I can tell you which IPA _NOT_ to drink: Ranger. I enjoy a good IPA as much as the next beer snob but this stuff is terrible. Dear New Belgium Brewing Company, lay off the hops, plz. Oh, and while on the subject of New Belgium, I don't like Fat Tire either. Waaaay too much biscuit malt. It's overpowering and besides the biscuit, there really isn't any character to it.

EDIT: Yes, I know IPAs are dry hopped and it's a hoppy style, I just think that Ranger is way overdone, as if it's hoppy just for the sake of being hoppy.

Hey, your tastes are your tastes. I had a friend use a pound of hops in a single 5-gallon batch. It looked like pea soup. When it was done, it had 3 inches of sediment on the bottom of the bucket (when one is the norm) and it was *still* chunky. Overly zealous hopping is definitely possible.

Quote: Original post by Myopic Rhino

Quote: Original post by ApochPiQ

Arrogant Bastard

It's brewed within walking distance of where I live. I really should try it.

Don't bother. Stone makes some seriously good beers, but Arrogant Bastard is not one of them. It's an endurance test, a way for guys to show off how "into beer" they are by choking one down and nonchalantly enthusing to their friends about how much they enjoyed it.

If you want to try a knock-you-off-your-feet beer which DOESN'T taste like sweetened hop sludge, try Paulaner Salvator, Dogfish 120 Minute IPA (not sure if you can get that one on the left coast), or Rogue Imperial Porter.

EDIT: Looks like they're now calling that last one "Double Mocha Porter".

If there's one thing I miss about Philadelphia, it's the brewery culture. Everyone and their grandma was brewing something in their basement. We used to make regular trips down to Yards to take tours and restock, despite its distance from school. Such wonderful IPA...

Quote: Original post by nsmadsen

Yum.

Why is it that all the good stuff comes from Belgium and Germany and we only export generic crap like Heineken? :/