Franziskaner Weissbier

This is not an IPA and is a Weissbier (Wheat Beer).  I do like wheat beers on occasion and this is one I have had in the past and it is very good.

It is a nice light, refreshing beer that you can enjoy on a warm day.

If you like Wheat beers, you need to try this.

I give it 4 out of 5 hops for being  a good solid beer.

Shipyard XXXX IPA

This IPA comes out of Shipyard Brewing in Maine.  I have had their IPAs in the past and they are excellent. This brew had a 9.25% alcohol content, so it is very strong (as expected from a XXXX).

The beer poured a dark golden brown and had a strong malty aroma, along with citrus.

The beer had a strong, solid hoppy taste as you would expect and a long malty finish.  The malt flavor was a little strong for my taste, but is typical of such a high alcohol beer.

You should try this beer, it is quite good.

I give it 4 out of 5 hops.

Firestone Union Jack IPA

Firestone makes some pretty respectable beers, so I was expecting something big from this IPA.  At 7.5% abv it is right up there with some big hop brews.

The beer poured a dark golden brown with a good head.  The aroma was pretty malty, which was a turn off for me.  The taste was pretty disappointing with way too much malt for an IPA.  It was an ok beer, but if the bottle didn't say IPA I would have guessed it was something else.

If you like a good malt flavor, you should try this, but if you want big hops don't bother.

I give it 3 out of 5 hops.

Beer Republic XP Pale Ale

The XP Pale Ale from Beer Republic was pretty dreadful.  I have had some of their beer in the past and it was usually pretty good, but this beer really left me wanting more.

It was a low alcohol pale ale (5.5%), so I wasn't expecting too much hops, but I still over estimated things.  This beer was like drinking a Miller Lite.  It had very little taste going on.

I can't recommend trying this beer.

I give it 1.5 out of 5 hops.

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

This beer is from Rogue Ales in  Oregon.  It has a 6.5% alcohol so it isn't too strong and is very drinkable.

Overall this beer we quite nice.  Not as hoppy as I typically like my beer, but it was very nice.

It had a slight sweetness to it that came through in the aroma as well as the taste, with only a moderate bitter after taste.

This is definitely worth trying.

I give it 4 out of 5 hops.

Port Brewing Wipe Out IPA

This is a local brewery that is getting a great reputation that it deserves.  I have had this beer on tap and it is very good, but out of the bottle it was only average.

If you have a chance to get it on tap you should try it, but out of the bottle it is only ok.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 hops (on tap it is 4.5).

Lagunitas IPA

The Lagunitas IPA is  true IPA.  It was a bit low in alcohol at 6.5%, so I didn't expect too much from it, but I was surprised.

This IPA was pretty hoppy for only a 6.5% ABV, and it was excellent.  It poured a light golden color and had good hop aroma, with a medium fizz.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 hops!  You should try it.

Karl Strauss 23rd Anniversary Ale

Not sure what to say about this beer, expect yuk.  I didn't care for it at all.  If I wanted to drink bourbon I would just buy that.

I don't like Karl Strauss beers much anyway, but this was atrocious.  Stay away.

I give it 1 out of 5 hops.

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

I have had this beer on draft in the past it it was excellent, and the bottle didn't disappoint either.  Although it was better on tap it was still very good out of the bottle.

It pours a nice golden and has a distinct hop aroma that is mildly sweet.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 hops!

Anderson Valley Imperial IPA

This Imperial IPA had a strong malt tone in both aroma and taste, which was a put off for me.  The sweetness of the malt drowned out the hops and as a result it was a pretty muted IPA in my opinion.  Alcohol content was pretty high at 8.5%.

I give it 2.5 out of 5 hops!

La Chouffe is a Belgian IPA that is really from Belgium!  With and 8% ABV, it isn't as strong as other Belgian beers I have tried.

The beer poured a light golden, and was quite fizzy, so it had a solid head.  The aroma was malty, but with lots of spices evident.

I have to say that I really don't care for Belgian style beers, so take my rating with a grain of salt.

It had a decent taste and had lots of spice flavors going on.  It was pretty sweet, but with some hop bitterness to it.

Overall it was just OK.

I give it 3 out of 5 hops!

Hop Wollop

Hop Wollop is another Imperial IPA 8.5% ABV..  This one is from Victory Brewing Company in Pennsylvania.

The beer poured an golden, almost orange color.  It had great aroma with lots of citrus and some malt.

The first taste was a bit disappointing at first, but the lingering bitterness was long lasting and tasty.  The next sips got even better, and by the time the bottle was finished I have to say I really enjoyed this beer.

It is well worth a try!

I give it 3.75 out of 5 hops!

Maharaja

Maharaja is from the Avery brewing company in Colorado.  It is an Imperial IPA with 10.3% ABV, so it could be pretty dangerous.

The beer poured a nice golden color and smelled great.  Lots of citrus undertones, but the powerful of hoppiness was great.

As expected from the alcohol level, and the hoppy aroma, this beer had all the makings of a great Imperial IPA, and it didn't disappoint.   This was a great Imperial IPA.  I am not a huge fan of the malty flavor of the Imperial IPAs but this one was very good.

I give it 4 out of 5 hops!

Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial Ale

This beer was very good!  It was labeled an Triple Hoppy Imperial Ale and, as you might expect it was very hoppy indeed, just the way I like them.  It really tasted like an IPA rather than an Imperial Ale, probably because of all the extra hops that must have been added.

The beer poured a nice golden brown and had a slight head.  The aroma was a mild citrus.  The hoppy after taste lingered strongly on the tongue, but was never too bitter.

This is a very enjoyable beer.  I highly recommend it.  I give it 4.5 out of 5 hops!

Mein Nelson Sauvin

The Mein Nelson Sauvin was bottled in a very fancy and unique looking bottle as you can see from the picture.  I was expecting a wheat beer, or something similar but was surprised to find it a very good Belgian type of beer, but with very unique flower and honey flavors.

This was a very drinkable Belgian type Ale, although I don't think they call it a Belgian.  I am not a big fan of sweet beers, and even though this wasn't very sweet it was still too sweet for my tastes.  I would recommend you give it a try because it was very unique and interesting, and quite drinkable.

I give it 3 out of 5 hops!

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout

I typically don't like Stout's, but when I saw this in my 50 beers I just had to try it.  It was the Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout.  I was intrigued to find out if it really tasted like a cappuccino, and it really did have some distinct flavor of coffee!

It was a very heavy beer, so there was no way I was about to drink all 22oz, especially at 12% alcohol.

Even though it wasn't an IPA, I really enjoyed it.  The flavors were rich and smooth and it had that typical syrup like texture of a good stout.  Overall I would rate this at 3.5 out of 5 hops and recommend it to anyone  that likes a good stout!

Celebrator

This is a Dopplebock from Ayinger brewing in Germany, so I was expecting a strong malty beer, and I wasn't disappointed.  The beer is 6.7% alcohol, so it isn't too strong, but it is pretty rich, so I don't think you will be having too many of these at one sitting.

The beer poured a dark malty brown and had aromas of coffee, chocolate and malt.  It really smelled great! The taste was very good and it lived up to the aroma.  I think it was a bit more drinkable than I had expected since I am not usually a big fan of dark beers.

I would have to say that I really enjoyed this beer and found it quite refreshing, which is pretty odd for me and dark beer.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 hops!

Allagash Curieux

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Curieux from Allagash brewing, which is a bourbon barrel aged Tripel.  It is pretty high in alcohol at 11%, so I figured it would be pretty strong.

The bottle was a high end cork type bottle, like champagne and it was pretty impressive.

The beer poured a nice light golden brown and he aroma was a bit like a Belgian Ale, but you could definitely smell the hint of bourbon.

The taste was, well, interesting.  I am not sure how else to put it.  It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.  I was sharing it with several other folks and none of us were really sure what to make of this beer.  Overall I would have to say it was a bit disappointing, but only because it was so hard to figure out.  You should try it just to understand what I mean.

I give it 2.5 out of 5 hops!

Trestles IPA

Trestles is brewed by Left Coast Brewing in San Clemente California.  I have had some of their beers in the past, but never Trestles.

Trestles is a lighter IPA with a 6.8% alcohol content.    The beer poured a light golden with a good head.  The aroma was a light citrus with a good hop scent.

This IPA was very good.  I really enjoyed the strong hop and lasting after taste.  It tasted like a much stronger IPA than I had expected.  It really didn't disappoint at all and lingered on the palate for a good long time.  If you like IPA, you should try this.

I give it 4.25 out of 5 hops!

Drake's Denogginizer

Drake's Denogginizer is brewed in California by Drake's Brewing Company.  It is a pretty high alcohol at 9.75%.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this at all.  It poured a nice dark golden with a slight head.  The aroma was quite hoppy with a hint of citrus.  The first taste was excellent with a strong hop and a good after taste.  The second sip was when the malty flavor came through, which was pleasant, but not typical for an IPA.

Overall I liked this beer.  It wasn't great, but definitely worth a try.

I give it 3.75 out of 5 hops.

Idiot IPA

I had some pretty high expectations for the Idiot IPA from Coronado Brewing Company in San Diego based on reviews from some friends that had this on tap.  I ended up pretty disappointed.  It is a double IPA with 8.5% Alcohol, so I was really expecting a good strong hop.

It poured a nice golden hue, but the head was pretty excessive.  It was even just coming out of the bottle just sitting on the counter, so maybe there was something spoiled.

Overall it was barely drinkable and I poured most of it down the drain.  I wonder if they call it idiot IPA because you would need to be an idiot to buy a second bottle.

I give it 1 out of 4 hops.

Ranger IPA

Ranger IPA from New Belgium Brewing Company in Colorado was a very enjoyable brew.  It had a good balance of hops and citrus flavors.  It was only a 6.5% alcohol IPA, so I was expecting it to be a little week, but I was pleasantly surprised by it hoppy bite and solid after taste.

This was a very nice smooth IPA.

I give it 4 out of 5 hops!

Pursuit of Hoppiness

I just finished having a Pursuit of Hoppiness from Grand Teton Brewing Company and it was great.  It isn't even an IPA, but is an American red ale.

Poured into the glass it was clearly a red ale, but the aroma and taste were akin to a double IPA.  This beer did have the reminiscent flavors of a red ale, but on top of that it had some great hops!  Alcohol content was at 9%, so I expected some hops, but not as much as I got.  This was an excellent beer and I highly recommend you try it.

It went down smooth and had a great after taste.  I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this beer.

4.5 out of 5 hops!

Rubicon IPA

Rubicon IPA is from Rubicon Brewing company in California.  It is a light IPA, only 6.5% alcohol so I wasn't expecting too much from this beer.  Unfortunately my expectations were still too high.  This beer shouldn't even be called an IPA.  It tasted more like a Miller Light.

It had a slight hoppy taste, but it was barely evident.  It also was a very fizzy beer and light in color (like a light beer).

If you are looking for a slight step up from a light beer then you may like this, but if you are a serious IPA drinker then you should just leave this on the shelf.

2.5 out of 5 hops.

Firestone Double Jack

Firestone beers are usually very good, and this beer was no exception.  Overall it had a good, balanced taste to it although I found it a bit heavy.

The aroma had a distinct citrus nose to it and the taste followed that nicely. I didn't find it very hoppy, but it did have a little bite to it, with a decent lasting after taste.

It poured form a 22oz bottle, and was heavy enough that one bottle was more than enough for me.  The 9.5% alcohol  content wasn't too strong for a double IPA, but the heaviness of the beer made it very filling.

Overall it is a good beer worth trying.

I give it 3.75 out of 5 hops.

Leafer Madness

Leafer Madness is from the Beer Valley Brewing Company in Oregon.  It was a double IPA and I think this is one of the best IPAs around and highly recommend that you try it.

It has a very good bitter taste that lasted a good long while.  It wasn't at all abrasive and at 9% alcohol content is very drinkable.  This was fairly light and you could easily drink several of these without getting overly full.

I was not expecting such an exceptional IPA given the name, which seemed like just a good joke.

I give this IPA 4.75 out of 5 hops!  Go get one!

Allagash Tripel Belgian Ale

I am not a big Belgian Ale fan, so it isn't a surprise that I didn't like this beer.  There were others with me that also tasted it, and actually like Belgian Ale and they also didn't like it.

I think we threw out pretty much the whole bottle it was so bad.

I give it 0 out of 5 hops.

Stay away from this one.

Moylander Double IPA

The Moylander Double IPA had the appearance of a cloudy, unfiltered beer.  It was a fairly dark amber color, and had a semi-sweet smell.

The first taste of the beer was pure hops!  It really hit you pretty hard, but it finished pretty smooth.  I thought that the bitter taste lasted a good while, but a few of my fellow samplers disagreed and thought it ended too abruptly.

The alcohol content was a solid 8.5%, as you would probably expect from a double IPA.

Overall I really liked this beer and would recommend it for anyone that really likes a strong hop.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 hops!

Rampage Imperial IPA

The Rampage Imperial IPA is from the Black Diamond Brewing company.   The aroma of this IPA was pretty sweet smelling to me.  The smell of citrus was a bit of a put off to be honest.

The first sip was very different from the aroma.  I had no taste of citrus at all, but mostly pure bitterness from the hops.  The lingering hops on the tongue was a bit overpowering.  The second sip didn't fair much better and I found the beer to have little redeeming qualities for taste.

The alcohol was quite high at 9%.  I didn't care for this beer much at all, even though I typically enjoy a very hoppy beer.  Perhaps it was just a bad bottle.

I only can give it 2.5 out of 5 hops.

Racer 5

Ok, this is another old standby favorite.  Although I really like this beer, the draught seems much better than the bottle.  The beer has a bit of a sweetness too it that other IPA's don't seem to have, but it is a good sweet taste.  The bottle seemed a little more citrus than the on tap, but not too much that it ruined the balance.

It has a good hop finish, but not overly so, so even non-IPA drinkers will like this beer.  Alcohol is 7%, so it isn't too high, especially for an IPA.

I give it 4.25 out of 5 hops.

Coronado Brewing -- Islander IPA

Coronado Brewing is another local company here in San Diego.  The Islander IPA was very nice and smooth.  It had a very citrus taste with a strong hop finish.  The seemed to be quite a bit of carbonation to this beer.

Alcohol content wasn't too high at 7%, so it is a good drinkable beer.   The balance of citrus versus hops wasn't great in my opinion, with a little too much citrus for my taste.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 hops.

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

This is an Imperial Stout brewed in Denmark.  If you like stouts, I think you will enjoy this beer.  I am not a big stout fan, so it isn't going to make my favorite list.  The beer was very rich, smooth and velvety.  The aroma was a strong coffee/mocha and the flavor pretty much matched the aroma.  The alcohol content was 7.7%, so it is a fairly strong beer, but it was so rich that I couldn't finish the whole beer.

Since I don't really care for stouts I won't rate it.  Looking at some other comments online it seems like people that enjoy stout really like this beer.

Port Brewing Mongo IPA

Port Brewing always has some great IPAs and this is no exception.  I always find that they have that strong hop flavor that I like and the Mongo didn't disappoint.  The Mongo IPA had a very strong hoppy flavor along with a citrus flavor that was very nice.  The alcohol content is pretty high at 8.5%, so you need to watch your intake. 

I highly recommend this beer.  If you don't like a strong hop taste, this beer isn't for you, but if you do you need to go and pick up a few. 

I give it 4.75 out 5 hops!

Stone Ruination IPA

Well I happened to pick a great beer that I have been enjoying for years!  My random selection of a Stone Ruination IPA was a great surprise.  All Stone beers have a great consistency and are always excellent.  The Ruination IPA is no exception.

It has a terrific hoppy taste with a smooth finish.  The 7.7% alcohol isn't too high for such a hoppy beer.  Drinking the Ruination IPA was like saying hello to a friend I haven't seen in a while.

The only regret with this beer was that it was out of a bottle rather than the tap.  I just think the keg has a little better flavor for some reason.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 hops!

Hermitage Brewing Company H-Series single hop IPA

This beer was made using Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand.  Here is a link to more information on that particular hops: http://www.nzhops.co.nz/varieties/pdf/nelson_sauvin.pdf.

Hermitage Brewing Company is based in San Jose California.  This is the first beer I have tried from this brewery, and overall I would say it was a very well made beer.  It wasn't a typical IPA, possibly due to the single hop choice, and had a lot more sweetness to it than I expected.  After a little research it seems that this is typical for this variety of hops.  The beer has a 7% alcohol content, so it isn't too strong so drinking 22oz (the size of the bottle) isn't a big issue.

I think it was a good beer, but not a great IPA.  Once again this goes to my taste for very hoppy, less sweet beer.

I would recommend that you give this beer a try as it was tasty and very drinkable.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 hops.

Alaskan IPA

Week three in the quest for the perfect IPA, and the Alaskan IPA will probably be a contender.  This was an excellent IPA.  The beer had a great hoppy taste, but remained light and smooth through the finish.  The alcohol content wasn't too high at 6.2% either.  The Alaskan Brewing Company makes a great IPA.  I highly recommend it!

I give it 5 hops!

Here is a link to the Brewery website:  http://www.alaskanbeer.com/our-brew/year-round-beers/ipa.html

Beer #2 -- Widmer Brothers Nelson Imperial IPA

This beer is brewed in Portland Oregon.  The nose on this beer was very light for an Imperial IPA, but it was a dark amber color and rich to the taste.  It wasn't as hoppy as I had expected and it had a sweet after taste. It was a bit on the heavier side too.   I enjoyed the Nelson Imperial IPA, but it won't make my top 10 list since the sweetness seemed to drown out the hops a bit too much for my taste.

I give it 3 hops!

Beer #1 Chouffe -- Triple IPA

This beer is from Belgium and it a triple IPA.  It was 9% alcohol, so it is pretty strong.   I really enjoyed this IPA.  It was very smooth, hoppy, and had a typical Belgian Ale finish.  You couldn't tell that it was a 9% alcohol beer at all, so you need to be really careful.  The triple hops, 3 kinds, were blended perfectly.  This is a beer that you can really enjoy, just don't drink too many!

I give it five hops!

I was fortunate to recieve 50 IPA's from around the world from some very dear friends for my birthday and want to share my views on each one over the course of the next year as I sample them all. 

My taste in beer tends to be on the very hoppy side, so keep that in mind as you read my posts for each one.

Below is a picture of the awesome display of all 50!