We live in a world of hype. A world where whoever yells the loudest gets the most attention. This is especially true in the beer world. Whatever brands your social media is flooded with are likely the first beers you’ll go out and buy. Or it’ll be the brands you know. Maybe you’ve gone deeper and read our lists of “the best summer beers” and the “juiciest hazy beers” — but even those can’t account for the whole, sprawling craft beer industry.
When you’re reaching for a beer, it’s hard not to get lost in the aisle or caught in the hype machine. That’s why it’s so fun to turn the whole concept of buzz on its head and talk about under-hyped beers. And today, we’re going to kick that off by highlighting underrated IPAs.
“It seems that so many breweries make too many beers today,” says Jeremy Allen, beverage director of MiniBar Hollywood in Los Angeles, when asked what leads to a beer getting too much love. “Liking one beer from a brewery doesn’t mean you will like their others. Just because they make one good one doesn’t mean their others are any good.”
The key — according to Allen (and us) — is to broaden your beer sipping horizons. Always explore new or underrated brews. To help you do this, we asked some of our favorite bartenders to tell us the underrated and under-hyped beers they love most.
Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing
Alfredo Arroyo, bartender at Joe’s Café in Santa Barbara, California
The most underrated IPA in my opinion is Sierra Nevada Hazy Little Thing. It’s a great IPA taking the world by storm and it’s hazy, juicy, and refreshing.
Civil Society Juice
Melissa Reigle, beverage manager and head bartender at Byblos in Miami
Civil Society Brewing in the northernmost reaches of South Florida and the Treasure Coast kills it. They can a lot of IPA’s, but the most iconic is Juice. Loads of orange, tangerine, grapefruit, a bit mango and pineapple give this IPA a very South Florida feel. A little dank pine gives this IPA a nice, dank, resin note.
Round, cloudy, and medium-bodied, Juice embodies the best of a quintessential South Florida IPA.
Goose Island IPA
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Reniel Garcia, bar director of Havana 1957 in Miami
Goose Island. Fruity hops are lively and playful, making for an interesting take on American IPA. A fun beer to drink. The flavors worked well together, and the beer was not overly bitter.
An overall great hoppy beer with a touch of malt that is well balanced with the hops flavor and moderate bitterness.
Funky Buddha Hop Gun IPA
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Nestor Marchand, director of food and beverage at Plunge Beach Resort in Lauderdale, Florida
Okay, If I have to pick, Funky Buddha Hop Gun IPA is approachable and local to south Florida. Other than that, it’s well-hopped and full of bold, refreshing citrus.
3rd Planet Dank Side of the Moon
Shawn Brown, general manager of Wine World in Miramar Beach, Florida
3rd Planet’s Dank Side of the Moon. It’s a great name and great packaging on a New England-style IPA. As it gets greater distribution more people will enjoy the good value of this IPA.
Founders All Day IPA
Seamus Gleason, bartender at Hotel Jackson in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Founders All Day IPA. It’s not drowned in hops and has just the right amount of citrus to give it the grip an IPA needs. Plus, it’s low in alcohol and highly crushable.
Rockwell Velour Tracksuit
Kurt Bellon, general manager and beverage director at Chao Baan in St. Louis
Velour Tracksuit from Rockwell Beer in St. Louis is my go-to these days. Stylish and smooth like velvet (almost), it’s as definitely as comfy as its namesake.
2nd Shift Art of Neurosis
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Tim Wiggins, co-owner and beverage director of Retreat Gastropub in St. Louis
2nd Shift Art of Neurosis is my favorite IPA. 2nd Shift in St. Louis makes some of the better IPA’s in the country and AON is one of my favorites of theirs. It is strong and piney without being thick and sweet and reeks of dank Simcoe hops.
Fremont Lush
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Jeremy Allen, beverage director of MiniBar Hollywood in Los Angeles
Trust me, it is part of my job to drink bad beers. This is seemingly not so with Fremont Brewing, so far I have been pleasantly surprised to be on a streak with their IPAs. Current favorite is the Lush IPA and the Space Danger IPA.
Writer’s Pick:
Revolution Anti-Hero
This super hoppy IPA is full of the likes of Chinook, Warrior, Centennial, and Amarillo hops. Yet even with all of the floral hops included, it manages to be well-round, clean, crisp, and highly drinkable.
