Beer Style: Double IPA
Russian River Brewing Co.’s Pliny the Elder clone
Originally brewed to be part of a first-ever “Double IPA festival” back in 2000, Pliny has become the standard by which many modern double IPAs are measured. As with any hop-heavy beer, Pliny is best enjoyed fresh, while the massive hop aroma is at its peak.
Three Floyds Brewing Company: Dreadnaught clone
This unforgettable imperial IPA features an intense citrus hop aroma and a huge malt body.
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery: 90-Minute IPA clone
90 Minute IPA was the first beer that Dogfish Head brewed using their continuous hopping technique of adding hops throughout the boil. Esquire magazine has called it “perhaps the best IPA in America.”
Left Hand Brewery’s Twin Sisters (Double IPA) clone
A big, chewy, resiny, hop extravaganza. Not a brew for the feint of heart.
Hop Hammer
Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, California brews what is arguably the world’s best example of this style, Pliny the Elder. Despite the huge hop levels and higher alcohol strength, it is superbly drinkable. Vinnie very generously shared his recipe with the brewing community and just about everyone interested in this style has seen his recipe. The recipe inside, while a little bigger in starting gravity than Vinnie’s, is a descendant of his original.
New England IPA
Gordon Strong takes a deep breath and comes up with a hazy, hoppy, New England-style IPA
Stone Ruination IPA (1.0) clone
This recipe is for the original formulation of Ruination, a West Coast IPA that defined the style with resinous pine, a big malt backbone, and a lovely orange amber color.
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA clone
Sierra Nevada designed this beer to showcase their innovative “hop torpedo,” which is a dry hopping device that controls how much hop aroma is imparted into the beer without adding additional bitterness. This beer features a big citrus, pine, and tropical fruit hop profile.
Imperial Stormtrooper IPA
Foam Ranger Jimmy Paige took first place in the 2000 Dixie Cup with an Imperial IPA which he claims was more “like an American Barleywine at the time it was judged.” Aged approximately 7 months old at judging, Jimmy claims he named the beer Imperial Stormtrooper because “that was the only thing I could think of with the word ‘Imperial’ in it.”
Mike McDole’s Double IPA
Based on the Russian River Brewing Company’s Pliny The Elder, this recipe has two hop additions (Northern Brewer and Cascade), a higher starting gravity and a 153 °F (67 °C) versus 151 °F (66 °C) mash temperature. One of the winners of Boston Brewing Company’s LongShot contest.
Bend Brewing’s Hophead Imperial IPA clone
Bend Brewing Company’s 2007 GABF winning imperial IPA. The secret to a good Imperial IPA is dry-hopping. It can make or
break this style. It is very important to have a huge aroma that leads you into the beer, complementing the inherent bitterness.
— Tonya Cornett, Brewmaster
O’Shea Brewing’s Hop Monster Double IPA
This West Coast style double IPA is a topseller. It weighs in at 8.1% ABV, and, with over a 1/2 lb. of hops, the IBU’s register in at a whopping 141 IBU’s. This beer is very smooth with a nice hop punch and a great citrusy aroma. Let this beer age and you will want more!
