Do You Remember Your First IPA?

You've combined two big brewers' economy brands - Miller's Milwaukee's Best (originally a Gettleman brand) and Pabst's Old Milwaukee (originally a Schlitz and then a Stroh brand). Very unlikely either would have been over 5% abv in that or any era, unless it was an "Ice" version? Molson Coors currently lists Milwaukee's Best Ice at 5.9%.

 

Probably Redhook, before Long Hammer..

 

It's been a while....It must have been Old Milwaukee Ice. The bottle art looks similar to what I remember being on the 12 packs.

 

Or maybe you made a blend of Old Milwaukee and Milwaukee's Best - a Milwaukee Half & Half?

We all know that when you mix two different beers together the ABV goes up!



Cheers!

 

Sierra Nevada Torpedo because the store ran out of there pale ale. Glad I tried it

 

Funny to say Stone IPA is underrated, but if it’s fresh it’s really an eye opener it’s that good.

 

My first IPA was possibly about 1976. A visit to Ontario yielded Labatt IPA. It was a slightly enhanced Labatt 50: a light amber body with a little bit of hoppy bitterness. I also ran across Falstaff's Ballantine IPA around then. It was more like a traditional IPA, strong, with a deep copper color with a good bitter taste. Was Bass Ale labeled as IPA in those days too? I don't remember which was first.

 

I agree that Keiths IPA is IPA in name only. However, that is probably true for most of the craft IPAs on the market. Are they deep amber from roasted malt? rarely. Are they bitter? seldom. Now IPA is mostly a marketing term, not a style description.

 

There realistically is no such thing as a genuine IPA. ITt has been different things at different times.
For most of the twentieth century IPA was normally a weak bitter. This was because in general IPA sent to India (the genuine IPAs of course) was the weakest beer in the brewing range. As gravities fell as a result of world wars, this was inevitable result.
But few people these days would like a genuine IPA. It was fermented to dryness, aged for up to a year and Brettonomyces plus the long and hot at times journey made it as dry as dust. Massively hopped with no residual sweetness, it must have made the mouth pucker

 

The US labels at the time had "I.P.A." in small letters but it probably didn't mean much to most US drinkers (I'm not sure I even remember noticing it, and I was a Ballantine India Pale Ale drinker).

re: Labatt's IPA: one of the biggest disappointment of my early beer drinking career when I lived 20 miles from the border in upstate NY and scored my first sixpack of it in Ontario. I assumed it has been dumbed down and might have once been an India Pale Ale...

 

This sounds like a Brut IPA shelf turd minus the Brett.

 

Redhooks Ballards Bitter in the 90's

 

Oddly enough I've never tried it. I should poke around some stores and try to find it fresh and give it a go.

 

If it’s fresh it’s great, truly so.

 

Definitely. When it's 'on' it's the archetype.

 

I thought I saw the IPA listed on the label of Bass but I didn't trust my memory so I was silent.

 

I don’t remember my first ever IPA, but without referring to notes I can remember where I had my first among my favorites:

• Russian River Pliny the Elder - West Fourth and Jane, in Santa Monica, CA one a one day beer day trip into LAX from Vegas. Draft pour, mid afternoon, life changer.
• Beachwood Amalgamator - The Beer Temple on Elston / California and Belmont in Chicago, ILL - Annual drop before the latest FOBAB (2019), on draft. Absolutely loved it (Hops of Brixton even more incredible, though that’s for a different thread).
• Spiteful Brewing 10/9 Bike Messenger Appreciation IPA - In Chicago at the brewery, ILL at the brewery. Two Novembers ago, fresh on tap. There are several excellent WCIPAs available in Chicago, but this is my favorite.
• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Wynn Las Vegas, NV - Not an IPA, but will always remember the first time I tried this well before my craft days began in earnest several years later. Served and drunk out of a bottle, comped playing video poker at The Wynn. Was an eye opener for me.

 

I remember it being pointed out to me around 1992 by someone in my homebrew club. I just don't remember when they stopped doing it.

 

I completely forgot about Labatt's. It wasn't like Ballantine at all, but I enjoyed it. It and Molson Stock Ale were purchases when I took a rare trip to Ontario from NJ.

 

Yeah, Molson Stock Ale was a nice find --- but after an initial sample from a friend in upstate NY, I could never find it again in an Ontario Beer Store.