The best IPA I have had

mostly I drink home brew, but when I by I. Like citrenial, prospect and fair madian from Foley Bros because of the sharp hop presence, bittering and citris taste. When. Out west IPAs from Firestone Walker for the same reasons.

 

Just talked about this the other day. It changes over time but right now my favorite has to be

Alesmith IPA

Enjoy

 

I have had a lot of great IPAs- these are all rated 4.5 or higher so they are in my top 5% of all beers. I am a big hophead and my top 2 most reviewed styles are IPAs and DIPAs.

Favorite IPA moments:
Permanent Funeral at FFF

Barley's 4 C's IPA at Barley's in Columbus- the first (and only) brewpub my then boyfriend and now husband introduced to me

When I just happened to by in Philly for a conference on PTY day

Best IPAs I have had that I can't get near home:
Heady Topper
Captain Lawrence
Masala Mama
Double Citra
Nodding Head Favas revenge

Best IPAs I have access to:

Great Lakes Chillwave
Alesmith DIPA
Stone Ruinten
Avery Maharaja


When buying a six back I usually go for TBK white rajah, racer 5 or fonders centennial...even though I gave those 3 below a 4.5 they are the most drinkable that are readily available.

I like NEIPAs and west coast IPAs and anything good in between with full flavor.

 

The best IPA/IIPAs I've tasted are Pliny the Elder and Alpine Nelson, love those two beers but I rarely come across them.

 

I think Pliny the Elder is the best of the best, but because I can't get it in quantity I typically will pick up Bell's Two Hearted, Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA, or almost any IPA from Short's. You can't get Two Hearted in Washington yet, but you may have Head Hunter available since that brewery opened a facility in Portland and maybe they distribute to Washington. Short's distributed only in the Great Lakes region.

My choice in IPAs is based mostly on what hops are used, and each of the beers that I mention use hops that are my favorites.

 

That's tough. Nothing brings a smile to my face than a few Headys in my reefer. But Hop JuJu might be as good. Fresh Abrasive is amazing. Trillium makes great beers, HF Ephraim is freaking amazing too, but it's remote. Ah, no best per say I could pick out a dozen that move the earth. Still all in all Heady would be my 1. With respect to Focal Banger and Sip of Sunshine which are new and a chillin.

 

Melvin *
weldwerks alpha bits
comrade superpower are my favorites right now.

 

If you're looking for recommendations more than discussion, you might want to visit the Northwest forum, where you will get suggestions found on the shelf more easily than someone from the Midwest or East Coast can provide.

If you like RPM (assuming that was the IPA you had), I'd recommend trying IPA's from Fremont, Georgetown, and Bale Breaker as a starting point. Your palate is different than mine or anyone else's, so you may not like these as much as I do, but they are reputable WA breweries available in 6pks that sell IPAs with a good balance between hop flavor and hop bitterness.

 

There are so many excellent ones these days one can literally make a 'laundry list' of prime beers. Heady, Pliny, Green, we can go on and on. There are even IPA's from small brewers that are killing it. I have had the best of the best on the East and West Coast over the past 15 years. Its all subjective. One man's Pliny is another man's Heady.

That said, if I had one hour to live and only one IPA to drink, there is no doubt in my mind what it would be:

Lawson's Double Sunshine

 

I’d have to say my all time favorite is Heady Topper as I feel it is incredibly balanced for a DIPA. There is also something nostalgic for me about a DFH 90 minute IPA that causes me to grab a pack of it every few months. Local choice is also due to balance with Community Mosaic IPA.

 

Toppling Goliath continues to amaze me. DDHPS, KS, Xhops -- great balance between the juice and the bitterness.

 

Jjjuliusss or Transient Honeystone. Two beers I still can't forget about.

 

Pliny the Elder, and I did;t even rate it a perfect 5.0, which I regret!!!! Too bad, I'll never taste it again because I ordered it on e-Bay back in 2009 or so. But to this day it was the best beer and it lived up to the hype. I'm wondering if I tried it now how disappointed I'd be after trying over 1,000 other beers. I'll never know, and thats fine.

 

I get a pliny usually weekly. Great great ipa. But some of the NE ipas I’ve had lately were just amazing. Julius was great. Had some trillium I got in a trade that was phenomenal. Hard to put a finger on the best. DDH sue from TG is up there too. But as for the top of my ratings list it’s headroom from trillium and doppelgänger from tree house.

 

My only 5 was the original Alpine Nelson--on tap or in that old style shaped bomber straight from the brewery.

i still consider it un-replicated/duplicated for me.

PtE number two--still get a few gifts here and there.

Burial in Asheville makes so many darn good ones that they scratch the itch--almost.

So many wonderful things out now and still searching.

 

Every time I drink a Celebration Ale I think to my self this is the best IPA of them all.

 

Celebration is like the center of a fly wheel. You may go away here and there but it is always in the middle, consistent, solid. I love how folks comment on how "overrated" it is. To me it is akin to an Urquell, Westmalle Tripel--something that is a near perfect example of style and i will never tire of. Has stood the test of time for 3 decades.

 

Still present in its former glory and a quick trip to Ca away.