What Was Your Gateway IPA?

Short answer, Rubicon IPA. late 1980's
Showing my age here. Craft beer just wasn't around when I starting really liking beer. Undergrad years (turned 21 in 1980), Drank Watney's Red Barrel, Sudwerk Marzen, Henry Weinhards, Lucky Bock all things that had flavor and/or low cost. Sometime, 80-83? a friend and I drove to SF and brought a case of Liberty Ale back to Davis, AFAIK, that was the first Liberty Ale in town. Also, hard to believe, but we thought it was borderline too hoppy to drink. After that, Rubicon IPA in Sacramento was the go-to great IPA. Rubicon IPA got gold medal in 1989&90 at GABF.

 

Pliny. Had IPA's a bunch before that (pre 2010) and thought they were just for people who somehow liked their beer super bitter. Hey, still seems to me that Heineken drinkers like their beer to taste skunked brand new, so it wasn't a huge stretch logically.

Ever since that dank, strawberry, floral nose and flavors from those first bottles we scored (random/near accidentally) in San Diego, I fiend for the Hop Juice.

 

60 Minute -> 90 Minute -> Not sure, that may have been it -> Everything else. Haven't had a fresh bottle of DFH in a while, hopefully I would still enjoy them.

 

Two Hearted Ale. I think the first time I had it was back in 2000 or 2001. I didn't even know it was an IPA I just knew it was delicious. This was when they still had a label that looked like it was printed from a home computer, and glued on with Elmer's glue. It was unfiltered at the time, and very cloudy. It had a nice orange color to it. Maybe it's just me but the Two Hearted Ale today is just not the same... I think somewhere along the line another brewery bought the company that brewed Two Hearted Ale.

 

Racer 5 and 60 min. Don't drink 60s at all anymore, I find them a little malty for my liking. Haven't had a Racer in a while since I think I was getting old ones. I think I will give it another try sometime soon.

Now I am into the standard hop forward Tree House, Trillium, etc.

 

I was drinking a lot of IPA's around 2004-2006 but what really got me hooked was Racer 5 on a crazy late night in 2006 and the first Zappa Lagunitas beer they did 'Freak Out.' I really miss the Frank Zappa beer that Lagunitas was doing!

 

It may have been 90min or Jai Alai. I drank a lot of both of those around the same time when I was really getting into things.

 

I also think the trend in this thread is interesting as in I was drinking English IPAs since around 99-00 but this thread has a very american ipa theme. Myself included.

 

The first IPA I ever had, Hopdevil.

 

Celebration, first IPA that made me think okay I get that.

Now, every time I get a TG IPA I think how didn't I get it in the first place.

 

Elevated and afterwards Project Dank from La Cumbre - still two of my favorites

 

Bell's Two Hearted Ale. And it is still my favorite beer.

 

Same here, but I don't view the British IPAs I had in England in the mid to late 80s as a gateway to anything. They were more like a WTF? tasting between enjoying the stouts and Scottish ales. Had some buddies insist that I tried the IPAs back then, but never liked them. Took another decade to start appreciating the hoppy offerings.

 

DirtWolf. Before that, I couldn't stand them. Now I can't get enough.

 

SNPA got things started in that direction but it was Ranger that made ipa's enjoyable for me.

 

Harpoon IPA turned me onto IPAs, and craft beer generally, and Stone IPA opened me to West Coast style.

 

I had a Samuel Smith's India Ale around 99' or 00' and had that WTF moment that another poster mentioned. Couldn't even finish it. It was so different from everything else I was drinking. Looking back I just remember seeing them sitting on the shelves forever too, so it was probably very old to start with, but either way I did not like it at all. I went through a phase of liking Sam Adams Boston Lager and Great Lakes Elliot Ness. I thought these were both pretty "hoppy" and different at the time. Then like several other posters I tried 60 minute and thought it was pretty good. Then went immediately to 90 minute and thought it was better. Haven't looked back. I generally don't buy 60 or 90 much anymore as they do seem a bit malty for my taste now like some other posters have mentioned, but it seems like they have done a great job to introduce so many to the wonderful world of IPA's. Cheers to DFH!

 

Dogfish Head 90 Minute had been my gateaway

 

60 Minute, Harpoon IPA and LC Indica IPA.

 

I love the lost coast Indica, really have missed that one since I moved away from California, it became my session IPA for a while!