IPA Blind Taste Test: Our Panel of Mountain Bikers Picks the Best Beers

#13: Guinness Nitro IPA I was actually looking forward to this one since I’ve had nitro brews before that have been really creamy and delicious (I’m thinking of you, Nitro Dale’s Pale Ale). However, this particular Nitro IPA from Guinness really didn’t do it for any of our reviewers. On the one hand, reviewers enjoyed …
By Jeff Barber
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#13: Guinness Nitro IPA

I was actually looking forward to this one since I’ve had nitro brews before that have been really creamy and delicious (I’m thinking of you, Nitro Dale’s Pale Ale). However, this particular Nitro IPA from Guinness really didn’t do it for any of our reviewers.

On the one hand, reviewers enjoyed the creamy head, the smooth (but flat) mouth feel, and caramel / toffee notes. On the other hand, some said it was low on hops and had a rubbery, dry, latex glove-like aftertaste. Paul hit it right on the head when he said this beer has an “English pub malty” flavor. Not exactly what we’re looking for in an IPA.

#12: Abita Wrought Iron IPA

Abita beer is brewed in Louisiana and is known (at least regionally) for their Purple Haze raspberry pilsner / wheat beer. Their IPA? Not so much. Aaron wrote that it wasn’t a bad beer, but not an IPA (a conclusion that all of us drew on at least one beer during the tasting). There were definite notes of fruit, but a couple of us said the fruit taste seemed almost artificial, like JujyFruits or at the very least, dried fruit. More than one reviewer noted the beer tasted sweet in a good way.

However, notes of soy sauce and a stinky aftertaste didn’t do much to buoy this IPA in our rankings.

#11: Founders All Day IPA

Founders, out of Grand Rapids, MI has a loyal following in the midwest and beyond, so I was excited to include their All Day IPA in our test. To be fair, this is a session IPA so it has the lowest ABV of all the IPAs in our test, and it was the first beer we tasted. I actually finished off the rest of the six pack in the week after our test and really enjoyed this beer, though for whatever reason it didn’t poll well during our taste test.

Almost all of us noted the beer appeared slightly cloudy or turbid, and that the beer tasted fresh and bubbly. Some noted a bitter aftertaste and a slightly malty flavor. Overall, no one thought it was a bad beer, just that it was a little generic and boring.

 
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