Favorite Colorado IPAs?

Guilty, it took a stern talking to in this very thread that got me to broaden my horizons and seek out local stuff with a more open mind. This lead me to Station 26's Double IPA and Focal Banger as well as Cannonball Creek's Project Alpha #4, all which were amazing!

 

Colorado is a draft beer state, so it's not like places where you see the best we have to offer on a grocery store shelf. I think it confounds people a bit...and with so many places opening it's hard to keep track of the ones that are worth a damn, too.

Still, unless you have a hankering for a New England IPA (which nobody else really has), there are multiple versions of just about every other type of IPA you could want. Many are under the radar and some are just forgotten in the race to always have the newest thing, too.

If I was a total hophead (I full-on hate some varieties), I'd invest in some high-end growlers Miir or Hydroflask for our market. Those offer borderline packaged-beer freshness even after opening them.

 

All of which are unfortunately not canned or bottled.

 

THIS MAKES SENSE NOW (re: Dry Dock)

 

That's my point, and all unfortunately aren't always on tap (see comment about being limited).

Still he's a production brewer, not the brewer at South Dock & not director of brewing, so we'll see if he gets to help with the creation of recipes. I sure hope so!

 

Had this one on-tap a little while ago at The Ale House, pretty tasty for a DIPA.

471 IPA - Breckenridge Brewery

Cheers!

 

I think Doug will be more than happy to provide support. I'd like to see those two get into a beard war

 

Co has a lot of excellent breweries but I really like Dry Dock.

 

What's the profile on this one? Is it more of a west coast, east coast, Midwest IPA?

I haven't been impressed with Breck's offerings in the past, but am curious if things changed.

 

471 was a definite west coast super-bitter, super-piney IPA. At this point I'm not sure I trust them anymore, but it used to be a great beer.

A new-school IPA not a lot of people know about is Eddyline Crank Yanker. It's one of my faves and I'm starting to see it around more now that they've increased capacity.

 

Last time I had the 471, it wasn't as piney as I remembered. It was brighter and more citrusy. That may have been 1 year ago, though.

 

I have no idea what the circumstances are, but Breck has been been on a downward trend for the last 2 to 2.5 years. It might be Harry from Black Sky's departure, it might be the process of moving to the new location, it might be some kind of QA change, I really have no idea. All I know is that I've had major issues with diacetyl from those guys on a consistent basis and I'm afraid to buy anything from them. Especially considering they don't seem to care about the issues and either ignore e-mails or shrug it off face-to-face. After the 5th butter assault in 2 years I've given up.

 

Same here. I recommend it to everyone. I also quite like Denver Beer Co.'s Incredible Pedal.

 

I don't think it's Harry's departure. Black Sky's beers are even more hit/miss. FWIW, I went to the new Farm House Breckenridge and really enjoyed the NVP (Nitro Vanilla Porter) and a few other beers that seem to be new and in the 'better' category. "Breck IPA" was released in the last 6 months and it's up there with 471. Def. better than Lucky U.

Sounds like once they get the production facility open at the Farm House (they are aiming for July 10) then all the production will be moved from 471 (where they are cramped for space). I think this will greatly improve the QAQC of the packaged beers.

On a related side note, while not an IPA, 4 Noses Proboscis Simcoe (single hopped Pale Ale) is really well done, as well as their session IPA

 

Proboscis Simcoe is great. They've also quietly started canning some of their lineup; I grabbed a sixer of Anarchy IPA and was really happy with the purchase. Not only is it a great beer, but a really good value!

They're also canning the Citra Wheat, which I know has a huge following and is pretty great.

 

I've picked up five different brews they've canned at Mile High

 

Comrade's Honeyman V is pretty awesome. I enjoyed it more than Superpower personally though both are fantastic, IMO.

 

Did you have any of the other Honeymans? Honeymen?

 

I liked Honeyman 5 more than 4. But Superpower still more than both.

 

^This. Great brew. Just finished a 6 pack. Will be buying more, I really like the couple beers I've had from 4 noses so far.