What's next? Goodbye IPA, hello....

Hi HBT,

I know IPA's are not going anywhere, but they are the trendy beer of choice atm. I have much respect for the IPA and its history so feel the popularity is warranted.

But, what beer will take its place once its course has ran?

My humble guess is Saison’s and Hef’s. Followed by Irish Stouts.
Thoughts?

Brewmance said:

Hi HBT,

I know IPA's are not going anywhere, but they are the trendy beer of choice atm. I have much respect for the IPA and its history so feel the popularity is warranted.

But, what beer will take its place once its course has ran?

My humble guess is Saison’s and Hef’s. Followed by Irish Stouts.
Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I feel like saisons and sours are already moving in. sours are becoming the new "I'm tougher than you because I drink..." beer while saisons are becoming the standard pub anchor beer.

I hope its Hefs...while I like IPAs, Hefs are my #1 favourite and it would be nice to see as much love and attention spent on them (especially from US/Canada craft breweries).

But honestly, as long as ABV goes down I'll be happy. This "bigger is better" mentality is not my favourite.

(Obviously, huge generalizations above, but YKWIM).

It's probably regional. Hefs seemed to have already come and gone around here. Everything is an IPA. Go into a brew pub with 150 taps and 149 of them will be an IPA, plus Coors Light.

morticaixavier said:

I feel like saisons and sours are already moving in. sours are becoming the new "I'm tougher than you because I drink..." beer while saisons are becoming the standard pub anchor beer.

Click to expand...

Nailed it.

I dont think the IPA will ever die, people are always compeating, whos got the most hops and higher alcohol.
personally i would bring back the good old Ordinary bitter, warm and flat, I cant get enough of it. (old school Englishman here.)

I can see sours becoming trendy, but I dont think they have a strong enough presence in the market place to take off. Ipa's even before thier popularity were usually at least on one or two taps.

You're all wrong. The trend I'm seeing now are Session IPAs.

What's next? Goodbye IPA, hello....Vietnam?


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQFWAIFzoZ4"][/ame]

beersk said:

You're all wrong. The trend I'm seeing now are Session IPAs.

Click to expand...

you mean hoppy pale ales?

Saison for sure. They are delicious with wide appeal, lots of room for creativity, and low-maintenance fermentation (relatively speaking).

Also barrel-aged stout.

Barrel aged, Imperial, peanut butter, bacon, banana, maple, hop bomb ale. If purchased during happy hour, receive a 20% off coupon to H&M.




PS- it's sad when 5.2% beers are called 'session' ales.

morticaixavier said:

you mean hoppy pale ales?

Click to expand...

Yeah, no kidding. I think calling something a session IPA at 4.5% is pretty ridiculous. But they're tasty!

Smoked and or barrel aged seems to be showing up a lot lately.

Barrel aged beers and sours will never be mainstream to craft beer drinkers. Sure, they will be popular with a small percentage of craft beer people, but their price, limited availability, and production time doesn't allow them to really gain ground on something like an IPA. Compared to barrel aged beers and sours, most IPAs are cheap, very easy to come by, very fast to produce, and delicious.

I'm not saying that barrel aged beers and sours aren't good because I love them and I am a big fan, but they have a lot of things going against them when competing against an IPA. I don't even think the current production of those beers could last in the same market as IPAs. If people drank barrel aged beers and sours like they drink IPAs then the breweries would be out of beer so fast that it wouldn't be funny. That's what happens when it takes over a year to produce a beer.

I don't really see anything dark overtaking an IPA in the American craft beer market. That's just how Americans are with beer: light, dry, and easy drinking. A Saison would be a good transition, or maybe a Belgain Golden Strong. But as I see it, the IPA is currently at the top of the craft beer food chain in America with no real threat to knock it off.

Great debate so far!

I think Saison is coming into the limelight a lot more. I can see it taking over. I just don't think Hef's are going to beat IPA. I don't see it. Session beers are becoming popular. I think they should be REAL session beers though. 3.8% or there abouts. 5+ is just a regular beer. IPA's really screwed that up because a good IPA is 7% +-. But then you go to 8% and you have a double...

I would like to see some Farmhouse ales come into the light. Saisons, from sessionable to imperial, should make a good showing. You can do a lot of cool stuff with those and still be in style.

I wish it was stout. But that will never happen. Even the local stores with good selection here in PA have a minuscule selection of stouts compared to other styles.

I've noticed a lot more ESBs coming around my area as well as ordinary bitters which is really exciting as we've got a pretty poor selection where I live until recently. In fact my next brew is going to be an ordinary bitter for the spring/summer months.

Barrel aged is definatly trendy right now however limited due to price and availalbility constraints. Something has to enter the market to take IPA's spot. Trend's dont last forever, ask pogs and Slap braclets. I have seen an increase in Stouts at a few local popular beer spots, as well as some pretty creative Saisons.

I'm rooting for stouts however don't see it happening.

Barrel aged has been around for a while. You guys are still wrong. It's session IPAs right now. Founder's All Day IPA, Boulevard Pop-up IPA, Sierra Nevada Nooner Session IPA are the ones popping up around right now.

I dig the small beers that are popping up. I enjoy slugging down 4-5 with friends over an evening session. I dont like that they're the same price as the marquee models. At least shave a buck off of the cost.

Weezy said:

I dig the small beers that are popping up. I enjoy slugging down 4-5 with friends over an evening session. I dont like that they're the same price as the marquee models. At least shave a buck off of the cost.

Click to expand...

Now that is the rub with sessions. I know that beer is cheaper to produce so why charge the same amount as a 7% IPA?

sandyeggoxj said:

Now that is the rub with sessions. I know that beer is cheaper to produce so why charge the same amount as a 7% IPA?

Click to expand...

the cost of ingredients is only one relatively small part of the price of a pint to you, the customer. There is labor at the brewery, cooperage, delivery or overhead to the distributor, labor at the pint, utilities to produce the beer, utilities to serve the beer, washing the glass after you're done drinking to name a few. none of these costs change with the strength of the beer. With craft beer especially we are not paying for the alcohol but for the quality which is as hard or harder to create in a session beer as a stronger beer.

Wow, I love farmhouse ales.
I hope you all are right about their rise in popularity because that will increase their availability.

I sure haven't seen it in Southern California yet though.

I'm betting, much like a homebrewer's path. IPA's will get old after awhile and the malt will return. ESB's, Browns. That being said, IPA's are probably here for the long haul overall. It's been reinvented by Americans and we are a proud bunch.

IPLs have been gaining more exposure and popularity lately. The attempt to accentuate the hop profile by using "clean" lager yeasts and fermentation has merit, but personally I have yet to drink one that I think has really obtained the balance intended. I've not sampled many, but the few I have had I felt suffer from multiple personality disorder. Lager up front, IPA hop in the back. That said, I'm willing to try more because I love the hop profiles of IPAs, but I feel the need of many craft brewers to outdo each other in IBUs is unnecessary. Anything beer that let's the hops shine without overdoing it is a winner in my book.

Belgians. They will create a Belgian version of every style. I don't care for Belgians and I've been burned a few times trying out new beers. I'm just waiting for BMC to get into the fray.

b-boy said:

Belgians. They will create a Belgian version of every style. I don't care for Belgians and I've been burned a few times trying out new beers. I'm just waiting for BMC to get into the fray.

Click to expand...

They already are working on it. Have you seen the graffiti series from blue moon?

What constitutes a farmhouse ale (saison)?

CBC
Dc


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

hharborbrew said:

What constitutes a farmhouse ale (saison)?

Click to expand...

To me, it is mainly the ester profile. Spicy, a bit fruity, maybe a touch of phenol. Little to no "funk". It can also be enhanced with certain spices or a slight hint of tartness. It should be relatively dry as well. Usually with pilsner malt.

I think it's also a style that's pretty flexible, though. My favorite saison I've ever had is Seizoen Bretta from Logsdon Farmhouse Ales and I'm pretty sure they use some wheat malt; it also isn't super dry and is bottle conditioned with pear juice. Try it if you ever see it on tap; I would pretty much guarantee that anyone who likes beer of any style - from the BMC drinker to the IPA snob - will love this beer. It's one of the reasons I think saison is going to be the next "big thing" in craft beer; it has a wide appeal for anyone.

Weezy said:

I dig the small beers that are popping up. I enjoy slugging down 4-5 with friends over an evening session. I dont like that they're the same price as the marquee models. At least shave a buck off of the cost.

Click to expand...

Have you heard that Founders will be releasing All Day IPA in a 15 pack? And they're keeping the price the same! Or at least they're keeping the suggested retail price the same. It's up to the individual stores to follow through on that.

http://foundersbrewing.com/latest-news/2014/all-day-ipa-15-packs-coming-spring/

I've heard they're calling it the brewer's dozen, which is just about perfect.

Farmhouse ales = Dry grass + locker room

Halbrust said:

Farmhouse ales = Dry grass + locker room

Click to expand...

You would think so from the name, but no.

chocotaco said:

To me, it is mainly the ester profile. Spicy, a bit fruity, maybe a touch of phenol. Little to no "funk". It can also be enhanced with certain spices or a slight hint of tartness. It should be relatively dry as well. Usually with pilsner malt.

I think it's also a style that's pretty flexible, though. My favorite saison I've ever had is Seizoen Bretta from Logsdon Farmhouse Ales and I'm pretty sure they use some wheat malt; it also isn't super dry and is bottle conditioned with pear juice. Try it if you ever see it on tap; I would pretty much guarantee that anyone who likes beer of any style - from the BMC drinker to the IPA snob - will love this beer. It's one of the reasons I think saison is going to be the next "big thing" in craft beer; it has a wide appeal for anyone.

Click to expand...

Sounds good, Ill have to try a few. Any popular ones you can recommend?

Summer saison from green flash or sour apple from epic. Yum. I am a west coast IPA guy, but I love saisons too.

chocotaco said:

You would think so from the name, but no.

Click to expand...

The 3 Farmhouse ales I have had were not very good at all. They were just very bland. Never brewed up one myself so maybe I just got some crappy ones.

I also an not a fan of the heavy duty DIPAs and heavier IPA's either. I was into them when they first came into prominence but now tend to gravitate to the lower ABV, lower IBU, blonde, cream, amber and red ales. I started to get a wicked case of acid reflux badly these days if I drink very hoppy, high IBU IPA/DIPA which I did not have happening earlier in my IPA drinking days.

I still love a good IPA, but the more toned down ones.
The Chinook IPA from NB is still one of my all time favs IPA wise as it hits the sweet spot for me without the hoppy/bitter overload and it about as strong as I go IPA wise these days.

You guys are coming across this all wrong. The next big trend isn't a style of beer, it's what's IN the beer.

By now many of you know about "kopi luwak" kind of coffee, right? (Google it if you need to).

The next big trend will be using hops that have been digested by monkeys or elephants and then *ahem* recycled for use in beer.

"What type of hops are in that?"
"The usual: Amarillo, Simcoe, Centennial...."
"No thanks, I only drink beer with hops that have been eaten and *** back out"

Halbrust said:

Farmhouse ales = Dry grass + locker room

Click to expand...

chocotaco said:

You would think so from the name, but no.

Click to expand...

Not from the name, but from my love of farmhouse ales.

beersk said:

Barrel aged has been around for a while. You guys are still wrong. It's session IPAs right now. Founder's All Day IPA, Boulevard Pop-up IPA, Sierra Nevada Nooner Session IPA are the ones popping up around right now.

Click to expand...

Founders has been doing theirs for a while now. While session IPAs are great, I lump them in the IPA category. Same goes to IPLs.

I'm late to the discussion but last year I noticed Saisons coming into vogue, perhaps because people were realizing porters weren't the only thing you can add a ton of things to. I noticed that Michigan recently started getting Stone Saison, and if stone is leaving the hops behind on a beer they're shipping nationwide, then I think that means something.

I would love to see Belgian Wits not get treated like the saison since I love them so much. I've noticed lots of breweries doing wits now but thankfully they mostly aren't bastardized with lots of things that prevent it from tasting like beer.