Accessible IPA's for newcomer

Whatever u get -- make sure it's fresh. No more than 4 weeks old. If u can't tell -- don't buy it.

 

Accessible IPAs would be IPAs that feature Centennial hops. So Two Hearted Ale, Centennial IPA, Racer 5, along those lines.

 

sculpin from ballast point or slow ride, any session ipa really

 

The biggest thing is just to check the date on these IPAs. It's not too big of a deal (almost recommended) to drink a 4 month old stout or porter, IPAs are a different story though. You want to be consuming them no more than 2 1/2 month after the bottle date.

Personal favorites that are accessible: Oskar's Deviant Dales, Oskar's Gubna, and everything by Firestone Walker is great - Union Jack, Easy Jack, Double Jack.

 

Victory Hop Devil was my first IPA love way back when and it's readily available. Torpedo would also be up there; I generally think that more "balanced" IPAs are easier to get into than the bitterness bombs i've come to love the most

 

SN Celebration is fantastic, and we usually get it here in Texas in November.

Victory, as I'm sure you've seen, is distributed here in Texas.

Real Ale's Lost Gold isn't bad. Fresh Deep Ellum IPA is really good, possibly my favorite in Texas next to Yellow Rose.

 

If you're new to hops and like grapefruit, maybe start with some Grapefruit Sculpin, then graduate to regular Sculpin.

If you wanna start small, I've heard a lot of people say All Day IPA helped them get into IPAs. If you wanna go big, 90 Minute is a good starter DIPA.

 

just one, dales pale ale, right in the middle I believe

 

Lagunitas Daytime Ipa is a pretty perfect easy drinker. if you can find it, buy it.

 

Firestone Walker Union Jack
Lagunitas IPA and Maximus
Bear Republic Racer 5
Cigar City Jai Alai
Stone's many IPA's
Brekinridge Batch 471
Sierra Nevada Hoptimus, Torpedo, and Hop Hunter
Great Divide Rumble & Titan

Good Luck

 

I'll second Lagunitas Sucks.

I'll add Bell's Two-Hearted, which is the perfect example of an IPA IMO.

 

As a beer lover and Michigander, I cannot recommend Two Hearted enough. I wasn't particularly fond of IPAs a while ago, and Two Hearted was the first I truly enjoyed.

 

One IPA not mentioned that might be available in your area is Ska Brewing Modus Hoperandi. One of my favorite "go to" IPAs when I'm in the distribution area.

 

Probably has been mentioned already, but I just had a Slow Ride from New Belgium. It's a very easy-to-drink IPA, with plenty of hop flavor, low bitterness and low ABV (<5%). I'm sure you can get it in Texas; if so, try it out.

 

I wish Celebration was available year round...

 

Here's a few more suggestions. Southern Tier IPA, Samuel Adams Rebel IPA, and both Bengali and Resin from Sixpoint.

 

I think for a lot of people, IPA's are notorious for being incredibly bitter and overpowering. Thus, I always try to recommend IPA's that are more balanced (closer to East-Coast Style), than hop bombs. Something like DFH 90 minute is nice. While it is bitter, it is well balanced overall.

 

It took me a bit to warm up to IPA's, but SN Torpedo, Bell's Two-Hearted and Dark Horse Crooked Tree were all great at that; great hop flavor without a ton of bitterness. A lot of it was FFF's numerous pales as well, but that's not coming near Texas anytime soon.

 

The new version of Stone's Ruination comes to mind, unfortunately. Sorry, but that beer is not supposed to be an accessible IPA for beginners. But that is just what the new one is in my opinion. A good IPA from Stone that I believe is supposed to be an accessible IPA for novices would be Stone's Go To IPA.

Eric

 

What he said is that Bell is supposed to start distributing in Texas within the next couple of months