Columbus Beer Guide: How to find the perfect Columbus IPA for you
IPAs are the dominant style in craft beer today – a majority of breweries make at least one, and craft beer fanatics go out of their way for award-winning double and triple IPAs. But no two IPAs are the same. So while you may say, "I'd like an IPA," you might need help selecting the right one.
Thirsty for more? These brews are also sure-things.
If you like West Coast bitter:
Land-Grant's Stiff Arm (6.4 percent ABV, 54 IBU): Featuring characteristic West Coast IPA profiles: balanced but full of citrus and pine.
Wolf's Ridge's Luck Strikes Twice (6.3 percent ABV, 70 IBU): A bit of malt sweetness takes back seat to a melon and piney hop profile.
If you're all about the bitterness:
Smokehouse's Bitter Dan (7.9 percent ABV, 103 IBU): Named for Smokehouse's General Manager, this beer is continually hopped at every stage of the brewing process.
Wolf's Ridge's Howling Moon (8.2 percent ABV, 83 IBU): This aggressive double IPA manages a hugely fruity profile, too.
If bigger is better to you:
Elevator's Big Vic (8.6 percent ABV, 80 IBU): Named for Elevator's brew master, Big Vic boasts a huge tangy citrus hop profile.
If you want something easy-drinking:
CBC's Creeper (10.5 percent ABV, 100 IBU): This imperial IPA (and winner of the 2014 GABRF gold medal for imperial IPAs) is heavy on the alcohol but surprisingly balanced.
Barley's Four Seas (8 percent AGV, 120 IBU): This imperial IPA is packed with four hops: Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and Columbus.
Ifyou want a surprising sweetness:
Seventh Son's The Scientist (6.75 percent ABV): For every batch brewed, Seventh Son shifts one ingredient, whether it's the malt bill, type of hops or amounts of either.
If you live on the dark side of sweetness:
Actual's Orthodox Winter IPA (6.9 percent ABV, 44 IBU): This dark IPA balances a bit of roasty spice with musky hops.
Seventh Son's Lost Sparrow Black IPA (6.3 percent ABV): Named for a bird that got stuck in the brewery when they first opened, Lost Sparrow is dark in color but full of bright citrus flavors.
If sweet and spicy is your jam:
Barley's Rye IPA (5.9 percent ABV, 70 IBU): Rye imparts a spiciness to beer, which plays nicely with the Simcoe and Nugget hops in Barley's Rye IPA.
You like floral, but just want one:
Elevator's Three Frogs (7.6 percent ABV): Elevator's lead IPA relies on a strong floral hop presence.
CBC's IPA (7 percent ABV, 50 IBU): CBC is known for nailing the IPAs; their flagship IPA is incredibly balanced and a favorite of locals.
If you want fruity, but not citrusy:
Seventh Son's Golden Ratio (7 percent ABV): Balances its hop profile with kiwi, nectarine and a bready maltiness.
If you want fruity and citrusy:
Seventh Son's Willowolf (9.3 percent ABV, 100 IBU): A double IPA that piles on the nectarine flavor.
Knotty Pine Mirror Lake IPA (6 percent ABV, 73 IBU): Knotty Pine's flagship IPA is finished with Citra hops for a big citrus finish.
If you want fruity with a punch:
Pigskin's Undefeated (6.8 percent ABV, 65 IBU): Although technically a little higher alcohol than a session IPA, Undefeated is an easy sipper with a fruity hop profile.