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The acronym IPA stands for India Pale Ale. Given its bro-y reputation, it probably elicits an image of a flannel-wearing dude in a bar mansplaining the difference between microbrews and mass-produced beer. But there's so much more to IPAs than Chad's confusing (and probably inaccurate) explanation.
What Is An IPA Again?
You might think all IPAs taste hoppy and bitter, and you would be mostly right. They get that bitter flavor from their high hops content. In the 19th century, England would ship beer to British troops in India. To prevent it from going bad, extra hops were added and the alcohol content was increased so the beer would make it through the long, hot trip without refrigeration. Today's IPAs can be divided into regional categories like West Coast or New England.
How We Chose These Products
We reached out to people in the industry who know a ton about IPAs—way more that the apocryphal flannel-wearing dude at the bar. We chatted with chefs, restaurateurs, bartenders, and beverage directors about their favorite IPAs. We also looked at user-generated review sites like BeerAdvocate and all the IPAs that have won major awards.
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"The best thing about this IPA is that you can buy it at any liquor store," said Mike Alardi of FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar in Chicago. "It is my go-to beer when I'm looking for a hint of bitterness since it's full of flavors." It starts smooth and soft on the palate and has a hoppy finish.
Cloudy Donkey won a gold at the Best of Craft Beer Awards and for good reason. It's super aromatic with a soft mouthfeel and has a very cool can design.
If you're looking for a complex, rich, and pine-y IPA, check out the Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA. It has 725 five-star reviews on Drizly with folks gushing about the smooth taste. As one reviewer said, "The first time I tried it I knew I had to have more."
“Old Nation M-43 is a delicious hazy IPA with a wide variety of hops for a bolder flavor and tropical citrus accents to mellow out the bite," said Jason Hanover, bartender and general manager of LG's Bar & Kitchen in Chicago. For the newbies, a hazy IPA is cloudy in appearance with a creamier mouthfeel and fruitier flavor.
Awarded a gold medal for Best American IPA at the 2022 New York State Craft Beer Competition, the Power Tools IPA from Industrial Arts Brewing Company gets the job done. It has notes of clean malt and pungent citrus aromas.
Ballast Point's Sculpin IPA uses hops at five separate stages during the brewing process. “This IPA has great apricot and citrus flavors, refreshing taste, and is an all round great summer beverage," said Andrew Court, executive chef at The InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile.
The Double Dry Hopped Double Mosaic Dream has a score of 100 on BeerAdvocate, with reviewers noting it "drinks incredibly smooth and hides its 8.5 percent [ABV] well." It's double-dry hopped, which means it's extra hoppy and citrus-y.
What Jeremy Gatto, director of operations for Hampton + Hudson, Nina & Rafi, Pielands and Standard Service, likes about the Dogfish Head Slightly Mighty Lo-Cal IPA is that it doesn't taste as heavy as your typical IPA.
The good news about Sierra Nevada's Hazy Little Thing IPA Beer is that you can get it in most retailers. Plus, it comes from one of the "OGs of craft beer," said Jason Santamaria, co-founder of Second Self Beer Company in Atlanta. "It is a great IPA with lots of flavor. [It's] consistent, not too bitter, not too juicy, just right.” Some may call it the goldilocks of IPAs.
Goose Island's IPA is pretty affordable for a craft beer, and it's delicious, too. Reviewers love that it isn't overpowering. As one fan wrote, it's a "very smooth and tasty IPA for those who like a tad bit of hoppy bitterness."
The Alchemist Heady Topper is super popular, but it's hard to get if you live outside of Vermont, where it's brewed. People have been known to road trip for this beer, and it was rated the number one beer in the world by Beer Advocate magazine. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on one, it lives up to the hype, with an intense bitterness and citrus and pine notes.
"The Por Favor IPA is similar to a Pacific Coast IPA—high on hops and crisp and refreshing—a perfect hot summer day IPA," said Mike Reed, beverage director at Tacos Guey in New York City. Even though it is high in alcohol (seven percent ABV), it is still highly drinkable with mild malt flavors.
Founders All Day IPA, a top-rated beer on Drizly with almost 600 five-star reviews, can be summed up in this review: "Crisp, clean, refreshing, hoppy, bitter, light."
The Lagunitas IPA is one of the top-rated IPAs on Drizly. It's rich and full while still being very drinkable.
Bell's Two Hearted Ale as one of the top-rated IPAs on Total Wine. It has 160 five-star reviews for it's "full flavor and nice hop balance." Plus the brewery says it's "well suited for Hemingway-esque trips to the Upper Peninsula."
Can we take a moment to appreciate this beer's name? Doesn't Lawson's Finest Liquids Sip of Sunshine IPA make you want to spend all day outside? And that's exactly how you should enjoy this beer. It's juicy, tropical, and bright and has a BeerAdvocate score of 100.
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