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| I took this during my visit to the Sierra Nevada brewery in Chico, CA. God bless these things! |
Let's bop to hip HOPS!
It's time to celebrate arguably the most popular beer style in the U.S., which is ironically called India Pale Ale, because it's IPA Day!
Now anyone can brew an IPA, but the best are the ones that are aggressively bitter on the palate, and extremely fragrant with aromas ranging from piney to grapefruit, but most importantly BALANCED with the maltiness. In fact, I personally think IPAs can often serve as an effective measuring tool to reflect how good a brewery is. They are that gangster!
To help you find the perfect IPA, I have done extensive, ummm... research and have a few for you to certainly try because, frankly, I love
‘em. Anyway, here are some musts you need to have in your shopping cart or bar tab sooner or later. There are so many others I could list from breweries like Three Floyds, Russian River, Bear Republic, Cigar City, and Ballast Point to name a few, but I took it easy on ya and listed some varieties that are fairly easy to grab today in particularly Atlanta in stores like Green's, Hop City, Tower, and Ale Yeah! (with a few you might have to hit up eBay for) that are in no particular order. Hop to it!
Sierra Nevada Hoptimum
A keeper from their revered Beer Camp Series I was blessed to take part in, get this astounding IPA now!
Stone Enjoy By...
The series
Hard as hell to find, but still one of the best ever. I first had it at Cook Hall on tap and have been craving for the monthly release ever since!
Founders Double Trouble
One of the best breweries in the nation makes one of the best IPAs. The artwork is pretty sick too!
Dogfish Head 90 Minute
Just a bit maltier and stronger than the 60 Minute, and still damn good!
Green Flash Palate Wrecker
G.F. is no joke when it comes to hops and are all slammin', but this one is my fave!
Terrapin Hopzilla
Athens, GA represent! I brought this one to Thailand (see here) and showed them how we brew in the southern U.S. This one's a monster!
Bell's Two Hearted
This one is eternally gangster and very easy to get...thank goodness.
Lagunitas Sonoma Farmhouse Hop Stoopid
One of the best bomber deals on the shelf and frankly, one of the best, period.
Oskar Blues Deviant Dale's
I had to get a can in there, and this Oskar Blues beast is perfectly named.
Enjoy these fantastic IPAs, but know there are many more that I didn't list because, well, I'm tired as hell!
Happy IPA Day!
Ale
