Specialty IPA's or regular IPA's, which do you prefer?

Bitter. Hoppy. Balanced or not. I don't care as long as it isn't overly malty. Therefore any and all IPA's I will give a try!
Not quite sure where I stand with Black IPAs, just gonna need to try more, but so far...meh.

 

This Deschutes Fresh Squeezed I'm swiggin' on right now is telling me normal, single IPA's are very favorable. So damn good.

As for the others, they definitely have their place, especially Lagunitas' offerings. Lil Sumpin and Nighttime are awesome, in fact I have Lil Sumpin in my fridge right now. However, I think of Lil Sumpin more like a normal IPA because I just don't pick up much wheat presence in it.

Edit for post script: The most disgusting abominations ever are "Belgian IPA's". That Belgian yeast flavor with big hopping is such a gross combo.

 

Have you tried Wookey Jack?

 

Black ipa's kick ass! Nighttime, ssr, daughters of poseidon, dubhe and my favorite by far, blakkr. I'm probably missing a bunch of good ones too.

 

I prefer nothing. I enjoy all styles in rotation on a regular basis whether it be hoppy, malty, or a balanced lager/ale on hops and malt. I feel like a null set. And I am glad I am. Enjoying all styles is a character very few people have that I have seen.

 

Have to disagree. There are some that I think are very good, and I usually get very little mileage out of the Belgian yeast. Off the top of my head, I recall Duvel Triple Hop 2013 being pretty excellent

 

I like Black IPAs. There is only so far you can go with nothing but HOPS.

 

Variety is the spice of life and when I find myself staring at what I've had already I'll venture outside the style a bit and wonder off, and when I get disappointed I'll return to my standby IPA, always faithful always there and once again satisfying.

Drinking an old fav tonight, Stone IPA and wondering why I ever left...hahaha

 

I prefer PseudoSue.

 

That featured Sorachi Ace, right? That was great.

 

As long as it's tasty, I don't much care what style label it gets.

 

I usually rotate between IPA's, IIPA's and any new offshoot IPA that sounds interesting. I don't think I could pick just regular IPA's over all others. I love trying the different types. I'm drawn to Red IPA's like Hop Head Red and Flipside Red. There are some solid Black IPA's out there, but I'm not a huge fan of most of them. There are quite a few really good Rye IPA's out there as well. Road Warrior by Green Flash is solid and the gold standard (at least for me) is Founders Red's Rye. My go-to IPA's usually taste better after I've been away from them trying other new stuff. I'll definitely agree with the previous posts on Fresh Squeezed. Had that on vacation and it was amazing! Can't wait until that one makes it to the Ohio market.

 

Why choose an imitation when you can have the real thing? IPA all the way.

 

That's a pale ale, so it's not even relevant to the OPs thread. Yes, it's f'n amazing and you're trying to differentiate yourself from the crowd but stick to the question at hand. IPA or specialty IPA?

 

how ever people label Zombie Dust, I consider it an IPA and it's pretty much one of the best out there, imho.

I don't enjoy Black, Wheat, Rye IPAs. I like some double IPAs if done right (not too sweet and malty).

 

It might as well be an IPA, just as Zombie Dust, Alpha King and many other pale ales might as well be considered IPAs. The line between quite a few American Pale Ales and American India Pale Ales is pretty thin. For example, the Cicerone Certification Program designates an American IPA to have between 40-70 IBUs and has between 5.5 to 7.5 percent ABV. PseudoSue has 50 IBUs and is 5.8 percent ABV, so it absolutely fits within those guidelines, as does Zombie Dust. It may not be called an IPA on here or by the brewer, but it should be considered one by those guidelines.

To more specifically answer the OP's question though, I prefer any American pale ales (PA, IPA, DIPA) that highlight the Citra hop, without being a grapefruit or malt bomb. PsuedoSue happens to be my favorite so far.

 

beer=good.

 

Sweet. PsuedoSue, zombie dust, and alpha king are all fantastic so I can't argue that. I was just curious why choose Psuedo as your answer but now I see your reason.