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California IPAs you won’t want to miss

The Golden State is the center of the IPA universe

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Karl Joshua Bernal / Unsplash

Sure, they make IPAs all over the US and the world. There are roughly 9,000 breweries operating in the US, from Tampa to Tacoma. Still, any hop head will tell you California is the capital of the IPA world. As the birthplace of the West Coast IPA, the Golden State defined what we picture when we think of IPA: piney, citrusy, and more bitter than Rodney Dangerfield.

While the West Coast IPA isn’t the only type of IPA (there are others, including the popular New England-style IPA, milkshake IPA, and more), it’s arguably the most popular. It’s also one of my most divisive beers ever made. I’ve been drinking beer for decades, and there’s been more than one time when I’ve turned on the aggressively piney brew in favor of something lighter and less bitter myself. But, as the great Lloyd Christmas said, I always return to it like the “salmon of Capistrano”.

The origins of the California IPA

Stone IPA
Stone

The craft beer boom didn’t really take off until the nineties and the beginning of the aughts, but the California IPA trend began in 1975, when Fritz Maytag at San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing released the 100% Centennial-hopped Liberty Ale. Other breweries sprang up across the state, tweaking and perfecting what we now know as the West Coast IPA. Many of these brewing traditions were (and still are) centered around Southern California (namely San Diego.

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This includes such classic West Coast IPA makers as Stone, Bear Republic, Green Flash, Lagunitas, Firestone Walker, and Sierra Nevada. The latter not only created the American pale ale style with the introduction of the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in the 1980s but also paved the way for the flavor profile and hop use adopted by countless brewers in the decades since.

The best California IPAs      

   

Las Palmas in Palm Springs.
Mark Stock / The Manual

Now that you’ve learned a little about the history and appeal of California IPAs, it’s time to find some notable ones to add to your refrigerator for the spring and summer. Below, you’ll find some of the best, classic IPAs from the celebrity-filled West Coast state. Just so you know, while San Diego might be the IPA’s heart, there are great options from all over the state. Keep scrolling to see them all.

Stone IPA

Stone IPA
Stone IPA

There are very few IPAs more synonymous with California than the wildly popular Stone IPA. This 6.9% ABV West Coast IPA was initially introduced in 1997 to celebrate the brewery’s first birthday. It was such a hit that it eventually became the brand’s flagship beer. Featuring Magnum, Chinook, Centennial, Azacca, Calypso, Ella, and Vic Secret hops, it’s known for its flavor profile, with notes of lemon peels, fresh-cut grass, grapefruit, caramel malts, and dank, perfectly bitter hops. This is the type of West Coast IPA that others strive to be.

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Firestone Walker Mind Haze

Firestone Walker Mind Haze
Firestone Walker

If you want a hazy IPA from California, choose Firestone Walker Mind Haze. It’s brewed with torrified wheat, oats, house hazy ale yeast, and a proprietary malt blend. It gets its hop presence from Azacca and El Dorado hops. The result is a multi-layered IPA loaded with flavors like mango, lemon, passionfruit, peach, freshly-baked bread, ripe pineapple, and honeydew melon. It’s hazy and juicy, without any of the typical hop bitterness of California IPAs.

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Societe The Pupil

Societe The Pupil
Societe

If you only drink one California IPA on this list, make it Societe The Pupil. The 7.5% ABV West Coast IPA is brewed with a 2-row Pale malt base, malted wheat, and American ale yeast. It gets its hop aroma and flavor from the addition of Centennial, Citra, and Nelson Sauvin hops. This creates a balanced, noteworthy beer loaded with flavors like mango, caramelized pineapple, bready malts, grapefruit, guava, and dank pine. The finish is dry, crisp, and effortlessly bitter in the best way possible.

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Russian River Blind Pig IPA

Russian River Blind Pig IPA
Russian River

California’s Russian River Brewing is well-known for its Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger IPAs, but don’t sleep on the much easier to find Russian River Blind Pig. This popular IPA is brewed with 2-row Pale malt, wheat malt, and dextrin malt, along with proprietary ale yeast. It’s hopped with a blend of Amarillo, Citra, Cascade, Tangier, Nectaron, and CTZ. This creates a well-balanced, remarkable IPA with notes of caramel malts, ripe grapefruit, tangerine, wet grass, and delightfully bitter, resinous, piney hops. The finish is dry, crisp, and leaves you craving more.

Buy it here

Bottom line

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Nam Quach / Unsplash

By now, you should see how important California is to the world of IPAs. No matter where you live in the US or the world, you can thank the Golden State for that piney, resinous, citrus-forward, pleasantly bitter IPA you enjoy by a lake, on a dock, or at a sunny campsite. Stock up on one or more of the above IPAs this spring and summer. I guarantee you’ll be happy with your choice.

Christopher Osburn
Christopher Osburn
Writer
Christopher Osburn is a food and drinks writer located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He's been writing professional
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