IPA
Hops in the spotlight—bitter, aromatic, unapologetically bold.
The style that launched a thousand breweries. IPAs showcase hops in all their aromatic glory—citrus, pine, tropical fruit, dank resin—balanced (sometimes barely) by malt backbone. From West Coast bitter bombs to hazy juice grenades, this is where hops come to show off.
10 styles · Best in a Tulip
66 IPA beers in BREWTANICA™, each one read from a real label.
Styles within IPA
Each with its region of origin.
American IPA
USAThe benchmark. American IPA took the English original and pumped it full of citrus-forward New World hops—Cascade, Centennial, Chinook—creating something louder, brighter, and more bitter than its ancestors. What "IPA" means to most drinkers today.
Black IPA
USAAlso called Cascadian Dark Ale. Combines IPA's hop intensity with stout's dark malt roast. Born in the Pacific Northwest in the 2000s. Niche, divisive, worth revisiting—the contrast of pine-citrus hops against chocolate-roast malt is unusually compelling.
Double / Imperial
USAIPA with the volume knob ripped off. 7.5%+ ABV, massive hop loads, malt backbone to match. Imperial IPAs exist to push every dimension further—more bitter, more alcohol, more aroma. Handle with respect.
Golden
The label's one-word style: golden. The style guide's golden ale is straw to gold with light malt and subtle hops at 4.1–5.1% ABV; the one on our shelves, Sierra Nevada Trail Pass Golden, is a 0.5% non-alcoholic take.
Hazy Double IPA
Hazy IPA at double strength: juicy, tropical and soft-bodied, straw to light amber at 7.6–10.6% ABV and 30–80 IBU. Labels also print Double Hazy IPA and Hazy Double India Pale Ale. Try it with ceviche or a fruit dessert.
Hazy IPA
USAVermont's 2010s gift to beer. Heavy dry-hopping, oat and wheat additions, chloride-boosted water, deliberately unfiltered. Opaque, low-bitterness, juicy-tropical—hops in a smoothie. Polarizing, wildly popular, impossible to ignore.
Milkshake IPA
USAAn IPA brewed with milk sugar. Yeast can't ferment lactose, so it stays behind as sweetness and a fuller body, often joined by fruit and vanilla. The archives trace the style to a 2015 collaboration between Pennsylvania's Tired Hands and Sweden's Omnipollo. The style guide has yet to give it a page; its closest relative there is the juicy or hazy IPA.
Session IPA
USAProof that you can have hops and still have a second beer. Usually 4-5% ABV, full hop aroma, reduced body. Founders All Day IPA showed the category could be commercially massive. A gateway for new hop drinkers.
Triple IPA
The label says Triple IPA; the style guide has no entry by that name and tops out at imperial or double IPA, 7.6–10.6% ABV with intense hops and full body. Ours, Brix City's Brix Cubed, is 9.5%. Pair with bold cheeses and spicy food.
West Coast IPA
USAThe anti-hazy. Crystal clear, aggressively bitter, dank-piney, and proud of its ruthless dryness. Pliny the Elder set the standard. After the hazy explosion, West Coast IPA became a loyal counter-movement for drinkers who want their hops to hurt a little.