It’s been a crazy 15-20 years since Pliny came on the scene - and Heady then all the NEIPA stuff exploded. Was Ruination a DIPA? I can’t remember but that beer had its day on my GOAT podium (replaced by the “drink by” series or whatever it was called). Today (after 3 days with no alcohol - a major accomplishment for me at 61 yo) - I picked up a 4 pack of OG TH DIPA - Very Green. A few minutes ago I cracked one - sat down on my patio on this gorgeous NE spring day - and upon first dip - had my palate/mind/soul blown. Waves of mostly bitterness followed - the kind that really linger on the palate - for minutes. The haziness - some tropical/yeasty/estery flavors just along for the ride provided by that ripcurl of bitterness. Today Very Green is my DIPA GOAT - that may change tomorrow - and I have no idea where she sits on today’s BA top beer pantheon given its continuingly tweaked algorithm. What’s your GOAT DIPA ??
Pliny. Ruination. Hop Stoopid. End. Everyone else take a seat and be quiet. You'll all get participation trophies.
Pliny, to this day. I drink a lot of Tree House DIPAs, and I absolutely love them. I don't like the danker modern Heady Topper, but that one might have been my GOAT. But Pliny is my only perfect beer score ever, and on the rare occasion I get another bottle or two (damn, I miss San Diego), it still delivers every single time. GOATed, my boy.
I'll go with Pliny. My first thought when I tried this for the first time was, "This is the perfect beer." That said, it would be remiss of me not to include Hopslam, The Waldos', and Heady in the conversation. And TG Dolphin Sparkles. Not joking. This collab with Barrel Theory just struck all the right notes with me. There wasn't a single thing about it that I would have changed.
Good question. May be Ruination. Hopslam in the day. The Waldo's - Oh yeah. I like Blind Pig more than Pliny. So no. No NE IPAs for me. Nothing wrong with them and I like a lot of them. Just not my preference for a DIPA. So, I like your answer. The next one.
Another ‘vote’ for Pliny. I am very fortunate that I can find Pliny on draft at local craft beer bars. Plus I homebrew a clone of Pliny based upon a recipe provided by Vinnie Cilurzo. Cheers!
I'll go with Pliny, but give a consolation prize each to HopSlam and King Sue (why is it classed as a NEIPA on this site when the can clearly says "Double IPA"?). https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23222/113674/
This is like asking "which child do you choose to live?" If forced, PLINY. But Heady is not far behind if we're talking about a very, very close 2nd.
Central City Double IPA. It’s been 15 years since I had my two pours. I just wanted to visit that Vancouver-based brewer which was making noise around that time, especially for their Red Racer IPA. They had a Double IPA on-tap as well, and I remember it being incredibly smooth and flavorful, and while that may sound vague, I found to be better than the Pliny’s and Ruination’s of the beer world.
Still a Pliny person. Perfectly balanced, stood the test of time, and I've given it to people who don't like IPAs who look at it sideways and admit they actually like it. There's more mind blowing DIPAs, but tried and true is tried and true.
