Favorite Colorado IPAs?

@polkbar78, you seem to have a good enough understanding of the chemistry at work to formulate this recipe yourself.

That said, keep in mind that this beer is still a work in progress. You are correct that the water profile we use for Superfan is different from the profile we use for all of the other IPAs we have brewed to date. Whereas the other hoppy beers we brew are heavy on sulfates, Superfan is balanced between sulfate and chloride. In some future iteration of the beer, we may consider leaning even more heavily to the chloride side, but there are a few other things we plan to tweak first.

On the yeast side, you nailed it again. We are using the Conan strain for this beer. We are going to transition all of our American ales to Conan even if they don't use the same water profile. And when I say "American ales" I pretty much just mean the many different IPAs we brew.

The last thing that's different from all of our other beers is a higher mash temp and FG. Most of our American ales finish between 0.5 and 1.5P (1.002 to 1.006). The higher mash temp on Superfan causes it to finish at 2.5P (1.010).

 

Had the S26 Chinook yesterday. For $7.99/6er, it can't be beat. It might be stout season but I'm stocking up on S26 single hop brews while they're around. Think I still like the Citra slightly more but didn't have them side by side so hard to say.

 

Went back to Hazel's to stock up on some S26 single hop today, bummed that it's back to $10.50. Opted for a 12er of Odell IPA cans instead to test out the new format. I gotta say, they've really outdone themselves this time

 

Bummed that one of the best IPAs in the state is $10.50 for a sixer?

 

When it was $7.99?? Hell yeah! Wish I grabbed more when it was on sale!

Seems like the going rate for most local craft has become around $10. Just because it's the norm, doesn't mean you have to accept it. Wisconsin still gets quality New Glarus beers for $6.99 a 6er so it's all perspective.

Still plan on buying some S26 single hop to share with friends in Chicago over Thanksgiving, because it's that good...

 

I know, dude. I'm just kidding around.

 

It's been a while, but I had it when it was in cans. Nice, balanced American pale ale from what I remember.

 

I've been loving S26 Citra and have drank 8+ cases easily. With that said, if the Nelson was canned I would buy out stores. Damn!!! That stuff is great.

 

Had a Superpower at Falling Rock last night, and even though I've had it at least 20 times damn that was good. I don't know if there has been a lot of batch to batch variation, but I swear the keg they had on is so much more fruity and aromatic than I remember the last time I had it maybe 3-4 weeks ago

 

I'm pretty sure they used a slightly different recipe when they were brewing it for GABF and then switched back afterwards. I'm not 100% on that, but I seem to recall one of the employees or owners saying that.

 

What did I miss on the Nelson? Tasted too bitter to me. No depth either.

 

Could just be taste. But to me that beer had just the right amount of malt to the fruitiness of the hops. I'll be heading back in the next day or two and grabbing a couple growlers for the family next week.

 

I also thought Nelson was delicious. I will be trying every single hop variation they do because there isn't a bad one yet IMO

 

Hey guys, I'm visiting Denver for the first time in December from Boston. I can't wade through 31 pages. What are the best beer bars/breweries I should check out? (I'm only aware of Crooked Stave and Odell).

 

The search tool is really useful for this:

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This should be pinned at the top with a bright neon beer sign

 

...wait, there's beer in Denver?

 

We had a keg we were saving when we did a side by side comparison against the bottles we sent to GABF. We just put it on tap so you can try the one that went to the GABF judges. Superpower is always a slightly different recipe to ensure consistency.

 

Unrelated question, I tried the Putsch black ups today and got the distinct taste of root beer. Are my taste buds broken?

 

I just tried the Fresh Hops (Oregon) version of Superpower IPA. It was really good. Strangely, I thought it got better as it warmed, or maybe my tastes just adjusted. I can easily see why it does so well in judging. It looks amazing, smells amazing. The taste is great too, very clean. The one thing is, it was a touch more bitter than I would have liked. But overall a very nice brew. It is an IPA though, and not a DIPA. Seems to tick all the boxes for style.

I just picked up some Great Divide Fresh Hop PA, bottled 9/30. It appears that the beer is fading pretty fast (duh?) as it was not nearly as good as I recall in the tap room over a month ago. It's 7 weeks in the bottle, and it was kept cold the whole time.