Hop heads unite! It's National IPA Day! Whether you like yours hazy, juicy, East Coast, West Coast, no coast... this is day for anyone who likes a little hoppy bitterness in their beer.

WHAT IS AN IPA?

IPA stands for India Pale Ale, and it denotes a particular style. All beer is brewed with hops, of course, but the IPA is brewed with an extra helping. Hops serve as a natural preservative, and the name "India Pale Ale" comes from beer that was hopped sufficiently enough to survive the long boat rides from England to India without going bad.

Amongst the masses, the IPA are arguably the most popular style of craft beer (although sours have been nipping at its heels in recent years). In honor of IPA Day, I called the most popular breweries in Utica Rome to see what they had on tap right now:

BAGG'S SQUARE BREWING COMPANY • 330 Main Street, Suite #1, Utica

"Awkward Bud" - Session IPA, 4.5%

"Dragon's Breath" - Mango Habanero IPA, 5.6%

"Zappacaster"- New England IPA, 6.6%

16 STONE BREWPUB • 1707 Oriskany Street West, Utica

"1 Mel" - Belgian Pale Ale, 5.2% ABV

WOODLAND FARM BREWERY • 6002 Trenton Road, Utica

"Principia" - Juicy, 6.2% ABV

"Clay Pigeons" - Pale Ale, 5.5% ABV

COPPER CITY BREWING COMPANY • 1111 Oneida Street, Rome

"All Mucked Up" - New England IPA, 6.1%

"All Spruced Up" - Pale Ale, 5.6%

"Polar Vortex" - Cold IPA w/ Lager Yeast, 7.9%

7 HAMLETS BREWING COMPANY • 26 Seymour Lane, Westmoreland

"Just One More" - New England Session IPA, 4.7% ABV

"Clown Baby" - New England IPA, 7.7% ABV

"Hop Soup" - New England IPA, 6.9% ABV

"Citra Smash" - West Coast Style IPA, 8.1% ABV

HEELPATH BREWING COMPANY • 122 Marina Park Drive, Frankfort

Cascade IPA - 5.5%

Rye IPA - 6%

German IPA - 4.5%

Tropical IPA - 5.7%

AND DON'T FORGET SARANAC

And of course, if you can't make it out to one of the above tap rooms, you can always head to a local market and pick up a Clouded Dream IPA variety pack from Saranac!