Dogfish Head Claims Its New IPA Is the Most Bitter Beer Ever Created

Connor Green/Thrillist<br />
Connor Green/Thrillist<br />

India Pale Ales are like modern politics in the sense that they're both pretty polarizing, incredibly bitter, and kind of nauseating when you're exposed to them in large quantities. But whether you love 'em or you hate 'em, there's a good chance you won't even be able to stomach an IPA concocted by the brilliant maniacs over at Dogfish Head. The Delaware-based craft brewery claims its new beer is the "hoppiest beer ever created," and subsequently, the most bitter beer that's ever been documented. They even have the papers to prove it.

Dogfish Head said this IPA is so damn bitter that they named it "Hoo Lawd," which was inspired by the weird-sounding thing you'll probably exclaim after tasting it.

“It’s abnormally intense enough that it immediately leads to the abnormal spelling of words,” said Dogfish Founder and President, Sam Calagione, in a press release. "[A]s in, Hoo Lawd I can’t seem to stop myself from taking another sip even though this is DEFCON-one-hoppy!”

In fact, test results from two independent labs show that the beer clocks in at a staggering 658 international bittering units (IBUs), which is crazy, considering a typical IPA comes in around 40 to 60 IBUs and very few even come close to 100, according to a report by Grub Street. To reach this mind-boggling level of bitterness, the brewery combined Simcoe, Warrior, and Amarillo hops in CO2 extract as well as an experimental hop referred to as “Alpha Beast," which sounds like a font collection of scary-big capital letters. And in case you were wondering, it's 9.6% ABV.

With that said, Calagione admits it's "not for everyone," which is doubly true, seeing as it'll only be served at Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats in downtown Rehoboth Beach, DE for a happy hour event on Tuesday, featuring the Alstrom Brothers from BeerAdvocate and a screening of the new web series, “That’s Odd, Let’s Drink It." But you'll also get a chance to taste the stuff at the Extreme Beer Fest in Boston early next year, according to the release. Obviously, drinking this IPA will score you some major bragging rights -- if you can withstand the knockout-punch to your tongue.

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Tony Merevick is Cities News Editor at Thrillist and enjoys a could IPA once in a while, but thinks this might be taking it a tad too far. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.