I am one that enjoys many flavors, so of course I like drink all kinds of wines and beers. Beer has always fascinated me in just how much variety there is, even within a specific type of beer, like lagers, wheat, IPAs, etc. I found an awesome IPA sampler pack from Sierra Nevada brewing (a very eco minded brewing company), which consists of their Torpedo, Atomic Torpedo, and Dankful IPA. First, what’s an IPA? Though IPA stands for “Indian Pale Ale”, it’s mostly a historical reference to the Brits’ colonialization of India, in which the hot weather there was unsuitable to brew beer. The solution was importing beer that was intended to survive hotter climates; it was hopped and apparently, it was enjoyed.
So, IPA is a generic term for any beer that is hopped. In case you don’t know, hops are flowers that resemble green pinecones; all of them have bitterness, but all of them are different in specific flavors they bring to beer. Just like how wine can emulate certain flavors (fruity, chocolate, licorice, flowers, etc.), hops do the same thing in beer (alongside the types of yeast, wheat, and fermentation process). Of course, there are different styles of IPAs nowadays, ranging from traditional IPAs, to extra hopped IPAs (often known as DIPAs, for Double IPA; they are far more bitter and sophisticated in flavor), and two distinct IPAs, Dank and Juicy.
Juicy IPAs are considered to be East Coast, with Dank IPAs belonging to the West Coast. As the name juicy implies, there is some juiciness to the beer, generally described as “packed with bright, citrus aromas and notes of ripe stone fruit”, which makes it ideal for IPA beginners. Dank IPAs are described as “resinous, piney, citrus (grapefruity)”. Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo is a Double IPA, their Dankful IPA is well, Dank, and their Atomic Torpedo is a combination of both juicy and dank IPAs, combining bright fruity flavors with resinous, bitter pine.