IPA Showdown

Taken April 22nd, 2009 by The Beertographer

After the Cantillon/de la Senne event at Spuyten Duyvil the other night, my homebrewing friends and I decided to do a bit of an IPA style session. We grabbed 7 different IPAs readily available at the corner bodega (L to R above): Smuttynose, Lagunitas, Brooklyn EIPA, Goose Island, Blue Point Hoptical Illusion, Arcadia and Stone, and compared them all.

I came away finding it to be a close call between the Smuttynose and Stone as the best representation of the style. Both have a fresh, sticky-hoppy taste balanced perfectly with citrus bitterness.

It's all a matter of personal preference though, as Tim's #1 was Smuttynose with Goose Island coming in second and Jeff's #1 was the Brooklyn EIPA. In reality, every one of these beers would be an enjoyable quaff (I can't possibly be using that word correctly).