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- 15 Essential BC IPAs
If there is one beer style that perfectly encapsulates the innovation of the craft beer movement, it’s India Pale Ale. IPAs became all the rage when American craft brewers took plain old English IPA and cranked up the hops in what would morph into a style we now know as West Coast IPA. When the craft beer scene in BC first caught momentum, it was because of some impressive interpretations of this beloved style.
Since then, we have seen IPAs get juicer, hoppier, hazier, and wilder, with BC breweries making incredibly delicious interpretations of the most popular beer style in the craft beer movement. There is no shortage of IPAs to choose from in BC, so to help you enjoy the most interesting ones, we put this list together. We have a mix of styles, from West Coast to East Coast, from clear to hazy, and from citrusy to funky to help you explore the IPA spectrum in all its glory.
We’ve scoured review sites, taste-tested many and done the research with an eye to giving you a variety of IPA styles, including a couple collector's items.
Our review goes beyond just the taste profile. We discuss the types of yeast and ingredients, their effect on the flavour, and the history around the beer.
We’re confident that the list here represents some of the best IPAs this province has to offer.
House of Funk - Bootsy
This IPA will take you off the beaten track. Bootsy is fermented with a fruit-forward saison yeast and Brettanomyces before a generous dry-hopping with Mosaic and Simcoe hops. The choice of yeast makes this a farmhouse IPA.
Why have this IPA: To explore the effect of saison yeast and brett on flavour. Much more Belgian, much less West Coast in flavour.
Brewery location: North Vancouver
Container Brewing - Voyager
When brewing beer, the fermentation temperature has a profound impact on the final taste. Ferment too hot and you get a nasty cocktail of off-flavours. When Kveik yeast went mainstream, brewers were given the option to ferment much warmer, as this yeast loves it hot. The effect is a unique fermentation profile flavours. This yeast in this beer is complemented by dry-hopping with Mosaic and Ekuanot hops, balanced with subtle spicy notes from the use of rye in the grain bill.
Why have this IPA: To explore the fruity profile Kveik yeast lends to a beer.
Brewery location: Vancouver
Four Winds - Vexillum
This IPA has everything you’d want in an IPA. It packs a lot of hops to reveal Grapefruit and melon notes, finishing bitter, but remaining balanced. A bit of pine rounds this IPA out in a way that symbolises why this style became so popular.
Why have this IPA: An approachable introduction to high-ABV IPAs.
Brewery location: Delta
Central City - Red Racer
This beer may not rank exceptionally well on the beer charts and apps, but it demands our appreciation for what it was when it first came out. This was the beer out-of-province beer nerds couldn’t wait to get their hands on because it was bursting with incredible flavour in a way few breweries were pulling off at the time. To enjoy this beer is to pay tribute to some of the movement’s pioneers.
Why have this IPA: To appreciate the work of a pioneer and go back in time.
Brewery location: Surrey
Brassneck - Retrofuturism
This IPA was first brewed in October 2019, so it serves as a compare and contrast to the Red Racer - a contemporary take on the classic West Coast IPA style. In the typical experimental mode of the craft beer movement, Brassneck has evolved its original recipe. In the April 2021 version, the brewery added a new hop (Talus) and changed up the yeast. You could argue it’s a totally different beer now. Regardless, the new version has had rave reviews.
Why have this IPA: To enjoy a modern take on the West Coast IPA style
Brewery location: Vancouver
YellowDog - Play Dead
A consistent performer in the beer charts, this IPA enjoys strong distribution, which means you have a better chance of finding it on a liquor store shelf near you. In a world dominated by hazy IPAs, this one pours clear with a beautiful orange colour and lingering head. Notes of pine contrast the sweeter malts. In other words, when you just want to reach for a reliable IPA, this one’s your pick.
Why have this IPA: When you don’t want to overthink it and just want to enjoy a reliable West Coast IPA.
Brewery location: Port Moody
Boombox - Juicy AF
Boombox Brewing/Instagram
The first hazy IPA on our list, Boombox Juicy AF makes the list for its insane amount of Citra hops and mosaic hops. If you have ever brewed an IPA at home, you’d know that you *almost* guarantee yourself a damn good beer by using Citra alone. It’s an incredible hop and it gets a lot of space to shine in this juicy IPA. Careful though, this one packs a punch at 7.5% ABV!
Why have this IPA: To enjoy a wallop of Citra.
Brewery location: Vancouver
Studio Brewing - Embarrassment of Riches
While BC has no shortage of West Coast and East Coast IPAs to choose from, in recent years we’ve seen breweries blend influences from both styles, and this IPA is a great example. This IPA blends the lush juicy flavours of an East Coast IPA with hoppy West Coast vibes. In other words, a juicy, danky start, with a bitter finish.
Why have this IPA: To see how the style is evolving, with styles fusing together.
Brewery location: Burnaby
Superflux & Gigantic Brewing - Pretty Much Yeah
Let’s be honest, this list would be incomplete without Superflux. This brewery took the province by storm with its juicy IPAs and has developed an incredibly loyal following for it. In fact, it’s now common to have a discussion among beer lovers in which we ask ourselves, “if we exclude Superflux, what are the best IPAs in BC?” This one is a collaboration between Superflux and Gigantic Brewing and it’s a beautiful thing. Bright orange in colour, soft mouthfeel, and a whole lot of galaxy hops.
Driftwood - Fat Tug
If you could only pick one beer to showcase the Northwest style, Fat Tug would be the one. It is an intense cocktail of hops, featuring Cascade, Columbus, Centennial, Amarillo, and Citra. The result is an 80 IBU IPA that reminds us of the wonderful bittering capabilities hops can bring when used throughout the boil. You’ll get notes of mango, melon, grapefruit, passionfruit, and pine, on a clean malt bill that lets the hops shine.
Why have this IPA: To enjoy a BC classic that continues to build a fanbase after more than a decade.
Brewery location: Victoria
Superflux - Velvetone
Superflux
Yes, Superflux makes a second appearance on this list, but that’s because the first one is not a solo effort. This double IPA is, and deserves its place because it takes you on an adventure. The aroma draws you in with notes of peach, mango, and pineapple. As it warms, the aroma evolves to pull out herbal notes — that’s assuming you wait long enough to let it warm up. The flavour doesn’t disappoint, matching that original aroma with low bitterness and dry finish before leaving you with a peppery aftertaste.
Four Winds - Phaedra
There was a time when the fusion of Belgian flavours in an IPA captured our imaginations. It was a fleeting moment, but if you want to go back to that moment in time, this IPA will do the trick. This isn’t any ‘ol regular IPA, it’s a Belgian Rye IPA. Rye malt always adds a bit of zip and pepper to a beer. Combine that with the bold flavours of Belgian yeast and you get a beautiful combo of spice and hop. While Four Winds is no longer brewing this beer, if you can find a fellow beer lover with a couple bottles of Phaedra in their collection, see if you can negotiate a trade; this is now a collector's item.
Why have this IPA: To explore the effects of yeast choices in a beer; this is a distinct IPA compared to the options typically available on tap lists.
Brewery location: Delta
Field House Brewing - Pinot Noir Brut IPA
Here, we find ourselves with another IPA style that seemed to take over every tap list for a short period of time: Brut IPA was invented in 2018 and is the product of adding an enzyme to render a super bone-dry beer. We see it less often on tap lists, and that might be because many of them were frankly uninteresting. This one features pinot noir grape juice and is a great conversation starter. Berry, herbal, and floral.
Why have this IPA: To get an introduction to wine/beer blends and have an excuse to talk about enzymes. And since this beer is no longer produced, if you get your hands on a bottle, it’s a collector’s edition. Appropriate, given its wine connection.
Brewery location: Abbotsford and Chilliwack
Five Roads - Permanent Resident
This IPA won best-in-category at the 2021 Canadian Brewing Awards, which means it was effectively the best IPA in Canada. The judges were right, this is one delicious IPA. It’s a bit of everything we love in the style - lots of citrus, lots of ripe fruit, and that wonderful pineyness that made IPA so attractive in the first place.
Steel and Oak - Beep Beep
You’ll notice that the rest of this beer features strong beers. Most IPAs pack a punch, but sometimes you want the hop burst of an IPA repeatedly in one session, or just want something on the lighter side. This is where the Session IPA comes to the rescue. Most Session IPA usually fall flat and leave you wondering why you didn’t just reach for a pale ale instead. This one feels like an IPA. Fresh citrus in the aroma, a soft bitterness we’ve come to expect from East Coast style IPAs and straight up big taste for a small ale.
Why have this IPA: Because after sampling the rest of this list, you’ll need something light.
Brewery location: New Westminster
What did you think of the list? Any you’d like to see included? Let us know by emailing our team at [email protected]
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