Most Aggressive IPAs

Were they? Or were they simply bragging that they drank them?

 

It was right after they bragged about drinking the highest ABV beer, without regard for the amount of fuses and other flaws in the beer.

 

Yes, this was how BA’s swung genitals long before Haze Bros posted pics of TH/Trill pours .

 

It seems like a lot of recipes for the long-standing hop bombs have been tweaked to get closer to the fruity flavors of the NEIPAs. Although I'm loving the hazy beers I'm glad there are the stalwarts that don't change. One aggressive IPA that I believe has remained the same is HopDevil, always a great option if I want some older school hops thrown in my face with a malt presence.

Edit: And I agree with the above vote for Smuttynose Finestkind. I don't often pay the outrageous beer prices in Fenway Park, but when I do a tall boy of Smutty drank straight from the can is a nice bitter experience.

 

Hopslam 2013

 

Moylan's Hopsickle was the DIPA I remember as being the most agressive I ever had. I also agree with those referencing the original Stone Ruination. I'm also throwing Stone Ruination 10 (the first one they did) and Victory Hop Wallop out there.

 

To me "Aggressive" and "Gimmick" tend to go hand and hand, it's quite unfortunate. If you really want hoppy dank beers look for triple ipas from any reputable brewer.

 

I have been drinking so many New England style IPAs for so long that I forgot what a non-juice bomb IPA tasted like, then I had a Route 101 by Ipswich and did a double take on the label. It tasted like an actual hop forward bitter IPA. It was great!

 

I gotta second Head Hunter. That one took me by surprise.

 

Gonna nominate Founder's Doom. A barrel-aged DIPA. It's a sipper.

 

I don't see any difference between any of the beers that strive for the "mostest." Be it: bitterness, ABV, fruitiness, sweetness, smoothness, thickness, mapleness, sourness, blackness, opaqueness, citrusness, bourbonosity, etc. When people think that the current "New England" trends are way better than the previous "IBU arms race," I gotta wonder because the motivations are the same regardless of the details. Bitter and malty have become dirty words here. There's some joy to be found in genuine bitterness, and beer is a great avenue to explore this. It's especially great when a beer has a plant-like bitterness and does it well. Flavors like that found in endive, radicchio, cucumber skin, and dandelion leaves. It's too bad that these aren't flavors that will be explored when compared to the current quest for most "juicy."

In addition, levels of bitterness seem to be very relative or subjective. At times I've had Pliny or Focal Banger and they've been relatively balanced, and other times they've tasted incredibly bitter. One drinker's "bitter bomb" is another's balanced beer. I think this is key. While people here are quick to claim that NEIPAs feature low bitterness and are capable of being "gateway beers," I personally find modern IPA bitterness to be all over the full spectrum. There are some current beers that really feel sweet compared to many IPAs of yesterday, and yet, a beer like Julius is considered a standard bearer for NEIPAs. To me it's a very bitter drink. I once gave a Julius to someone who normally does not like IPAs, and after blindly tasting it, they rejected it for being way too bitter to be enjoyable. One man's meat is another man's poison... and many contemporary drinkers' perspectives are trapped in an IPA bubble.

 

Bitter done well is a beautiful thing as its well incorporated, but bitter for the sake of bitter is decidedly not.

Agreed.

 

Devil Dancer for me, but I've gotta admit that aggressive IPA are one of the last things I look for on a taplist.

 

LTS is real, I was once someone who couldn't even finish an IPA and now I can drink most like water...and then other beers/foods lost their flavor. I am currently in the process of resetting my palate and it's been noticeable thus far.

Just about any of the old school IPAs are pretty aggressive IMO, with Smuttynose Finest Kind coming to mind.

 

Fresh squeezed gets all the love, but pine drops is fantastic.