Double IPA: 10-Beer Comparison Flight and Style Guide
Double IPA turns hop intensity into a complete strong ale, not merely a louder IPA. The best versions deliver saturated citrus, pine, resin, flowers, or tropical fruit while remaining dry enough to keep eight to ten percent alcohol surprisingly mobile.
That balance is the entire trick. Sweetness supports the hops, bitterness shapes the finish, and fermentation stays clean enough that the hop bill remains the main event.
At a glance
- OG: 1.065–1.085
- FG: 1.008–1.018
- IBU: 60–100
- Color: 6–14 SRM
- ABV: 7.5–10.0%
What Double IPA tastes like
Expect a very high hop aroma and flavor, with the exact character determined by variety and timing. West Coast examples lean toward grapefruit, pine, resin, and a bracing dry finish; hazier examples favor mango, peach, orange, and a softer texture.
Malt should provide enough bread, cracker, or light caramel to carry the hopping without becoming thick. Alcohol may add warmth, but solvent heat, syrupy sweetness, and abrasive bitterness are faults rather than proof of strength.
How it grew out of American IPA
American brewers in the 1990s learned that IPA could absorb more hops and gravity than convention allowed. Double IPA emerged when that escalation became coherent enough to feel like its own drinking experience.
Modern versions have split into clear, bitter West Coast expressions and softer, aroma-saturated hazy interpretations. Both work when the finish invites another sip instead of leaving a sugary or vegetal aftertaste.
Freshness matters
Hop aroma changes fast. Buy refrigerated cans when possible, check package dates, and treat brewery instructions about freshness seriously. Oxidation turns bright hop character dull, sweet, and sometimes papery long before the alcohol itself becomes a problem.
Ten Double IPA references and comparisons
Ten brewery-labeled Double or Imperial IPAs compare pine, citrus, earthy hops, malt support and finishing dryness. Original Hopslam and its 2026 Citrus variant are separate selections. Atomic Torpedo and the reformulated Hercules report bitterness below the usual 60–100 IBU Double IPA band; their current 9.2% and 9.5% versions are pictured and described explicitly.
Pliny the Elder
Brewed by Russian River Brewing Company
Pine, citrus and stone fruit over a clean, hop-led frame.
BAR NOTES
Pliny the Elder helped popularize Double IPA after its debut for a festival in 2000. The current flagship combines Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra, Tangier, Nectaron and CTZ, rather than relying on an old published hop list.
The brewery sells bottles and draft year-round and specifically recommends refrigeration and fresh consumption. This is the hop-led control for the family: aging away its aroma does not turn it into a better barleywine. Double IPA recipe planning focuses on that dry balance.
Heady Topper
Brewed by The Alchemist
Dense dank hop aroma makes freshness the central tasting question.
BAR NOTES
The Alchemist identifies Heady Topper as an American Double IPA at 8.0%, always available in four-packs of sixteen-ounce cans. Its defining brewery description emphasizes a saturated, dank hop impression rather than a detailed public hop bill.
Use the silver can as a recognizable contrast to the clearer West Coast references. Appearance and aromatic intensity do not by themselves establish a separate competition category; evaluate bitterness, sweetness and fermentation alongside the aroma. the different IPA branches helps frame those comparisons.
Hopslam Ale
Brewed by Bell’s Brewery
Grapefruit, stone fruit and flowers meet a substantial honey-supported base.
BAR NOTES
Hopslam launched in January 2006 with six hop varieties and honey. Bell’s current specification remains 10.0% ABV and 65 IBU, with a generous malt bill supporting grapefruit, stone-fruit and floral aromatics.
This is the original limited-time beer, not Citrus Hopslam or Tropical Hopslam. Honey does not guarantee a sweet finish because its sugars can ferment; compare the remaining body with the lighter finish of Pliny. dry hopping supplies a different route to intensity.
Citrus Hopslam
Brewed by Bell’s Brewery
Orange and grapefruit distinguish this edition from original Hopslam.
BAR NOTES
Citrus Hopslam marks a new direction twenty years after the original release. The current variant retains 10.0% strength while highlighting Citra and Nectaron, with orange and grapefruit impressions from the hop profile.
Compare the two Hopslams while both are fresh to isolate the aromatic shift. Bell’s lists this as a limited-time specialty in four-packs and draft, so a current product page is not a promise of year-round stock. flavor vocabulary makes the comparison more precise.
Resin
Brewed by Sixpoint Brewery
Resinous pine and unfiltered hop intensity with a clean finishing impression.
BAR NOTES
Sixpoint’s current green can identifies Resin as a 9.1% Double IPA. Its ingredient discussion highlights Chinook and Centennial among a larger hop blend, linking the name to pine-like, resinous aromatic character.
The brewery places it in its year-round range and describes an unfiltered beer that finishes clean for its strength. Taste the finish separately from the initial hop-and-malt sweetness; a bigger aromatic impression need not mean more residual sugar. American IPA foundations establish the starting balance.
DirtWolf
Brewed by Victory Brewing Company
Citrus and earthy hops lead a lean Pilsner-malt base.
BAR NOTES
DirtWolf combines Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic and Chinook with Pilsner and pale crystal malt. Victory’s current specification is 8.7% ABV and 85 IBU, with aggressive dry hopping shaping citrusy and earthy aroma.
The current range includes twelve-ounce and nineteen-point-two-ounce cans plus draft. It is useful beside caramel-rich imperial IPAs because the malt foundation is comparatively restrained; focus on how bitterness persists after the first sip. bitterness calculations explain recipe intensity without replacing tasting.
Maharaja IPA
Brewed by Avery Brewing Company
Citrusy hops and caramel-toffee malt meet at the upper strength edge.
BAR NOTES
Avery’s current Maharaja is a 10.0% Imperial IPA available in six-pack cans. The brewery emphasizes a dark amber color and substantial malt alongside intense citrusy, dank hops, making it a richer member of this flight.
At the top of Double IPA’s usual alcohol range, it provides a bridge toward American strong ale without being relabeled as barleywine. Compare the caramel-toffee support against DirtWolf’s lighter grain frame. American Strong Ale places that malt-and-hop overlap in context.
Maximus
Brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company
Pine and citrus ride a smooth wheat-and-barley foundation.
BAR NOTES
The current Maximus specification is 9.0% ABV and 60 IBU. Lagunitas names Simcoe, Cascade and Centennial over malted wheat and barley, presenting a full-bodied beer with a smooth finishing impression.
That current bitterness figure differs from older versions quoted elsewhere. Wheat can support texture in a Double IPA without establishing Wheatwine identity: compare the hop-first balance here with the grain-first emphasis of the wheatwine flight. Wheatwine explains the distinction.
Atomic Torpedo
Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Tropical fruit, citrus and sticky pine in a lower-bitterness imperial profile.
BAR NOTES
Sierra Nevada increased Atomic Torpedo from 8.2% to 9.2% ABV. The current edition reports 42 IBU and uses Cascade, Centennial, Magnum and Mosaic with honey malt and two-row pale malt.
Its reported bitterness is below Double IPA’s usual 60–100 IBU band, so it is a brewery-labeled imperial comparison rather than a perfect numerical match. Nineteen-point-two-ounce cans are nationally listed; smaller multipack distribution varies by state. hop extraction during dry hopping also shapes the perception.
Hercules Imperial IPA
Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Dank, citrus and floral notes with a lighter-feeling contemporary recipe.
BAR NOTES
The reformulated Hercules is 9.5% ABV and 50 IBU in a nineteen-point-two-ounce can. Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial and Chinook meet two-row malt, oats, white wheat, honey malt and a thiolized ale yeast.
Use the current green-and-white can rather than an older Hercules label or the separate Hazy Hercules product. Its bitterness is below the standard Double IPA band, while its strength remains inside it. brewing grains and adjuncts helps explain the mixed grain foundation.
How to serve and pair it
A tulip or IPA glass at roughly 45–50°F gives the aroma room while keeping alcohol and sweetness controlled. Pour gently, leave a little space above the beer, and drink it while the hop character is lively.
Double IPA loves salty, fatty, and spicy food: burgers, fried chicken, blue cheese, tacos, grilled lamb, and sharp cheddar all work. Bitterness cuts fat, while fruity hop aroma can echo chiles, citrus, and char.
Brewing perspective
Start with a simple, highly fermentable grist. Use restrained crystal malt, enough sulfate for the intended bitterness profile, large late-hop additions, and a dry-hop schedule that protects aroma from oxygen.
Healthy yeast and oxygen control are non-negotiable. The complete Double IPA recipe guide covers gravity, hop timing, fermentation, and packaging in detail.
Common questions
How is Double IPA different from Imperial IPA?
In everyday use, the names are usually interchangeable. Individual breweries may choose one term for branding, but both describe a stronger, more intensely hopped American IPA.
Should Double IPA be aged?
Generally no. Hop aroma is the point, and it declines with time. A very strong bottle may lose some alcoholic edge, but it usually sacrifices the freshness that defines the style.
Why can a 9% Double IPA taste lighter than expected?
High attenuation, restrained specialty malt, firm carbonation, and clean fermentation reduce sweetness and body. The alcohol remains substantial even when the beer feels deceptively dry.
Pick your next big American pour
Compare the family by hop weight, malt depth, and strength, or take a proven recipe into your own brewhouse.