best IPA ever?

I think they must have. Winning gold at GABF is no joke. And you obviously didn't get the 22oz'er of Racer 5 I did. No doubt they've both matured since getting more shelf space.

Sounds like were into that gray area of personal taste. I like a lot of IPA's for a lot of different reasons and drink them all regularly. Actually, my favorite is my own homebrew, BGA, which blows 'em all into the hay bales. ;)

nb

Reply to
notbob
Loading thread data ...

That's what I would have thought. And then I judged at the LA County Fair beer comp last year, in the IPA flight, and lo and behold we awared Drake's No. 1. It wasn't a unanimous pick (I think I had what turned out to be Stone IPA at No. 1 - the beer that turned out to be Racer 5 was a bit high in diacetyl, which the Racer 5 is prone to going overboard on periodically), but it was within the top three for all of us. And we all decided that a brewer that made a really good IPA that was a bit out of the incredibly similiar profiles of all the others deserved some recognition.

We were all stunned after we'd turned in our forms and scores and found out we'd just given Drake's the medal.

Racer 5 has been essentially my house beer for years. I enjoy trying a wide variety of things, but it is so consistently outstanding and nearly perfectly balanced that it's tough to push it away. The one flaw I detect in it, as noted above, is that occasionally the diacetyl levels start creeping a tad high (including in the one I'm drinking at this very moment). It's a nitpick, because it's never excessive, and it adds even further complexity to the beer in most cases (and I'm sure is a contributer to the great mouthfeel).

It may be time to revisit.

And I've tried liking Hoptown, and just can't. Not that it's bad, but there's a little something not quite right there. It's almost like they've managed to find hop astringency.

-Steve

Reply to
Steve Jackson

Ahh yes .... a very good choice. My second if I'm not in the mood for a heavy malt profile. Very well balanced.

Hoptown belongs to one of several sweet IPA's. I think this magnifies the hops bitterness.

nb

Reply to
notbob

Have you judged at GABF? Trust me. Those awards aren't all they're cracked up to be. Of course, that's true with just about every award out there. I put exactly zero stock in GABF and their awards.

There's no doubt that BRBC has has consistency issues, but I've rarely had a beer that was overly diacteyl-laden. Drake, OTOH, at least when Roger owned/ran it, had serious problems. It was a function of lack of capitalization, as Roger was pretty much on a shoestring budget, but Drake's did put out some of foulest beer (Wizard held the Foulest Brewery Ever title for years). Oddly, they put out some of the best beers as well - last time I was in Barclay's, they were pouring a Drake's beer that was low gravity, pale straw/gold, and had an amazing hop flavor and aroma. They've definitely cleaned up their act.

Again, GABF award mean exactly SFA. They actually are a joke.

Reply to
cg

What!? Just because Old Milwaukee takes a gold in the American Lager category? Sssshhhh....... ;)

nb

Reply to
notbob

You wanna try a double IPA? Try Pliny the Elder. Whoa!! Even I forgot about that one till this afternoon when I remembered and had one. Yikes! Talk about hops. The closest thing to working on a hops ranch in a bottle. (I know ...I did for 3 summers)

nb

Reply to
notbob

Umm....I only had the small samples of both at the GABF last year but...Pliny The Younger impressed me way more than Pliny The Elder. No slight on the Elder intended.

Reply to
Bill Becker

Don't tell your momma this weekend. ;)

nb

Reply to
notbob

Unless the definition of "case" has changed, 5 gallons of beer is roughly two cases:

12 ounces/bottle x 24 bottles/case x 2 cases = 576 ounces

There are 640 fluid ounces (US) in 5 US gallons, so you'd have two cases plus about 5 bottles worth.

Reply to
Joel

if you like Racer 5 then you should try Racer X (10)...that's not bad either

Reply to
wolfedennis

Hey! ...I said roughly. ;)

nb

Reply to
notbob

I've had so many IPAs that I'm almost bored with the style. However, Great Divide's Titan IPA and Hercules Double-IPA really impressed me; those two I will definitely drink again.

Also I like Sierra Nevada's newish bottled IPA.

Reply to
Kenji

I like the Stone, but my favorite among what's available now is the "Limited Availability" Saranac IPA. Hops are our frineds!

One of my all time favorites was the old Balentine IPA, back when it was aged one year in wood before being bottled. The the bean counters decided six months was enough, and I don't even know or care if they make it since the sell out.

Balentine used to make a really good dark beer, just called "Balentine dark" anywhere I could get it. It was only on tap, and I might call it stout today, a strong ale with some caramel character but hops at the pale ale level, and a creamy head.

Reply to
Bill Davidsen

I have some home brew which has cellared for five years or so, and it has improved somewhat. But it didn't start with the flavor flaws you describe, and it ended being better, but not amazingly so.

Reply to
Bill Davidsen

I admit to having sampled a tad extensively from a veritable array - a BEVY, if you will - (Ha!) of IPAs over the last 12 mos, and these are the standouts (that I can remember):

-Green Flash IPA near San Diego (Apparently 100% better under their new whizkid brewer, and I believe it!)

-Pliny the Elder (a line from James Joyce: "My soul swoons softly." Incredible!)

-Racer 5 (now getting the street cred it deserves)

-Moylan's Hopsicle Imperial Ale (wow!)

...and the winner, acc. to my own buds...

-Avery Maharaji Imperial IPA (made me glad to be alive...hopheads: LOOK for this one. Trust me on this!)

-Honorable Mention: just about anything Stone has done.

-michael Berkeley, CA, Unistat, The Empire

Reply to
rmjon23

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.