Looking for "piney" IPAs

@Cstamp3084 I rarely see it here, but Pennsylvania Tuxedo from Dogfish Head is super piney - brewed with spruce tips. I'm sure there are some spruce tip locals in your area as well.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo is super piney.
Lagunitas Maximus is fairly pine-forward, as is their Waldos Ale (but much maltier).
Most Lawson's IPAs (especially Double Sunshine, Sugarhouse, and Chinooker'd) are pretty piney.
Sixpoint Resin is an excellent choice, though a bit higher octane.
Maine Beer Company Lunch has some nice subtle pine character.
Tröegs Double Blizzard has some resinous pine notes.
The Alchemist Heady Topper has that fresh-bruised fir sap character (mostly in aroma), and their Focal Banger has some resinous pine flavour.

West Coast-style IPAs with Cascade, Chinook, Columbus, or Centennial hops are usually a good bet, but I find Cascade and Chinook to be the ones that really deliver that piney influence. Good luck! As a diehard lover of all things pine, I totally get it.

 

this past year, for me at least, man it was so amazing. It had this perfect creamy lingering head, the pine we’ve all mentioned, but the best part was it had this roses smell to it. It was perfect.

 

Ok, it was this past year. The rose aroma/note was amazing.

 

New Belgium put the old school and original Ranger in a mix pack a couple of month ago and boy, it was piney goodness! Had not had that beer in awhile and it was tasty.

 

I think La Cumbre's Elevated IPA fits into this category. This thread made me go out and buy a 4 pack last night which I split with my step-son and they were delicious. And pine is indeed right up front. But not alone, there's citrus up front with the pine, and even some tropical fruit in the background.

 

I just realized that I've been getting Torpedo, Jai Alai and Bells Two Hearted from the grocery store since the pandemic started. Let's hear it for pine!!

 

Yeah, there always seems to be a citrus component in addition to the pine. That's the way it was in the Bitburger Triple Hopped that started this thread too.

 

The upshot seems to be that there are still a fair number of legacy piney IPAs around but very few recent offerings. That's certainly true around here. The downsides of that are there's not much new and shiny to try and freshness can be an issue. But the upside is that many of them come in at great price point for 6 and 12 packs.

Some piney offering around here that I don't think have been mentioned yet and may or may not make it to Maryland would be:

Ipswich Route 101 IPA
Newburyport Brewing Greenhead
Wachusett Larry
Wachusett Green Monstah
Harpoon IPA
Jack's Abby Hoponius Union (if you count IPL's)

Nighshift's Santilli and Wormtown's Be Hoppy are relatively newer offerings that are piney but perhaps a bit less so than the above.

 

In southern MD, you should be able to get DC Brau Corruption easily. When fresh, it's coastal pine forest next to a marsh (if you are from the Chesapeake or Delaware Bay or NC outerbanks areas, you know what I'm talking about: dank, earthy, and piney) and ruby red grapefruit. I like to rinse the glass with a juniper-forward gin (my favorite is Green Hat. but Beefeater or Tanquiray work in a pinch) before pouring it in. I call it a "beltway".

 

This is correct. Even easier to remember since PLINY rhymes with PINEY (in Murkha).

 

That’s an awesome idea @MrOH, clever nick name too. Now I may have to buy some gin today.

 

Use just enough to coat the glass, around 1.5 teaspoons, otherwise it just tastes like gin and beer. Works well with most hoppy beers and a lot of the lighter Belgian styles as well, if you match the characteristics of the gin to the beer. I also do it with aged rum or whiskey with darker beers. There's a lot of trial and error, of course. YMMV

 

Enjoy! This thread was a fun one, for the love of pine!!!!

 

If you're ever lucky enough, Pliny the Elder. World class and piney.

 

Important to note that freshness is key with IPAs and how they are stored can matter a lot too; an IPA stored cold consistently won't fall off as quickly as one stored warmly. I've done a lot of experimenting and some IPAs fall off quicker than others but 60 days on an IPA is definitely pushing it so keep that in mind when you are drinking the UJ and it won't be quite the same beer as when fresher.

Let us know what you think about these beers!

 

Might not be relevant to this forum, but anyone in Texas might appreciate it. 512 out of austin is one of the oldest breweries there and has only really bottled their one off large bottle stuff until recently they started bottling their Pecan Porter. Low and behold I walk into the grocery store today and their IPA is now being bottled. It is a great piney IPA and one that I get anytime I see it. I wiped out 2 of the bottles tonite and don't see it making it thru the weekend

 

I’m honestly always surprised at how well the bigger breweries hold up. I’ve been drinking 5/18 Sierra pale ale and it tastes perfect. I also bought a single bottle with 4/27 date to experiment still tasted great. I guess if you drank side by side with a super fresh one maybe you could tell but it’s all relative to me. If it tastes good, it tastes good.

also took a 3/30 hoppy beer from my dads place the other day. Same thing, was shocked with how much hop character was still there.

 

One of my all-time favorite IPAs. Pine sap and pineapple. My folks still live in central Texas, so whenever we get back to visit, I always make sure to hit restaurants that I know will have it on tap. Nice to see that they are finally bottling it. When we got back to Germany after our last visit, I missed it so much that I emailed them asking whether they'd share the basic recipe with a German homebrewer. They never answered, and I've never come close to re-creating it on my own.