Does Anyone Do APA's Better Than 3 Floyds?

Every beer mentioned in this thread is excellent. It's simply a matter of taste which one you like best.

 

Brickstone APA Dosent even compare

 

Fort Point Pale Ale and all of its variants can't be beat.

 

For me ZD is still king when it's fresh. Sue is next, but it was amazing when it was coming from IA in bombers. The cans are still good, but i'd still rather have a ZD. Brickstone is a good offering but to me it's just not on the level of those 2.

If we are talking outside the Chicago area, Fort Point is the best I've had. I've had the original, the Mosaic, the Galaxy, and just got an Enigma I will try. I would take those over any above anytime. Trillium is killing it.

Also check out some Maine Beer Co offering, you can find them in Chicago. MO and Peeper were pretty good APAs. And also don't foget about Revolution Fist City, another quality APA.

 

In my opinion, you have to give credit where credit is due. ZD was one of the first (if not the first) APAs to use citra, so it was a pioneer and ahead of the curve in that respect. It's hard to turn down either ZD or Alpha King in the summer when you're looking for a super refreshing beer. However, I think that like other early beers (e.g., Sierra Nevada Pale Ale), others have now expanded the style and make some super kick-ass pales (TG, HF, etc.). Fresh Pseudo from Decorah is tough to beat.

 

I think Revolution is pretty solid in the IPA and APA categories (I call Alpha King an IPA). Anti-Hero and Galaxy-Hero are delicious, along with the many other IPA and APAs I've tried at the brewpub...I'm bad with names.
Honorable mention to Deschutes; Fresh Squeezed and Pine Drops always leave me wanting more.
Although, I'd agree that 3 Floyds probably pops in my mind first. Zombie Dust gives me the same feeling as comfort food. When I taste it after it's been a while, I'm like, 'Oh yeah, I remember you."

 

Melvin Hubert, 4 Noses Proboscis Simcoe, Cannonball Creek Featherweight and Prison Bound, good old St. Lupulin from Odell, good old Dale's Pale Ale from Oskar Blues, all say that the Rocky Mountain region can play in this "hoppy APA" sandbox.

What I thought was one of the better hoppy APA's I've had recently was Fortunate Islands at Modern Times in San Diego, but I see on this site this is classified as an "American Pale Wheat Ale". (As are Lil Sumpin Sumpin and Gumballhead and Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat and Breckenridge Summerbright and Goose Island 312, so the category spans from near Hefeweizen to full-blown IPA I guess)

 

Hill Farmstead

 

Toppling Goliath, Trillium's got a bunch in the top 10, Lizard King, Moon Man, HHG... in short, there's a lot of choices out there, and I'm lucky to have a bunch of good ones available to me at any given point

 

They make pretty goods APAs (I would add Yum Yum, awful label, great beer). Don't know if they are the best. I like PseudoSue and HHG at least as much as ZD

 

For quality, I've gotta go with Trillium. For quantity + quality, I do like Tree House pale ales.

But that's my own regional bias talking.

 

Count me with the folks that consider Alpha King an IPA. And, my vote goes to Field 41.

 

APA's bro. Let's stick to the topic at hand

 

I think its funny you think just because a beer has a poor rating it automatically tastes like shit. I would argue some of the highest rated beers on here have regional bias, your beloved fff included. I have had ZD and AK, and I prefer new dogtown pale ale to both for an APA. It seems the people at craft beer and brewing agree it is as good as both offerings from FFF and it gets a larger distribution than FFF. So by your argument it is better.

 

Tree house lights on was the best pale ale I've had by a mile

 

*** That 95% of BA cannot acquire without trading....

 

Alpha King is one of my first loves and I will never pass up my 2 bottle limit of ZD when it is available. It's hard for me to say that either is the be-all, end-all of APA's, but I still enjoy them. Regional bias creeping in, but NG Moon Man has been one of my go to's lately, and soon it will be in cans. To quote the great Uncle Jessie, "have mercy!!"

 

And in cans now, and only 4.9%

I'll take that over "session IPAs" anyday.

 

Really? I tried a YumYum and hated it. To each their own I guess.

 

Another vote for PseudoSue and SN Pale Ale. I feel like they both top Zombie Dust and AK, in my humble opinion.