Hi all, Suggestions please for BITTER Imperial Ipa and Imperial Stout and Imperial Porter. Little to no sweetness, no milks, no sugars. Strong, simple, bitter beer only! Thanks!
It is hard to find an Imperial Stout that is not bitter. It more or less goes with he style and one of the reasons it has to be aged. I found my first fresh one that was not bitter it was a Surly RIS. Since I was not home with my cellar I was pleasantly surprised. It was not sweet either. I was just like a mellow nicely aged RIS.
Something old-school, Dogfish Head 90-minute. If you can find fresh Sixpoint Resin, I always thought that was super piney and pithey. Where in NY are you? That might help guide recommendations. Most local/regional craft follow market trends, but every now and again you find a smaller operation making an IBU bomb.
Have always loved Resin - point in case. Piney and dry, bitter, perfect abv. Nothing too similar upstate though.
Damn, yes, it’s been long here, but was wan my TGI Friday beer, took the steam right out of you. Without making a second post; Mongo as well, forget the brewery.
Resin and Dirt Wolf. Both brewed at Victory now. Freshness is the key for both and unfortunately can even be a challenge living 10 minutes from the brewery
Agree it’s tough to get much over 9%-10 and retain the bitter, even at that level really bitter won’t happen.
Throw in the third head of that "cooperative" monstrosity, and include Southern Tier. Thinking back to the initial post, I still think that 2XIPA is bitter, even after the reformulation from a couple of years ago. I saw Unearthly came back as well, but as a Triple, I'm not necessarily sure if it would fit the OP's personal parameters because it's been redone and was a bit on the boozey-sweet side beforehand.
It really depends on where you are Upstate. The Hudson Valley is all about NEIPA, but Cannon Call, from Big Ditch in Buffalo is close to a west coast double, and if you're close to Rochester, Three Heads and Rohrbach are always churning out variations of older and newer school IPA and stout
Thanks! Hudson Valley for sure. Just notice that strong IPA’s are headed in milkshake, super sugary, sweet, tropical direction. Definitely prefer 9-11%abv, clear, piney, bitter. When it comes to Stouts/Porters, same abv preference, and bitter - no milk, cream, sugar. Sturdy, clean, simple, strong on all. Seems only a few in demand.
Well they could of course hit any abv they choose, but they need to sell what they brew too, if the beers not stellar it’s impossible to sell. Adding more bettering hops you need more malt to balance that out, the sugars in the malt convert to alcohol,It’s why you don’t find too many DIPAS much over 8%, they want some balance to their beers. Seems like you looking for a Session kinda bitterness at non session abv levels. Hopsjckle and Mongo are as big and as bitter as I’ve had, I’d also include Neshaminy Brewings Shape of Hops To Come, they bumped up the abv to 9+.
Is this thread from 2008? I’d say it’s much harder to find a bitter RIS or IPA these days. Not the other way around as stated. Brewers don’t make beers like this because these flavors have fallen out of favor or are not desired by the more “modern”beer drinkers in America. Plus it’s not difficult to make a bitter RIS over 10%. Just using more roasted barley and chocolate malt and more early additions of bittering hops. Also, more and more brewers are going the cold steep route for dark/specialty grains because they tend to not draw out the “harsher” characteristics that can be associated with them such as the tannins that can make darker beers roasty and bitter. Just remembered that Stone sublimely self righteous is making a return. That and other high gravity black ipas should hit your sweet spot.
Not a style mentioned by OP, but Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine is pretty bitter fresh each year. Also a bit hot with alcohol too, but it is a bitter beer IMO. I went back and read my review of Sierra Nevada Narwhal 2020 vintage and I found it dark bakers chocolate bitter, so that may scratch your bitter itch too. Good luck on your quest!
Yeti is bitter...er than raspy. Some other beers to consider would be Avery Hog Heaven if it's still brewed. It's a great American barleywine that is unusually dry for the style. Pliny is bitter by today's standards. Epic day from eddyline in CO is a great beer as well. Maybe some of the Melvin DIPAs as well.
Arrogant Bastard is my recommendation. For what it's worth, sub-8% beers are often more bitter than higher ABVs. Creating a high ABV beer takes extra malt to ferment to alcohol, which leaves residual [unfermented] sugars that off-set the bitterness of hops (and vice-versa). At around 100 IBUs people cannot physically perceive any more bitterness, which means there's a point that no amount of bittering hops can overcome the residual sugars of a high ABV beer. Lessons learned from the IBU Wars of the aughts.
Why do they call it Ruination? Because the after taste will last about 4 hours. It will totally ruin your taste buds. Years ago I went to a bar often that had Ruination on tap. I could beleive the joke above. It was like drinking liquid hops. I had some a couple of months ago and it did not seem nearly as strong as the memories. I think we have gotten used to drinking really hoppy beers. Ruination may be the same but our criteria has changed. Or, maybe I am old and burnt out.
Imperial Stouts: Bell's Expedition and 35th Anniversary Expedition Stout Reserve , Founders Imperial Stout, North Coast Old Rasputin, Great Divide Yeti, Sierra Nevada Narwhal, Victory Storm King.
Second on Victory Storm King. It is one of the few that I have found that does not cellar well. It tastes just as bad fresh as it does after a few years.
