July 26, 2014
A few years back, I took on the very fun task of trying to find the best tasting IPA using the following guidelines:
1. Widely available: The IPA had to be well distributed and not limited to a local market or, worse, only available at a brewpub or seasonally.
2. ABV: The IPA had to be of the non-Imperial or double-IPA variety in order to qualify. The cut-off is anything over 7.00% ABV. Now, I am happy to include these "illegal" IPAs into the tastings for fun, but they would not officially qualify for a ranking in this project.
Basically, the goal was to find the best IPA that you could grab a 6-pack of from a decent liquor store on your way to a friend's house or to enjoy at home.
The Approach:
Each sampling session consisted of a total of 6 beers in 2 flights of 3 beers each sampled in a blind tasting. The winners of each flight were then blind tasted against each other to determine an overall winner for the tasting.
After sampling over 30 IPAs using the guidelines detailed above a few years ago, Stone IPA emerged as the ultimate IPA. For the 2014 version, the winner of each sampling session will be matched against the reigning champion. Let the fun begin!
Today's contestants
Flight #1
Sea Dog: Known more for their fruity beers, the Dog was the clear winner of the first flight. This is a full-bodied IPA, high in bitterness units, and a dry finish. A nice surprise from an unexpected source.
Hoppy Boy: An enjoyable spicy IPA with some citrus notes. Had a somewhat acidic aftertaste.
Hoplanta: The taste is dominated by the piney hops.
Flight #2
St. Arnold: Delicious! Very smooth. A classic IPA. The overall winner of today's event.
Peak Organic: A very close second. Great showing for this organic selection.
Stone Unapologetic IPA: This beer did not qualify due to its high ABV, and while it did place third, each beer in this flight was very tasty.
The tasters
And STILL the champion! Stone IPA wins again!!!
St. Arnold was a nice discovery, but was unable to dethrone the reigning champion. Yes, the Maple Bacon chips in the background complemented these beers quite well. Beer + bacon = good. :)
