What's your go-to IPA?

Lately Florida Man, DIPA from Cigar City. Maine Lunch also

 

Scofflaw Basement out of Atlanta, GA

 

Powder Day (Sierra Nevada) or Jai Alai (Cigar City)

 

Atlas by Marshall Brewing in Tulsa.. best on tap

 

I have 2 go to's...

1. Rhinegeist Truth
2. Madtree Psychopathy

 

Rhinegeist Truth out of Cincinnati. However when in Louisville I always look for Goodwood there (sorry West Sixth).

 

Mine is local so it won’t mean a lot to many people, Sea Hag from New England Brewing. I have it on tap at home most of the time. It always pops grapefruit at me, and while a lot of beers change over time or your palette changes, this is always the same. Keg after keg, year after year.

 

For the longest time Bear Republic Racer 5 has been my go to. Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing has definitely moved into that conversation since it was introduced. If I can find it fresh, Tioga Sequoia Double Dry Hopped General Sherman is my local go to hands down. My area has also been lucky to have a pretty steady supply of fresh Pliny the Elder available, so that's easily been the choice for DIPA.

 

Would like it to be Firestone Walker Union Jack, but can rarely find it fresh in VA. Thus, it's Bell's Two Hearted.

 

Either Ninkasi Tricerahops or Total Domination. They’re both solid in my book and the brewery is only a couple miles from my house. I figure by a local product, especially if it’s decent, no?

As we all know there are thousands of beers out there so I figure I need to simplify my life and just stick with a few products that I enjoy.

Salud!

 

I'm not an IPA fan. Feel free to ask my opinion about dark beers.

 

I would have to say that I really have 3

Cigar City Jai Alai, Sweetwater 420, and New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze, because they are more often on tap here in FL.

Bill

 

I’m lucky that my local bar often has Blind pig, however, lately it’s been off tap and I’ve been going with Pale From the Crypt from Liquid Gravity

 

I buy by the ½ Barrel, so my go to has been Wally from Wachusett Brewing Company. It's fresh, local and readily available. Even through the pandemic (although, for months, I think I may have bought from the same batch

 

I never "go to an IPA, I've got no use for them. I don't "need" anything beyond good Pilsners, Lagers, and Stouts. Let the kids play with the fad beers.

 

New Trail Brewery, Williamsport, PA - 'Broken Heels IPA'

 

I'm going to go a slightly different direction here and not talk about my favorite IPAs but the one that I keep in stock most often. It's Burlington Beer's "Future Glow," which you may recognize as a <5% session. Why is that my "go to"?? Because there is such an ever-changing variety of delicious NEIPAs in the 6.5-9.5% range these days that I find it more enjoyable to drink those side by side with a session that doesn't clash, and FG is very high efficiency (flavor to alcohol ratio).

So now I've settled into a routine where I typically buy 1-4 cans of whatever interesting full strength beers pass through my local beer bar + bottle shop, but only buy sessions in case or half case quantities.

For example, when I updated my inventory on Sunday (I keep a list of everything in my beer fridge so I don't lose goodies to hop fade), I had 71 cans of 42 different NEIPAs from 21 different breweries, all in the > 6% range, but also a drawer with about 30 cans in the <5% range. I also have Other Half "Forever Ever" and Grimm "Matchbox Lambo" in the session drawer right now, and they're also excellent for this purpose, but the FG comes around more reliably so I'm tagging it as the "go to"!

 

Living in the SFBA I have a lot of options. But my go-to is definitely the Faction Brewing seasonal (winter, spring, summer or fall) which I can always get fresh since I live close to the brewery.

 

Probably Lagunitas IPA or Maximus IPA. The standard IPA because it was the first beer I had and enjoyed and Maximus because it is surprisingly easy drinking. I also enjoy Voodoo Ranger and Fresh Squeezed..but I'm not sure if I'd considered these "go-tos". I would say a local brew, but when I think of "go-to" IPA I think of one I could buy at any store, so I didn't include some of my favorite local brews for this reason.

 

Resin, when I can get it here. Love it. Bell's Two Hearted or Community Mosaic are back ups.