50 Microbrew IPA's from around the world

Moylan's NorCal IPA

2013-01-19T16:06:00.000-08:00

Moylan's NorCal IPA is brewed in California and has a 6.9% ABV.

The beer poured a light gold color with a lot of carbonation but not a huge head. It had typical citrus aromas for an IPA with no hint of malt.

The first taste was horrible. I didn't like it at all. It seemed very bitter and had a strange after taste. The second sip was better, and the third better still. I ended up really enjoying this IPA. There were two other people with me and they had the same experience as I did, not liking it at first and then really enjoying it.

I give it 4.3 out of 5 hops!

AleSmith IPA

2013-01-18T14:50:00.001-08:00

This a very good, solid IPA. I would recommend this to folks that may not be real IPA fans as it isn't an over the top, in your face hops. It has a very nice balance and is very drinkable.

Alcohol is reasonable for an IPA at 7.25%, so if you are used to lighter beers this might give you a bit of a kick.

It pours a nice golden/copper with a small head. The citrus aroma is nice, but not too overpowering. The taste of hops is solid, but not too bitter, with a medium length after taste.

This is an excellent IPA.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 hops!

Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

2013-01-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

Stone never seems to disappoint, and didn't this time.

The Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale was a black ale, which I believe is supposed to be a type of IPA. I would say it was a cross between a stout and an IPA, with more IPA in the taste.

Alcohol is a hefty 8.7%.

It is a rich, malty beer with solid hops.

I am not a big fan of malty beers, but this had enough hops to get it right.

I give it 4.2 out of 5 hops.

Two Brothers Hop Juice IPA

2013-01-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

Two Brothers is out of Illinois, which isn't really know for their beers, but this one should help put them on the map.

Hop Juice is a a double IPA, with a 9.9% abv, so it is a real knock your socks off beer. Be careful with this one folks.

As you could expect from a double IPA, the hops are strong. They have a nice citrus aroma, but with a hint of dough or biscuit. The finish is nice an bitter and lingers for a long while.

If you like IPAs, you need to try this beer!

I give it 4.6 out of 5 hops!

Lagunitas Hop Stoopid IPA

2013-01-15T11:09:00.000-08:00

Here is another favorite.

Lagunitas has a lot of good beers, and this is no exception.

It is an 8% abv, which seems a bit low giving the high hop taste, which is simply great. It has a smooth initial flavor, followed by that nice strong lingering after taste.

I think you could easily down a lot of these, which will make you quite stoopid for an afternoon!

I give it 4.6 out of 5 hops!

Green Flash Imperial IPA

2013-01-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

I have enjoyed this beer many times in the past, and always love it. It is a great Imperial IPA.

The hops smell and taste is excellent, and from the aroma you know it will give a nice kick. The kick is from a 9.4% ABV which is pretty strong, so don't have too many.

If you like hops, you will like this beer.

I give it 4.75 out of 5 hops!

Franziskaner Weissbier

2012-12-11T11:15:00.002-08:00

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

2012-12-11T10:24:00.001-08:00

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

2012-11-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

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

2012-11-21T08:33:00.001-08:00

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

2012-11-05T15:17:00.002-08:00

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

2012-11-05T15:13:00.001-08:00

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

2012-11-05T15:11:00.001-08:00

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

2012-11-05T15:06:00.002-08:00

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

2012-11-05T15:04:00.002-08:00

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

2012-11-05T15:02:00.001-08:00

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!

2012-10-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

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

2012-10-18T09:34:00.000-07:00

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

2012-10-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

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

2012-09-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

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

2012-09-17T14:46:00.001-07:00

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

2012-09-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

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

2012-08-29T15:46:00.003-07:00

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

2012-08-29T15:41:00.001-07:00

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

2012-08-05T10:49:00.001-07:00

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!