Foreign Breweries Producing State-Side Level IPAs

There probably is, but given the travel time and logistics involved with getting beer imported and on the shelf at you local store, the odds of them tasting as fresh and vibrant as your local beer is slim to none.

 

Japan's Baird Brewing Suruga Bay DIPA is great. Had it fresh at their brew pubs, but wouldn't buy it stateside after traveling that far.

 

Great Lakes Brewery (the one in Ontario Canada) and Bellwoods (alson in Ontario) make damn fine Amercian IPAs and as mentioned above Quebec brewers Dieu du Ciel and Micro Le Castor also prove to be worthy

 

If you drink these where they're made, sure I'm sure they are excellent and would be curious to try one. But I can't imagine by the time it gets to America, particularly to the Midwest where I am that it would be anywhere close to as good. Maybe they aren't even exported to America and the OP was just talking about drinking them at the source. In any case, if I see an Italian IPA on the shelf in Wisconsin I'm probably going with Sierra Nevada.

 

Get many Pliny, Abner and Congress in the Midwest? I figured the purpose of this thread was to inform on what other countries were doing that was relevant to the AIPA. You will have to trade to get the good stuff fresh... You know like you do with US AIPAs

 

Had a couple of really good IPA's in New Brunswick Canada last week. Moosehead does some nice ones under their side project brand of Hop City. Big Tide brewing in Saint John had a good one too.

 

I find the idea of European IPA's that are on par with America very interesting. I'm just not buying one unless I'm in Europe. Whether you trade for it or not, it's not going to be fresh after crossing the Atlantic.

 

8 Degrees in Ireland does a bunch of great, hoppy beers, but Full Irish is just spectacular.

 

How would it not be fresh? It does not take months to ship a box over the Atlantic and besides someone could travel and bring some back. IPAs (in my book) are good for 8 weeks following bottled on date, after that they start to fall off pretty quick... Some more than others. Alchemist beers I like better with a few weeks on them and RR hops I prefer super fresh

 

I suppose you have a point as long as it doesn't get hung up in customs. I just think of all the comments about how European beers are completely different by the time they make it here and assume it must be even worse with something like an IPA.

 

Don t get me wrong, I agree with you but I was just making a point. This is the reason I have never had any Mikkeller IPAs or others. If someone had some fresh ones I would be happy to try them.

 

Great Lakes Brewery in Canada (not Ohio ) makes a great IPA called Octopus Wants to Fight. Had it on tap and it reminded me of home

 

Loads in the UK. To name some of the big boys:

Buxton, Siren, Kernel, Oakham, Weird Beard, Partisan, Beavertown, Magic Rock, First Chop Brewing Arm, Moor, and Marble. Even Brewdog have their moments.

 

Although I admit I may have been primed by reading about it beforehand, one of the best IPAs I ever had was Galway Bay's "Of Foam and Fury" on draught in Ireland. It's the beer that made me realize the potential of DIPAs.

Oddly, I didn't love any of the Kernel beers I had, even though they are widely acclaimed. Too hoppy and not malty enough for my tastes, I guess?

 

Mikkeller
To Öl
Braukunstkeller
Hanscraft

 

Totally valid concern - in Dublin, anyway.

One bottle shop tweeted about a new Sierra special release the day it got released from Customs: 58 days from bottling.

Things are getting better now that Sierra, Lagunitas, et al don't have to ship from the West Coast anymore. But there's still a lot of dead hoppy American beer kicking around Europe.

 

Great Lakes makes three IPAs that are really top notch. (Haven't tried Octopus wants to fight yet).

1. Thrust! IPA
2. Karma Citra
3. Lake Effect

In my opinion Great Lakes trumps Bellwoods for IPAs.

 

Not all are aware it seems.

 

Thornbridge Jaipur