India Pale Ales. A finer class of beers that demands a developed palette. Of British origin, legend has it these pale ales were brewed specifically to survive the long journey to the new world, once thought to be India, and thus the name was born. The use of hops in beer is almost as complex as the manipulation of pinot noir grapes for red wines. Too hoppy and it may leave a bitter taste, not enough can result in a bland, "chug-worthy" beer. I haven't always loved IPAs. I used to prefer porters, lagers, and pale ales. But those ever intoxicating hops grew on me. Now many of my old favorites just seem to be lacking something. IPAs are all the craze now in American craft brewing, and with good reason.
I decided to give a run down of my absolute favorites in this diverse category.
I had a few caveats for my list: they needed to be IPAs, plain and simple. There are some great Pale Ales with a hoppy flavor, but they aren't IPAs. Same goes for tasty Belgian quads or triples. I excluded double or triple IPAs, often called "imperial" IPAs. I was however fine to include sub-categories like Rye, Red, or Black IPAs, but none of them made it into my list since I've just never really tasted one that was overly delicious. I wanted to make sure these are readily available, so I excluded brews in limited distribution or that may not even be bottled. I know we've all heard a pretentious story about the "best beer ever", only to hear it doesn't leave the 10 mile radius where its brewed.
These are some of my tastiest go-tos along with a few others that barely missed the list.
Sierra Nevada Tropical IPA - The slight bitterness is soon overtaken but fruit notes of mango, orange and pineapple. Fresh and drinkable with a dry finish. Sierra Nevada's "Beer Camp" series represents a collaboration between their brewery and several smaller gigs. While this may be a limited release they would be crazy not to make it a regular.
Stone IPA - Stone knows what they are doing with IPAs. Their Delicious and Go-to IPAs are great options as well, but I still prefer the original. This is what a West Coast IPA should taste like. Some floral and piney notes compliment this crisp IPA.
Firestone Easy Jack IPA - A wonderfully easy to drink IPA. I'm impressed with how much taste comes out of only a 4.5% alcohol by volume brew. This also makes it a great option to drink multiples of throughout the day. Not overwhelmingly hoppy and features some tropical notes.
Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA - a citrusey, hopped out brew with hints of spices throughout. Its still an IPA so it isn't overly sweet on the fruit and its on the less bitter end of the spectrum. Drink it ice cold at a hot summer tailgate!Smuttynose Finest Kind IPA - a full bodied, classical American IPA. This one isn't light on the hops so if you are still growing accustomed to hop-laden IPAs you may want to steer clear until you develop a pallet. Once you do, pull up a chair, sit back and relax while sipping on this one.
Honorable Mentions: Stone Delicious IPA, Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA, Flying Dog Easy IPA
