Here goes. My top four IPAs to date:
- Goose Island IPA
- Dogfish Head 90 Minute
- Two Brother’s Heavy Handed
- New Holland’s Mad Hatter
Phew…that was tough! In my early quest for finding the most amazing IPA I quickly realized that there are three different styles. There are American, English, and Imperial of which my tastes crossed only making my quest all the more difficult. I finally realized that IPAs originated in England out of a need to preserve beer for long trips to India where its troops were located. The higher hop rate helped to solve this problem.
Goose Island’s IPA is an English-style IPA with minor American flare. It has a great pale straw color with consistent carbonation and a quick fading white head. I would suggest visiting their website to watch the video by Greg Hall (brewmaster) regarding this brew. Greg uses four hops two of which are Centennial and Cascade give it the American flare. The other two hops (Fuggles and Styrian) are more of the English variety and add a spiceier, woody feature. The two pairs of hops work will to compliment each other and balance out the floral citrus notes while providing a more rounded nose that is not as harsh as most IPAs. He only uses one malt which allows you to focus your attention on that lone grain. It is rich and somewhat toasty, but not a caramel toasty. Don’t worry; it definitely has a bitterness to let you know it is an IPA.
I found this beer to be very complementary in its use of ingredients and true to style. The aftertaste has earthy hop notes paired with residual pale malt tones. This is a MUST have for anyone who claims Chicago as home and highly recommended to those slightly removed from the Windy City’s reach.
ABV: 5.9%
Grade: A+
Thanks for solving the problem of what beer to bring to the in-laws in Chicago on Christmas Day! I love IPAs and can’t wait to try this one.
My absolute favorite IPA as well. Tom, spot on about the spiciness of this beer. With all the rage about IPA’s these days (well, especially on the west coast) I am surprised that this is not a more sought out or talked about beer. It should be. It is well deserving of its Silver Medal from this year’s Great American Beer Festival (English-Style IPA category).
Was drinking pitchers of this beer last night at a Christmas party downtown. LOVE IT.
Thanks for the recommendation for Christmas! It was fantastic.
Finally got a taste of this at Goose Island’s Brew Pub in Chicago. While I only got a ‘half,’ every drop of it was excellent!
Paired this with Indian food and was excellent.
This is the beer that changed my mind about IPA’s.
A+ indeed.
A+ A+ A+. Bought a six pack of this and there is one lone soldier left. I can’t say enough about this beer. And for anyone that has less than excellent views about Goose Island – this beer should change that.
Just had this on tap at Schuba’s Tavern in Chicago … never a bad pint of this stuff. It is so consistently good.