Do You Remember Your First IPA?

My first ipa was Dogfish 90 minute and I remember being smashed in the face with bitterness. Every since, I’ve been hooked! As my palate developed and could pick up all the great flavors in 90 minute, I seeked out any and all IPA’s out there!

 

I'm pretty sure it was El Nino IPA at Fitger's Brewhouse in Duluth, MN. I didn't love it but I realize how good it was on later visits.

 

Definitely was SN Celebration, probably late 1990's. I'd definitely been a Pete's Wicked Ale and Bass drinker before that, though I never knew them as "IPA's". They didn't seem that different from other stuff I was drinking at that time. Celebration was the first beer that seemed like it came from a different planet.

 

Looks like Bass came out with an IPA that was so labeled.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/293/87406/

I wonder if they stopped brewing it or it's not imported to the states anymore.

 

I think it was a bandwagon jumper that became a flash-in-the-pan. I remember looking for it, but never finding it.

 

That was a US-brewed AB-InBev product, from AB's NY state brewery:

Despite it's listed as being a product of the UK in the BA listing, I kinda doubt it. AB-InBev also brewed a Bass-branded Stout in NY and NH (where they also did Bass Ale). Seem to recall they even marketed at make-your-own Black & Tan sixpack (3 bottles of each) but can't recall if they used the Bass Ale or IPA in it.

 

I should have guessed that the IPA would have been home "grown". Thanks! Home grown meaning brewed in the US.

 

For IPA or hoppy beers, I really can’t nail specifics but assuming I had my first in the 1995- 2000 timeframe when I was getting into craft beers but not having any real clue about style differences. There are 3 I do recall early on, SNPA, Hop Wallop, and Raging Bitch. Somewhere between 1995 and 2005 timeframe. My early experiences with SNPA was “drinkable but bitter”, Hop Wallop was “chewing on pine” and I drain poured it and Raging Bitch was “ wow I really like the aroma and taste of fresh hops”. Ironically it was probably the Belgian yeast I was liking and not the hops.

 

JK, five years ago Peter Wolfe discussed about the production of a ‘new’ Bass Ale as brewed by AB in the US:

“The Bass brewery (and brands) were sold a couple of times before they were actually under the ABI umbrella. There's been two versions for many many years (long before they were bought and sold); Bass Pale Ale and Bass Pale Ale Export. The Bass Ale is still made in the UK by Coors, and the Export is now made in the US by AB. When ABInBev acquired the export brand, we inherited the recipe. As far as we could tell (and I personally investigated this by speaking to some eldery folks in the UK who used to work there), the recipe we inherited was not the old recipe. It did still use the old Bass yeast strain, but the hop and malt bill for the Export ale had been "simplified" as the brand changed hands in the late 90's/early 2000's. I have been personally working on improving it, and making some slight changes to put it back in line with the classic Bass Pale Export being made thirty or forty years ago. This isn't something we announced or will announce in a marketing campaign, because tinkering with a venerable brand like Bass is generally viewed as a bad thing. However, we view this as changing it back to the classic recipe rather than tinkering for tinkering's sake (more like reverting some changes that should have never been made). I should note that this new (old?) recipe is not in the market yet, but is coming soon. I've been told not to mention specifics because the idea is to improve it and let it stand on its own rather than try and hype it up; suffice it to say it will resemble the bass export of old and use ingredients that would have been used decades ago. It will cost a fair amount more to make, which is actually the opposite of your original concern with the "cheapening" of brands.”

And:

“It'll actually have English aroma hops again, so it should be a big step in the right direction, at least.”

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/biggest-beer-pet-peeves.281986/page-5#post-3585717

Do you know whether anything happened in this regard? Is there a ‘new & improved” Bass beer that is being brewed in the US (e.g., Baldwinsville NY)?

Cheers!

 

I do...it was 90 Minute IPA....

My first real "craft" beer I guess.. i loved it and never looked back.

 

I remember my first IPA like I remember my first wife which is to say an experience that I didn't want to repeat.

The lessons of experience being no deterrence to the determined though I subsequently found I enjoy both IPAs and remarriage.

 

I'm thinking 1995 - Liberty Ale.

 

Can't swear to it , but seems as though my first actual IPA (as opposed to pale ale) was Victory Hop Devil. If not that, it was Bert Grant IPA* .
c. 1999?
* & I agree with @Todd 's review : it was a bit harsh. But.....it was also not-bland , & I could see the glimmer of possibility, that somebody else might deliver** .
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/5/13/?ba=Todd
** I tried to make it for myself, with mixed success. Just didn't know enough yet. & then a flood wrecked my equipment in the basement . Never got back to it . (& don't really need to )

 

Oregon IPA by brewed ,I think, by Sam Adams weirdly. Drank in Oregon in 1999. It is strange nowadays but IPAs were not a huge thing in the early days of craft beer

 

I remember when i first arrived in The States ( Atlanta 1992) that McEwan's Export was labelled IPA also..it was Export as i used to buy 6 packs of it regular and it tasted like Export back in Scotland. Maybe a wee bit strong alc.

 

Captain Lawrence IPA. No fancy branding. Just the flaming barrel and the giant characters "I.P.A" on the bottle. I guess they rebranded it to either Hop Commander or Palate Shifter.

 

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA in the fall of 2005. My buddy got me into drinking things that weren't Bud Light or Rolling Rock, but we're talking Guinness and Yuengling not craft beer. One night we went to the store and decided to try something a bit different and 90 Minute was it. It seemed interesting and it was the highest ABV beer we'd seen so we gave it a try and the rest was history. I like big bold flavors so that beer worked out perfectly at the time. We drank a LOT of Dogfish Head over the next couple years.

Edit: It had such an impression on me I joined this form not long after, something I was reminded of right after I hit submit lol

 

I had an SNPA around 1995..compared to early craft IPAs. That was indeed an IPA!

 

I was probably still at school when I had that first pint of IPA. Rebus is a fan of it, too?