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Hophead Thread


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There seem to be a lot of hopheads around much like myself so I figured we could carve out a thread to add recommendations/reviews.

 

 

I just picked up a 6-pack of Stone Ruination for $16.99!!!!!!!!!!!! Never tried it. Hope I'm not disappointed. Well, it's beer so I'm never disappointed but the price was a bit shocking :wacko:

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There seem to be a lot of hopheads around much like myself so I figured we could carve out a thread to add recommendations/reviews.

 

 

I just picked up a 6-pack of Stone Ruination for $16.99!!!!!!!!!!!! Never tried it. Hope I'm not disappointed. Well, it's beer so I'm never disappointed but the price was a bit shocking :wacko:

I haven't had it either but hear it is really good. Stone has a great reputation overall.

 

wiegie recommended a good IPA from Founders last week (Centennial) and Bell's Two Hearted is really good. Both are Michigan breweries so I don't know if they distribute in your area.

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I just tried the Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA yesterday and it is a pretty decent brew for hop heads. I think it is only available in the Sam Adams Summer Styles variety pack but it is heading for six packs this fall.

 

The Dog Fish Head 60 Minute IPA is still one of the best going IMO.

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Nikasi Total Domination IPA

65 ibus.

 

Nikasi Tricerahops Double IPA

100+ ibus.

 

 

 

Some Honorable mentions

 

Lagunitas IPA

Sierra Nevado Torpedo

Deschutes Red Chair

Deschutes Inversion

Elysian immortal ipa

 

I tried the "Brew Free or Die! IPA" from 21st Amendment Brewery over the weekend. Not bad.

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I could recommend hundreds of NW IPAs. On a side note, I spent last week in Jackson Wyoming and there was an awesome little Thai restaurant that had their own brewery, called Thai Me Up. Just awesome full bodied hoppy tasty beers. Their base pale ale tasted like an IPA, the IPA was great, and their "Imperial IPA" was called 2 X 4. Yummy. :wacko:

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I just picked up a 6-pack of Stone Ruination for $16.99!!!!!!!!!!!! Never tried it. Hope I'm not disappointed. Well, it's beer so I'm never disappointed but the price was a bit shocking :wacko:

 

Had my first one (and second and third) last night. Really good beer to be sure but not my favorite IPA by a long stretch and certainly not worth the price as something I would drink regularly. I guess the main thing that stands out is it's balance so if you like IPAs but not the bite that often comes with them this could be a good beer for you.

 

 

 

Lagunitas IPA

Sierra Nevado Torpedo

 

Both good ones. It's been a while since I had the Lagunitas but the Torpedo I tried last week and it was great. Liked it better than the Ruination in fact.

 

 

If you can get your hands on it the Sweetwater IPA is an awesome beer. Their 420 is the most popular and I love it but their IPA is one of the best I've had.

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Victory Hop Devil is always the staple around here - especially when I can get it on tap.

 

My step-son works near the brewery and usually brings me a growler of it when he visits for the weekend.

 

Other favs are -

 

Dog Fish Head 60 - 90 - 120 Min.

Lakefront Brewery IPA

Heavy Seas - Loose Cannon (Hop3Ale)

Great Divide Titan IPA

Troegs Hopback Amber Ale

 

Too many other ones I've tried in the past, but these are the most memorable or easiest to find (locally).

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Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster

Just picked up my first 4 Pack while I can...$9.99.

Imperial India Pale Ale: Double India Pale Ales are a strong, very hoppy style of pale beer. Also known as Imperial IPAs, these beers are essentially India Pale Ales that are brewed with higher amounts of malt and hops. While still relatively new, it is one of the fastest growing styles in the craft beer industry, and a favorite among “hopheads”.
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Russian River Brewery - Pliny the Elder.

 

flat out the best double IPA i've had the pleasure of drinking. 100 BUs and the color of gold/orange. not sure how far this gets outside of CA, but the brewery is in my backyard and i can get growlers to go.

 

good times.

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As I use to brew for Redhook, I love their Long Hammer IPA. One of the first and still one of the best and won't leave you having to take out a second mortgage. Had a sixer or three of Deschutes Inversion IPA also very tasty and strong.

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and won't leave you having to take out a second mortgage.

seriously--what the f' gives with some of the prices that brewers are trying to charge for their IPAs? Your stuff might be good, but it ain't that good. (This one of the reasons I am very content with my Founder's Centennial IPA at about $8-$10 per six-pack. I defy anyone to beat its quality to price ratio.)

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seriously--what the f' gives with some of the prices that brewers are trying to charge for their IPAs? Your stuff might be good, but it ain't that good. (This one of the reasons I am very content with my Founder's Centennial IPA at about $8-$10 per six-pack. I defy anyone to beat its quality to price ratio.)

Well, from what I've found, most of the ones that exceed that price point are double IPAs. And, well, doubles mean twice as much stuff. That's twice as much very expensive hops and twice as much grain. So, it should be expected that the price is higher. Now, it is entirely possible that is not someone's preferred style and therefore not "worth" the money. In fact, I typically enjoy a normal IPA to a double myself so gladly save the cash. However, it's not like they're pulling the price out of their ass. The beer costs more to make.

 

Of course, there are examples of dudes charging mad jack for a basic IPA (Mikkeller comes to mind) but I tend to find that all craft breweries of similar sizes seem to charge about the same amount for their basic IPA. Usually a wholesale price that supports $8-$10 per sixer in the stores.

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Well, from what I've found, most of the ones that exceed that price point are double IPAs. And, well, doubles mean twice as much stuff. That's twice as much very expensive hops and twice as much grain. So, it should be expected that the price is higher. Now, it is entirely possible that is not someone's preferred style and therefore not "worth" the money. In fact, I typically enjoy a normal IPA to a double myself so gladly save the cash. However, it's not like they're pulling the price out of their ass. The beer costs more to make.

 

Of course, there are examples of dudes charging mad jack for a basic IPA (Mikkeller comes to mind) but I tend to find that all craft breweries of similar sizes seem to charge about the same amount for their basic IPA. Usually a wholesale price that supports $8-$10 per sixer in the stores.

 

 

Well yes and no. Larger craft brewers could charge less because they can buy the same excellant hops and malted barley as the smaller more expensive brewers because they can and will buy more at a better price. Their equiptment and process is better and more refined cutting labor costs and time. Product the same single, double, triple, Ale, Pils, Lager, IPA, Stout etc. price point much better.

 

Believe me I love a small local brewers wares as much as anyone, and some are quite frankly remarkable. They just charge way too much for their product. Mostly from costs to them passed on to Joe Consumer and often too much(I'm afraid) from ego Heck from what I've found when they also have a place to sling some food along with their nector, that too is overpriced in comparison.

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As I use to brew for Redhook, I love their Long Hammer IPA. One of the first and still one of the best and won't leave you having to take out a second mortgage. Had a sixer or three of Deschutes Inversion IPA also very tasty and strong.

 

Just tried the Big Ballard Imperial IPA. It's pretty darn good. They are pretty proud of it too.

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Well yes and no. Larger craft brewers could charge less because they can buy the same excellant hops and malted barley as the smaller more expensive brewers because they can and will buy more at a better price. Their equiptment and process is better and more refined cutting labor costs and time. Product the same single, double, triple, Ale, Pils, Lager, IPA, Stout etc. price point much better.

 

Believe me I love a small local brewers wares as much as anyone, and some are quite frankly remarkable. They just charge way too much for their product. Mostly from costs to them passed on to Joe Consumer and often too much(I'm afraid) from ego Heck from what I've found when they also have a place to sling some food along with their nector, that too is overpriced in comparison.

Obviously. However, provided weigie is cool with $8-$10 sixers, then most of those smaller breweries are covered. In fact, the vast majority of non-Imperial IPAs that are available to me in this market come at a wholesale price that supports retail at or below $10. And that includes some small breweries. But not the exotics made by the small breweries. Obviously buying beer from a large, quality conscious brewery is going to get you more bang for the buck. But if you want to try something different, then you're pretty much forced to spend a bit more.

 

As for the rest, I did make a point of saying that there are exceptions. Sometimes they're tasty as hell and at least reward your splurge with an exceptional product (even if it's not so much better that you want to rush out and do it again). Other times, you're just left with a beer no better or not even as good as the stand-bys wondering, "What the hell?". Which puts beer in the rather unique position of being like basically every product you can buy.

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so I finished off the 4 pack of Lake Erie Monster this weekend. Just went to the store looking for another and sold out. Wouldn't surprise me if some local bar owner bought them all to sell. You don't see this stuff in bars.

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Well yes and no. Larger craft brewers could charge less because they can buy the same excellant hops and malted barley as the smaller more expensive brewers because they can and will buy more at a better price. Their equiptment and process is better and more refined cutting labor costs and time. Product the same single, double, triple, Ale, Pils, Lager, IPA, Stout etc. price point much better.

 

Believe me I love a small local brewers wares as much as anyone, and some are quite frankly remarkable. They just charge way too much for their product. Mostly from costs to them passed on to Joe Consumer and often too much(I'm afraid) from ego Heck from what I've found when they also have a place to sling some food along with their nector, that too is overpriced in comparison.

 

I think it more than just the cost of ingredients... because they are specialty brews, they run in smaller batch sizes too. As you know, the more malt, the heavier the beer, the higher the chance of a stuck mash. On the commercial level, that is a nightmare. So, with more grain, the smaller the mash batch size has to be to avoi9d getting a stuck mash.

 

This stuff doesn't use rice syrup like Bud. It's all from malted barley. So, a brewer has to do 3 runs of a triple IPA to match the volume of a regular pale ale. Then, because it is a specialty brew, yes, they tack on more profit.

 

I will say this however, 19 bucks for ANY sixer is a price I wold never pay.

 

Hoptical Illusion from the Blue Point Brewery is a good cascade double IPA around here. I wish some breweries would use more european hps instaed of the heavy diet of cascade hops that all the American micros use for an IPA.

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Speaking of IPAs that cost more than you likely want to spend, has anyone tried the single hop series from Mikkeller? To me, that's one that's nearly worth the price of admission because of the chance to experience the flavor profiles of 9 different hop varieties. Certainly not a session beer, if for no reason other than price.

 

My wife and I lined up 6 of them a few weeks back and I'm likely putting on a late night geek fest with them at one of my places sometime soon.

 

The Simcoe remains my favorite with Chinook being a close second. Nelson Sauvin was pretty, East Kent Golding was the least assertive. The Centennial and Cascade were fine enough but not really note-worthy.

 

Of course, speaking of price, it's still a relative bargain compared to wine considering the price to uniqueness ratio. Even at a retail of $6 per 12 oz, that translates to about a $12 bottle of wine. Which is a price point that may yield you a tasty enough bottle, certainly nothing truly unique.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Some favorites of ours.....

 

Green Flash:

Hop Head Red - a red and an ipa all in one

West Coast IPA

Le Freak - belgian ipa - interesting

 

Victory:

Yakima - it's seasonal but really good

HopDevil

HopWallop - packs a punch

 

 

The Dogfish Head's are all very hoppy. The IPA's are bordering on absurd.

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Think? What I like about it is that it's not over the top with the hoppiness. I can't stand that (I tried one called Moylands that was like that) or the trend whores who have this "the more hoppy the better" attitude no matter how much it is. :wacko:

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