1. Myrcenary (Odell) Surprised no one has mentioned this one. I've been rereviewing Odell beers and this one still ranks as the best one for me. Like rereading an old book or watching a movie on VHS tape and still being entertained. Hops occupy all of the seats in the car in this one. 2. Rampant [retired] (New Belgium - When they were employee owned) The floral peach notes and very dry finish made this beer one to be missed. Got this on draft at the brewery in Fort Collins and the hop aroma wafted right out of the two-finger of head out of the glass.
Seeing a lot of Heady and Pliny and I can't say I disagree, those are two of the tip top of this category. I'm an East Coast guy. I'm a New Englander. I have had plenty of Heady Topper over the years. When I see Heady available, I buy it. When I'm at a bar and they have cans, I order it. The novelty hasn't worn off. The specialness hasn't worn off. It is my favorite beer. I have had Pliny fewer times. It's not as tongue coating as some other West Coast IPAs. I don't say that as a negative. I think it's highly refined. It's delicate. It's very easy to drink. Whenever i see it on draft, I order it. Which made me ask myself - if the roles were reversed and I had had more Pliny and less Heady how would I feel? I can't really answer that for certain. My third player or competitor in this would be Double Sunshine. Lawson's sent some to distribution and man, was I enamored with that magnificent liquid. I had Heady and Focal in my fridge at that time but the beer I reached for first most often was Double Sunshine. I am an absolute sucker for when Citra is done right. I wonder if the ease of acquiring had been different between Heady and Double Sunshine all of these years, whether Double Sunshine would be in my top spot versus Heady. These are my three contenders with the Vermont beers perhaps edging out the California King slightly.
Heady gets my top vote. Followed not too distantly by Dinner. Most of the Hill Farmstead Double (insert hop) are also very close. Pliny great too. Special mention to my first growler of Very Hazy that I received via trade for a Triple Sunshine bottle in the Mad River Glen parking lot.
Hill Farmstead double nelson. Blows my mind every time I drink one, although I realize nelson sauvin hops are polarizing for people. I’m lucky to live close enough to the brewery to get this beer with some regularity. I used to like Heady a lot, but I feel like it has changed over the years and I like it less now. Perhaps it’s partially my palette too. I have to be in the right mood to enjoy one now. Still a great beer, just doesn’t thrill me like it once did. Pliny is rare in New England. You can occasionally find it on tap at some of the better beer bars though, and it’ is quite good. I would agree that Maine Beer company’s DIPAs are excellent too. if I lived closer to Treehouse, my go to would likely be one of their DIPAs.
There was a recent thread entitled Whats up with Heady Topper and there has been some discussion about batch variation. For example @skivtjerry posted in that thread: "Heady is always changing; batches are not identical." I too have experienced batch variation with one of my four-pack purchases in the past being very dank (marijuana-like) in nature. I started a thread to discuss this matter: https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...r-your-heady-topper-to-be-catty-weedy.652987/ Since you are a New Englander and likely have Heady Topper more readily available to you, what are your thoughts on this topic? Do you thing the 'issue' is batch variation vs. trend over years? Cheers!
Pliny and Heady for sure are both top tier. Used to love the higher abv IPAs, now I just don't drink them enough to really say I've had anything newer. Kern River Citra Alpine Pure Hoppiness Maine Dinner My old personal favorite was Saint Archer Mosaic IPA, when they were doing it in bombers. That beer was INSANELY good when they were brewing it for the first year. After they sold, that beer in particular was a shell of itself unfortunately.
After checking my ratings, we seem to be in-line with each other. My GOAT is Greenest Green My Top 5 are all TH except one: 1) Greenest Green 2) Very Gggreennn 3) Galactic Storm 4) Heady (the only non-TH) 5) Very Green
This is interesting. I also used to love really high abv IPAs (10%-12%). In recent years, I've found that IPAs at that level now almost universaly taste harsh and somewhat metallic to me. Oddly enough, I still like big double-digit stouts and barleywines. Also, I still love DFH120 (which is a different animal that a standard IPA). But, IPAs between 8%-9% now seem much tastier to me than ones that exceed 10.
Pliny is the one that got me to drinking IPA's, but since it isn't readily available to me, I'll go with Hopslam.
I still remember Avery Dugana as being the most dank without getting into the onion/garlic territory beer I ever had and would pick it up whenever it dropped back in the day
Thanks to some generous pointers here on BA, got to experience the mighty Permanent Funeral — excellent. Lightening up, Captain’s Daughter consistently reigns as well.
Never had Heady and I do enjoy Pliny, but I feel I got too hyped up for it; my first time I was a little let down. I have had it a few more times and think it is solid. Definitely would grab again, if we cross paths again. So I will throw out my personal DIPA GOAT - Block 15’s Sticky Hands. You come across it, give it a shot and thank me later.
I've pretty much stopped buying any retail beers over 8% that aren't known to me, and will only order anything over 8% at a bar as a half pour, if possible. Don't do half pours, I'm not buying.
I loved Saint Archer Mosiac IPA for the short time it was available in my area. Great beer. I also enjoyed the fact it was 9% but just said Mosaic IPA on the label.
