IPA's of O.C.

I guess Beachwood BBQ and Pizza Port don't make your list? Interesting.

 

Tongue Tickles is my new favorite DIPA of 2013 so far. Good things are coming out of Noble Ale these days. Thank god. When they first opened their beers were so so to blah. Kinda like Golden Road of LA. Some decent IPA's coming from them these days as well. Lupulin Thrill is another favorite overtaking KS. But Beachwood BBQ & Brewing is LA/OC #1 in my books these days. Not only outstanding IPA's but a lot of their other styles are pretty damn good. El Segundo and Smog City are right behind BWBBQ&B. I dig the name Smog City.

 

Those are all made by Port Brewing, not Pizza Port SC, which makes a number of great IPA's like Pseudo, Middleman's, etc. IMHO the most consistent lineup of hoppy beers in OC (although, if Long Beach were in OC, which it almost is, Beachwood's lineup would dominate the "top" list).

 

I felt the same about Noble Ale. Went there at the beginning, and didn't go back for quite a while. Gave them a second chance and they started coming out with some solid stuff. Tongue Tickles was really good and Naughty Sauce on cask last night was amazingly good. I'm glad they didn't turn out like Anaheim Brewery (no offense to anyone)

To answer OP's questions, your list is pretty spot on IMO, but Knuckle sandwich had to be at the top of the list for me this year. Really enjoyed that sweetness it carried. I'm actually going to keep one for a few months, see if turns a little barley wine'ish

 

Seal Beach is no longer in the OC? I bought many growlers of Beachwood in Seal Beach.

Oh...you're saying because they only brew in Long Beach. Ho hum.

 

None of which are Pizza Port.

 

1. Noble Tongue Tickles
2. Taps Poseidon
3. Tustin Double Jackson
4. Bootleggers Far Out
5. Taps IPA
6. Tustin IPA

 

You didn't buy ANY growlers there, because they don't (and legally can't) fill them there. Ho Hum.

 

Well hell then....must of been LB...bluff called. Lol. Damn you!

 

I would definitely add Nobility and Royalty from Noble to this list. Also Tustin's 17th Anniversary DIPA was fantastic, as was their collaboration with Stone the Mothership Connection. And if it were an ale, or we were just discussing best "hoppy beers", then Humulus Lager would make this list.

Oh and Rustic Rye wouldn't even make my list.

 

Don't worry its ok I get so wasted everyday that I don't even remember what bars I'm at too.

 

I haven't had KS in roughly 1 year. To me, it really fell off about 18 months ago. Before that, it was unbelievable. It had a ton of that weird astringent flavor to it that really made it stand out to me. It lost that, so I stopped drinking it. Not sure how it's been lately. Will try again.

 

Nobility should have made my list. That's an outstanding IPA.

And Knuckle isn't even the best IPA Bootleggers brews in my opinion. KS fell off HARD.

 

They're going to have a "Hoptomotron" series where they highlight a different hop each time starting with Double Actuator highlighting Mosaic hops. They've got a good looking site up at bottlelogic.com with a bunch of info, I'm anxious for them to open up.

 

Yeah, IMO San Clemente Pizza Port should top that list. Every time I go there I realize I should go more often. And BW IPA's are good enough that I'll spot them the few miles from the OC border or give the Seal Beach location an honorable mention. Three excellent BW IPA's are up in Seal Beach right now (Hop Ninja, Dominator, Melrose).

I guess it just seems silly to be so arbitrary about lines. I live in the OC and LB Beachwood is 15-20 miles closer to me than most of the places you mentioned. Maybe you should redefine your list as top IPA's with 10 miles of Anaheim?

 

If thats the case then I make my argument for Beachwood as well, jesus the variety and quality of their IPA program is truly amazing.

Cheers,