Harpoon IPA was the nation’s first beer packaged and distributed as IPA, at a time when beers labeled as such were found only on premise at brewpubs. It reshaped the 7-year-old brewery brand when it debuted in 1993 and, in the process, inspired America’s IPA obsession. The reality, though, is that Harpoon IPA is a ground-breaking beer in a league of its own.

Harpoon IPA (Harpoon Brewery, Boston, Windsor, Vt.) - Nouveau beer geeks will howl at the fact that this crystalline, clean-drinking, distinguished legacy brand tops the list of best New England IPAs here in the era of juicy, unfiltered, overzealous hop bombs. He was offered $1,000 for the precious stash as he walked out the door. A friend of mine once scored a $90 case of Heady Topper, but only after lucking into a lottery ticket that allowed him the privilege of buying the beer at a Vermont general store. This hauntingly rich, iconic IPA with its distinctive dank marijuana aroma was largely responsible for launching the “cult brewery” phenomenon here in New England. Heady Topper (The Alchemist, Waterbury, Vt.) - The beer. Hell, it’s so lip-smacking delicious, it should be called Crush This Can.Ģ. But Steal This Can is breezier and easier drinking than many of the trendiest IPAs, including Lord Hobo’s own flagship Boom Sauce. Steal This Can (Lord Hobo Brewing Co., Woburn) - Big flavors, consistent with the contemporary hop fueled zeitgeist. Julius is packed with tropical fruit flavors and it’s made the tiny, remote town of Monson a must-see destination for craft beer aficionados.ģ. Julius (Tree House Brewing, Monson) - The top-rated American IPA anywhere in the nation, according to, which based its ranking on more than 3,500 reviews. Congress Street IPA (Trillium Brewing, Boston, Canton) - Intoxicatingly tasty Congress Street IPA, and its more muscular double dry-hopped big brother, each loaded with Galaxy hops, are two big reasons behind the Trillium movement that’s swept up Greater Boston beer lovers.Ĥ. Sip of Sunshine (Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Warren, Vt.) - A tropical hop cult classic that, true to its name, pours bright and sunny.ĥ. Santilli is the best of Night Shift’s IPAs and IPA knockoffs.Ħ. Santilli (Night Shift Brewing, Everett) - I knew the industry had reached an inflection point when I saw Night Shift’s taproom packed with blue-collar Bruins fans in Terry O’Reilly jerseys paying top dollar for trendy suds before a game just down the road at TD Garden. Keeper New Age IPA (Castle Island Brewing, Norwood) - A tasty and crushable IPA that departs from the hazy New England style, but still displays plenty of hop aroma and flavor. Burn the Ships Smoked IPA (Able Ebenezer Brewing, Merrimack, N.H.) - One of the most interesting IPAs in the region, Burn the Ships is brewed with cherrywood-smoked malts, imparting a delicious complexity on top of its distinct IPA hop profile.Ĩ. Oh, and it’s flavored with hops grown by small organic farmers across New England.ĩ.

The Juice (Peak Organic Brewing, Portland, Maine) - Marketed as a pale ale, The Juice displays all the hallmarks of contemporary American IPA, with 5.8 percent alcohol, 61 IBUs and a deliciously “juicy” citrus character. Loaded with trendy Citra and Amarillo hops, it packs plenty of flavor in an easy-drinking package. Melt Away Session IPA (Newburyport Brewing, Newburyport) - A rare session IPA that tastes like the real deal. But here’s our pick of the region’s 11 best, featuring a broad range of styles under the IPA umbrella.ġ1. There are thousands of IPAs to choose from across New England. New England IPA is intentionally hazy and dry-hopped with nouveau varieties that display tropical and citrus flavors. New England is a hot bed of the style, one of the first regions of the country to embrace IPA and now with its own signature version. Wherever you go around the world these days you’ll find upstart breweries pouring American-style IPA, which itself is a radical reinvention of the original, more genteel British IPAs of past centuries. Boisterous, hop-filled India pale ales have fueled the American craft beer movement and turned it into a global phenomenon.

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