If you’re an IPA drinker you’ve probably seen the “DDH” added to the name of some of your favorite brews. You might even know that it stands for double dry-hopped. What you might not know is what the hell that means. Don’t worry, it’s chill — there are way too many beer terms to learn anyway. Besides, we’re here to help you expand your beer knowledge.
As many drinkers know, when brewing IPAs, brewers add hops during the kettle boil portion of the process. This adds both hop aroma and flavor to the beer. Dry-hopping is when brewers add more hops during conditioning or fermenting to add even more flavor without any extra bitterness. Double dry-hopping is simply dry-hopping the beer two times. This occurs at different times to heighten the aroma and flavor at different points in the process.
Now that you know a little more about the process used to create this hoppy IPA style, it’s time to find a few to drink. To help us with this, we turned to the professionals. We asked a few well-known craft beer experts to tell us the best double dry-hopped IPAs to drink right now. Keep scrolling to see them all.
Fifth Hammer Solar Lemur
Joe Correia, co-founder and head brewer at Torch & Crown Brewing Company in New York City
ABV: 7.5%
Average Price: $7 for a 16-ounce can
The Beer:
Fresh is always going to be best for DDH IPAs. I had Solar Lemur recently from our friends over at Fifth Hammer which tasted great. The best advice I can give is to find a local brewery you like and grab the freshest one they have.
Tasting Notes:
This New England-style IPA is really juicy, fruity, and hoppy. It’s bursting with lots of mango, papaya and gooseberry.
Hop Butcher For The World Double Grid
Glenn Allen the head brewer at Pilot Project Brewing in Chicago
ABV: 7.5%
Average Price: $19 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Hop Butcher Double Grid is a great example of a DDH IPA. It’s bursting with tropical flavors with no shortage of dry hop. It is juicy but still has enough bitterness to keep you coming back.
Tasting Notes:
This flavorful, hoppy beer leads with big aromas of orange, pineapple, and mango with a full mouthfeel. All in all, a terrific IPA.
Other Half Double Mosaic Daydream
Josh Bartlett, founder of Learning to Homebrew in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
ABV: 8.5%
Average Price: $23 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
Although dry hopping has been around since the 1800s, we are currently living in the golden age of the hop, and double dry-hopped IPAs allow brewers to cram even more hop aroma and flavor into their beers. I’m always sucker for Mosaic hops and the Double Mosaic Daydream from Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn, New York ticks all the right boxes for me.
Tasting Notes:
This is an exceptional beer. It’s hazy, smooth, and an absolute fruit bomb. Mosaic hops impart great aromas and flavors.
Russian River Double Dry-Hopped Pliny the Elder
Zach Fowle, head of marketing for Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix
ABV: 8%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Double Dry-Hopped Pliny the Elder by Russian River. The standard Pliny is already legendary for its intense hop flavor and gripping bitterness; this version is dry-hopped twice during fermentation with about four pounds per barrel.
Tasting Notes:
This gives it a bright and pleasant aroma laden with resinous cannabis fading into notes of melon and tangerine. Surprisingly, the additional plant matter doesn’t add an iota of roughness to the beer’s bitter side. It remains squeaky clean and dangerously easy to drink.
Mispillion River Not Today, Satan
George Hummel, grain master of My Local Brew Works in Philadelphia
ABV: 7.3%
Average Price: $12 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Not Today, Satan by Mispillion River Brewing in Milford, Delaware is an outstanding double dry-hopped IPA. It’s generously dosed with El Dorado, Centennial, Mosaic, Columbus, and Cascade hops. It clocks in at 7.3% ABV with 55 IBU.
Tasting Notes:
It’s just a tasty hop explosion in your mouth and nose. I love how the hoppiness of the brew teeters on the edge of too much.
Hacienda DDH Closer Everywhere
Garth E. Beyer, certified Cicerone® and owner and founder of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
ABV: 7.1%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Hacienda Beer Company lets the juice loose with their DDH Closer Everywhere. This is the beer that launched this brewery and it’s still a tried-and-true brew today.
Tasting Notes:
This popular IPA is loaded with stone fruit flavors, a citrus nose-bomb, and a juicy-fruit finish. It’s a can’t-miss DDH IPA.
Weldwerks DDH Juicy Bits
Frederic Yarm, USBG bartender in Boston
ABV: 6.7%
Average Price: $18 for a four-pack
The Beer:
Weldwerks Brewing’s DDH Juicy Bits is able to generate amazing tropical flavors with Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops.
Tasting Notes:
The hops provide an enjoyable medley of papaya, passion fruit, peach, orange, and melon notes both on the aroma and on the tongue.
Hill Farmstead Difference & Repetition
Charlotte Herndon, taproom and events manager at Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing in Framingham, Massachusetts
ABV: 6%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Hill Farmstead Difference & Repetition. This IPA features Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops. If I decided to go for an IPA, I want to go for something extremely fresh that doesn’t hide behind anything. The blend of hops found in Difference & Repetition set the standard for the band of brothers found in a solid, hopped-up beer.
Tasting Notes:
The trifecta of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe delivers a balanced flavor profile tailored perfectly for a DDH beer.
Bell’s Double Two Hearted
Ryan Schmiege, brewmaster at Cascade Lakes Brewing Company in Redmond, Oregon
ABV: 11%
Average Price: $16 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Bell’s Double Two Hearted Ale is my go-to DDH IPA because it’s a showpiece for Centennial hops. This double IPA version of the classic Bell’s Two Hearted has much more hop aroma and flavor (and ABV) than the original.
Tasting Notes:
It has a beautiful malt backbone that supports the piney, resinous, citrus aromatic glory that are Centennial hops.
Invasive Species Protect Ya Neck
Dominique Trolliet, brewer at Wynwood Brewing Co. in Miami
ABV: 7.8%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Instead of naming any larger distribution breweries, I will say there is a local duo of brewers in Fort Lauderdale at Invasive Species that always deliver with their DDH IPAs. They keep their methods of brewing rather secret, but I suspect that it is their liberal use of raw materials that delivers the quality. One of their best is called Protect Ya Neck. It’s double dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic hops.
Tasting Notes:
This hazy, DDH IPA is known for its juicy, fruity, and tropical fruit flavors with a floral, herbal, citrus-centric finish.
Little Willow Unmarked Trail
Rob Day, vice president of marketing for Jack’s Abby in Framingham, Massachusetts
ABV: 7.7%
Average Price: $18 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans
The Beer:
I’m going to go super local with Little Willow Unmarked Trail. They are a newer outfit, and this style rarely surprises me anymore, but from the first sip, this was bursting with great fruit flavors and pure balance. The best part? This beer isn’t even double dry-hopped. They take it one step further and triple dry-hop it.
Tasting Notes:
Everything was in order from malt, to sweetness, to hops to booze. If you get a chance to try this great example of a double dry-hopped IPA, you definitely should.
