Beer - I.P.A.'s (or your favorite)

[Cletus]

I am not a huge IPA drinker, but there are a few i like, including the DFH beers. Founders brewery out of Michigan makes a 12% IPA called the Devil Dancer, which is definitely worth trying.

My current favorite beers are: (this changes about every month)

Left Hand Milk Stout

Founders Porter

Bell's Porter

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

Stone Smoked Porter

Mac and Jacks (which i cant get, since its pretty much only available in the upper northwest around Seattle)

Goose Island Nut Brown Ale

Left Hand Brewery is a couple miles from my house. I can get Milk Stout on tap in a few places around town. I was going to mention it earlier but wasn't sure how widely it's distributed.

<slurp!>

[Stalebread]

While I lived in Brooklyn, I was a fan of Brooklyn Brewery, their lager and, around this time of year, I think, the chocolate stout. Now, being so close to Belgium, I’ve really been enjoying Trappist Ales and other Belgian beers. (Not all Belgian beers are Trappist, and not all Trappist ales are Belgian – one of the seven is from the Netherlands.)

At first, I was sticking with Chimay, Rochefort and Westmalle. But I’ve branched out and now include St. Bernardus Abt 12, Achel and others in my beer runs. Hard to beat Belgian beers but I miss some of the micro-brews from home.

And, most people think I’m crazy when I say there are actually some good French beers. Honest. La Chouffe (blonde) and McChouffe (dark) come to mind plus a couple of Biere de Garde like La Choulette Ambree and Trois Monts. Different thread.

[stargazer14]

don't miss beers by Victory Brewing, they make a Hop Devil which is an award winner,

and I love their Golden Monkey, a belguim type, alcohol fueled wonder which is the equivalent of tequila in brain response.

[Van55]

Found this bit on www.beerutopia.com

Beer 101: What is IPA?

August 13, 2008 by cliff

Filed under Beer 101

10 Comments

Skunk Beer. If you’ve never been unfortunate enough to have had skunk beer, count yourself lucky. If you have, then you know what the British were dealing with in the early 1700’s trying to get beer south around the west of Africa, across the equator, around the Cape of Good Hope, and then back north across the Indian Ocean to the British soldiers and citizens there demanding beer in Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras. Extreme temperature changes, and long, hot storage conditions cause beer to go bad- real bad. So, in the face of such pre-refrigeration conditions, the British brewers set to work with what tools they had- namely more alcohol and more hops. Alcohol is obvious, but hops are extremely astringent and are added as an antibiotic and stabilizing agent.

George Hodgson from the Bow Brewery in East London finally came to a solution by taking his Pale Ale recipe and considerably increasing the hop and alcohol content. The result was a bitter, very alcoholic Ale that survived the trip to India and was actually drinkable at the end of the trip. Hodgson became a legend.

At about the same time, similar conditions afflicted the trade of Beer to Russia, and a similar solution was found, only this IPA stood for “Imperial Pale Ale”. Soon enough, political conditions ceased trade with Russia, and most “Imperial” brewers simply switched markets to India, making the “IPA” acronym synonymous for either brew.

Eventually, breweries opened up in Asia, and ultimately refrigeration and modern storage removed the need for the extra kick and hops, but the brew still has a following, because some people simply like the taste! Even in its heyday IPA’s rarely went above 8% ABV, and today’s popular IPA’s are less than that, usually between 5-7% ABV.

[Van55]

I'm lucky. A couple of years ago I found a shop that is right on my way home from the office that stocks something like 500 different beers. Every Thursday the proprietors (the Aylesworths) have a beer tasting allowing customers to sample five or six different offerings of different styles or beer and ale.

I the summer I tend to enjoy IPA's and my favorites are Titan IPA and 15th Anniversity Wood Aged Double IPA from Great Divide brewery in Denver CO. An outfit called Lagunitas Brewery makes an exceptional brew called Hop Stoopid. I like hoppy!

In the colder months I enjoy a Belgian style ale. Brooklyn Local #2 and Brooklyn Local #1 are excellent on my palate.