what should my first IPA be?

agree with the others...Flower Power!! My wife loves it and so do her friends.

 

I'm sorry, I find it a bit hard to believe that you are a have had the styles you mentioned and have not tried a single IPA. Is there some reason you have stayed away from them? It is not an obscure style in the world of American craft beer.

 

Can't ease into it, that's like touching the pool before jumping in. I'd say STONE IPA all the way. Dive in, and enjoy it!!!!

 

I agree,
Flower Power
Smuttynose IPA
Stone IPA
3 of the best and readily available IPA's.

Protip: read user Buckeyenation's review of the beer your trying while drinking it, doing that really helped me appreciate what I was tasting early on. I don't think I would have enjoyed some of the beers I was trying as much as I do now if I wasn't reading his reviews while sipping on the beer.
http://beeradvocate.com/community/members/buckeyenation.3819/

 

May I suggest finding a black IPA to start with to act as a bridge between styles for you?

 

I do love stouts, and I keep trying IPAs, never to love them. I did find I could hop over to trippels and saisons to change things up and be happy though.

 

I also recommend Heavy Seas Loose Cannon. Its got great IPA flavor, but won't kill you with hop bitterness. Also try some hoppy APAs that are really IPAs in disguise.

 

Flower Power for the tenth time....

 

Southern Tier IPA or 2XIPA.

 

I was leaning Flower Power myself, but 2XIPA is definitely no slouch and perhaps a touch more ...hmmm...gentle, I suppose (for lack of a better word). Get it a month old and it is a great place to start.

 

2 Hearted

 

Laggunitas sucks is good. DEFINITELY try to get fresh, whatever you get. I was turned off of IPA's for a while because the first few I tried were old.

 

Ruination. Don't get your feet wet, jump into the pool.

 

Dogfish Head 60 and 90 Minute IPAs. Those were the ones that converted me. They're hoppy, but not insanely so, and they're really well balanced with a nice, malty backbone.

 

I second the Stone recommendation, I think it's probably the best widely available example of what the American IPA is all about (here on the East Coast at least) It'll give you a solid idea of the flavors without bashing you over the head with them. I think Flower Power is a decent bit hopper than Stone (definitely more than DFH, which I always felt was one of the more malt forward AIPAs). It's a really good IPA, but might be a bit heavy for someone unused to hoppy beers. Lagunitas Sucks is also a really good example of balance, but it might be tough to find now.

 

For easy drinking IPA's these are my favorite and both available in cans.

NEBCO Sea Hag
CCB Jai Alai IPA

 

Harpoon IPA is the way to go. Not too heavy, a good starting point. Ease your way in. Then graduate to the really good stuff that others here mention.

 

Harpoon is a good first IPA. Very inoffensive. It was my very first, and it got me wondering about IPAs in general. From there, Smutty Finestkind (despite what the packaging says, I think it is indeed an IPA with training wheels--I thought it had a solid malty backbone, balanced as all hell, enjoyed). Then HopDevil, Hoponius if you've got MA connections, DFH 60 minute, then Sucks, and then on to the IIPAs. I haven't had the pleasure of trying Flower Power, but that seems to be the consensus of this thread, so if you can get that, go for it.

Or you could just throw caution to the wind and buy just about anything from Stone. Sublimely Self-Righteous is the best Black Ale, hoppy or otherwise, I've ever had.