern tier brewing creates. totally dumpers.

I know everyone has different tastes and all but whaaaaaaaaaaa?

 

[McGarnigle]

Butternuts Snapperhead IPA. Butternuts is a brewery west of Cooperstown, NY. I give them credit for canning their beer long before most other craft breweries did so. But, meh. I think they have quality control issues.

 

[Killshakes]

Another vote for the Guinness Nitro IPA.

I've had some really bad nano-brewed beers or all styles that tasted like straight up astringency or diacetyl or [pick your poison] but at least with them, you know they don't know what they're doing. With Guinness, they're large enough and have plenty of resources, so you know if they put out a beer then it in theory tastes how they wanted it to taste. So they are my vote.



I know everyone has different tastes and all but whaaaaaaaaaaa?

Totally agree, on both points (Guinness and Southern Tier).

 

[kev211]

Rogue Farms 4 Hop IPA. Literally tasted like water with hops. I know its a session IPA, but damn!

 

[bendog15]

I may get **** for this, but I've never had an IPA that I liked. I just don't understand how a mouthful of bitter overbalanced hop-mess contributes to a good tasting beer.
I know I'm the minority but I say down with IPAs.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I may get **** for this, but I've never had an IPA that I liked. I just don't understand how a mouthful of bitter overbalanced hop-mess contributes to a good tasting beer.
I know I'm the minority but I say down with IPAs.

You probably shouldn't go anywhere alone at night after making a comment like that! Bahahahaha. Everyone's got their own tastes. I know a lot of ppl who don't like them. I've had a few I don't like but mostly because they have a metallic taste to them, which is why I don't like the lagunitas ipa.

 

[McGarnigle]

I may get **** for this, but I've never had an IPA that I liked. I just don't understand how a mouthful of bitter overbalanced hop-mess contributes to a good tasting beer.
I know I'm the minority but I say down with IPAs.

"Overbalanced?" Anyway, if you don't want bitterness, you can find IPAs that are more balanced by malts. Hop flavor/aroma is different from bitterness.

 

[bigplunkett]

Shiners ipa. Horrible tried it twice the shmbo brought it home 2 drain pores. Tasted like skunky somewhat hoppy dirt.

 

[ryanryates]

New Belgium, so gross

 

[xwass]

Coopers Cave Ale Company-almost all their beers are awful (I would like to see how they brew to figure out how they make it so consistently bad) but the IPA tastes like bitter sweat-socks.

 

[seatazzz]

I stopped at a new brewery in our area yesterday (won't mention the name in case the brewer is here somewhere) just to try it out. I love IPA's and have to try one in every brewery I visit. Wish I hadn't tried this one. Back in the day when I couldn't get a good beer brewed to save my life (problems since fixed) I had a lot of Band-Aid beers. This IPA that I tried yesterday was almost as bad. No hop nose, no hop flavor, just a horrible bandaid taste. I'm the kind of person who will not send food back in a restaurant or tell someone their product absolutely sucks....so I sat there and forced it down. What fractures me is this brewery is becoming pretty well-known and their Stout has won some awards...so this guy knows what he's doing. Who would serve a beer that has obvious bad off-flavors in a taproom? Maybe it was just a bad batch and he wants to get rid of it, but no Bueno on serving it to customers.

 

[Trail]

I've had a few I don't like but mostly because they have a metallic taste to them, which is why I don't like the lagunitas ipa.

Stone's IPAs taste like cat whizz to me. Always have. I like the hops they use in other beers, so I just don't get it.

Lagunitas on the other hand taste fine to me.

 

[Trail]

"Overbalanced?"

My wife says "overbalanced" a lot and it drives me nuts. Literally never seen another soul use it in conversation. This dude must be in league with her!

 

[Bobcatbrewing42]

So I know there are obviously a lot of hop heads here (myself included), but I want to know the worst IPA you've ever tasted.

For me it has to be Sierra Nevada's Torpedo: a hop bomb that was way too bitter for me. I actually returned the sixer I bought back to the store.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Home Brew mobile app

Trader Joes house brand. Awful and I like T.J.s

 

[Murphys_Law]

My wife says "overbalanced" a lot and it drives me nuts. Literally never seen another soul use it in conversation. This dude must be in league with her!

Next time I’m hanging a picture and my wife yells at me because it’s crooked I’ll tell her to relax - it’s simply “overleveled”. [emoji12]

 

[Upthewazzu]

Shipyard Black IPA. Did they add the roofing tar during the mash, or at flameout?

Does Shipyard produce anything that's good? Honest question. When I was in Portland a couple weeks ago it wasn't even on our radar. So many other places to try out.

 

[enkamania]

Another vote for Habanero Sculpin

 

[Bobcatbrewing42]

Trader Joe's house IPA's. Price is low and not worth it. Maybe cook brats in it. I like most of what Trader Joe's sells. The IPA is bad. I live in Bend Or. IPA heaven so the competition is tough.

 

[pinot_sd]

Trader Joe's Boatswain IPA.

Trader Joes house brand. Awful and I like T.J.s

The terrible part is boatswain IPA is green and double IPA is red while the perfectly palatable (also trader joe's brand) Tap 79 IPA is red and double IPA is green. Accidentally bought a set of boatswain IPA/DIPA once while trying to buy a set of tap 79. Both boatswain IPAs were the worst IPA I've ever had. Basically tastes like somebody spilled vodka into a miller genuine draft and then dunked some hops in it to try and mask the flavor.

 

[johnstod]

Greene King ipa. Not sure if you guys get it in the states but they are a mid sized brewery in the UK that owns a few pubs and the ipa tastes like it came out of the pot wash out back

 

[pshankstar]

Guinness Nitro IPA was horrible in my opinion. Normally I can finish a 12oz beer, but I could not with this one. I have not found a Black IPA that is any good to me. I have given up trying them.

 

[dyqik]

Does Shipyard produce anything that's good? Honest question. When I was in Portland a couple weeks ago it wasn't even on our radar. So many other places to try out.

It's certainly not worth visiting.

For anyone going to Portland: go to Foundation/Battery Steel/Austin Street - all in the same building, all with outdoor seating on the tap rooms. There's also a distillery in the same building. Allagash is across the street and Definitive Brewing will be next door soon.

Follow Forest St into Portland from there and stop and The Great Lost Bear. Then either do something downtown or carry on to Bissel Bros.