Each week on the Tavour app, we highlight top-notch beers from independent craft breweries across the U.S. — and sometimes even from abroad! Here are just a few of the sought-after IPAs we shared with beer lovers recently. Have you scheduled your beer delivery yet? 

Toppling Goliath Brewing Co - Fire, Skulls & Money - New England IPA

You might not be able to crack a whip like Harrison Ford, but Fire, Skulls & Money is a treasure trove of hoppy gold just waiting to be discovered by a fearless adventurer like you!

With its Indiana Jones-esque can art and the full, tropical berry power of Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, and Nelson Hops, scoring this highly rated Hazy IPA from Toppling Goliath is like finding the Lost Ark. 

But, should you take the fruity loot, be warned: any pilfering pals of yours may try to replace your stash with a bag of sand and sneak off with your cans.

People like @DaveMaciolek21 would be willing to go the extra mile for a can, seeing as Fire, Skulls & Money is “A must-have for IPA lovers.” @Wasatch in Colorado describes the juicy sipper as “Orange Julius! Addictive! MilkShake!” 

The beer geeks at October Mag sum up the worthiness of this beer well: “Fire, Skulls & Money doesn’t give a damn how you grade it, so long as you recognize its greatness.”

Once you’ve cracked into a can of your own, that will be plain to see. From the moment the seal breaks, lemony mint aromas spew out, overlapping with juicy, sweet blueberry notes. Hints of mango nectar dribble throughout the 7.2% ABV pour, while flavors of resinous grapefruit and navel orange spill across the taste buds and leave a lingering, citrusy sweetness. 

Junkyard Brewing Company - The Wolf - Imperial New England IPA

This beer solves problems. That’s why the crew at Junkyard named it after The Wolf — Harvey Keitel’s fast-talking, problem-solving character from Pulp Fiction. 

You know, the guy who shows up in a tux at 8:30 AM to help Jules and Vincent clean up an *extremely* messy car at Quentin Tarantino’s house.

And honestly, if you find yourself in that kind of situation, beer probably can’t fix it. But, this giant, 25 oz can of 100% Galaxy-hopped goodness will help you out of plenty of other jams such as:

  • Washing down a tasty burger. Even if it’s not a Big Kahuna Burger, the pineapple notes in this brew will make it taste Hawaiian.
  • Replacing a 5 dollar shake. A shake is just milk and ice cream (they don’t put booze in it or nothin’) and this Imperial IPA comes with a 8.5% ABV.
  • Taking the edge off after you recover your gangster boss’ stolen briefcase, only to have diner thieves try to steal it AGAIN. 

Hopefully, you’ll never have to do anything like that last one, but if you do, the fresh peach and tangy OJ flavors in this brew would probably help calm you down afterwards. Its crisp, chuggable body and dry, slightly piney finish sure seem to keep Minnesota’s craft fans relaxed. 

They call this brew “fantastic and super smooth,” and “a delight of a NEDIPA!” 

Mirage Beer Company - A Ghoul - Imperial IPA

Getting a hold of the one-of-a-kind hopjuice from Seattle’s Mirage is like capturing Bigfoot.

Until now, high-tailing it to a local bottle shop was your only shot at a stash! Unless you already miraculously managed to snag a spot in their coveted bottle club, of course.

As soon as head brewer Michael Dempster posts a new release on Instagram, you can practically hear the herd of hopheads taking to the streets. They know that Micheal never makes the same beer twice.

That includes the measly 30 cases of A Ghoul DIPA we got here at Tavour. This two-man brew crew stuffed it with 6.5 lbs per barrel (2x the average amount) of Vic Secret, Galaxy, and Mosaic Hops! Each lusciously full-bodied sip swims with sumptuous layers of punchy, tropical notes, harmonized with a bit of raw gooseberry flavor — ALL from the “stupid amount” of hops. 

The mouthfeel? Smooth as silk. Thick as freshly-squeezed OJ. Softer than a well-loved sweatshirt. 

*Mirage took home three medals from the 2019 Washington Beer awards, including GOLD for Juicy, Hazy Pale Ales! 

BlackStack Brewing - Wavy - New England IPA

Strap in, and hold tight — this Hazy IPA puts the taste buds through a tsunami of sweet and tangy pineapple; swells of berry-mango; tidepools of velvety oats. This one’s a totally tubular, Wavy hopbomb!

That gigantic flavor rush comes from a far-out mix of Mosaic and Sultana Hops. Mosaic leads with fresh flavors of berry and citrus. Sultana goes big with HUGE notes of pineapple-chunk sweetness and aromas.

Wavy drips with such tropical lushness, it tastes like it was brewed right inside a rip curl, but it actually comes from somewhere even better: St. Paul’s BlackStack Brewing! 

BlackStack is lauded as a “Must Visit Brewery in the Twin Cities” by Buzzfeed, and one of the “Top 20 Hidden Gem Breweries of 2020” by Hop Culture. A craft created by this brew crew is not to be missed.

Tasty Wavy is rarely spotted outside the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Grab a can or two for some sun-soaked cowabunga vibes right in your living room, whether you’re landlocked or not! Surf’s up!

*The developers at Hopsteiner named Sultana Hops after the stunningly massive 17,400-foot tall Alaskan peak. Previous titles include Experimental #06277, Denali, and Nugzilla! 

Modist Brewing Co. - Liquid Citra Crystals - New England IPA

Modist Brewing hand-selected the Citra and Citra Cryo they used to double dry-hop this NEIPA. 

Meaning, the brewers carefully chose their hop stash, focusing on aroma and flavor qualities to get the best of the best.

They named the resulting brew Liquid Citra Crystals, which, if you ask us, is more than appropriate. Each sip is like a clear shot straight into the most flavorful depths of Citra Hops! 

The brew bursts brightly with the hops’ trademark flavors of tangerine, grapefruit, and orange. And, they’re accompanied by nuances of lychee and ripe melon – Citra’s more subtle flavors that are often masked in IPAs by other ingredients or, yes, lesser crops.

It’s all served up in a softer-than-kittens body, so the subtly sweet and zesty fruit flavors sip down even more delightfully. Hop expressions like this don’t come around often; are you ready to dive below Citra’s surface? 

*In addition to their stack of GABF medals, Modist snagged Most Innovative Brewery at the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild Awards, and 1st place in the Hazy IPA category!

‍

Further reading: