Longhammer IPA

So I wanted to try an IPA to see if I wanted to brew one, and well.....now I'm not so sure after trying Longhammer IPA. It just doesn't fit my tastes. Maybe I just prefer malty beer.

What are your thoughts on Longhammer IPA?

bsay said:

So I wanted to try an IPA to see if I wanted to brew one, and well.....now I'm not so sure after trying Longhammer IPA. It just doesn't fit my tastes. Maybe I just prefer malty beer.

What are your thoughts on Longhammer IPA?

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If you're talking about Redhook Long Hammer IPA, then it's really a poor example of the style. Very bland with little hop presence. More of a light-bodied Pale Ale for the masses. (I saw on another site that the IBU's are 38.5...very low for an IPA but about right for a Pale Ale.) I used to buy Redhook brews years ago when there was little else available here, but I'd not buy any today unless there just wasn't anything else. I'm talking about their mass-distributed offerings of course. Perhaps they have some nice brews that don't see wide distribution.

You say you prefer a maltier brew. Did you find this one too bitter? Because if that one was too bitter for you, then you definitely wouldn't care for a true IPA.

It is pretty hoppy for a commercial IPA, I remember the first one I had it smelled like a sack of fresh hops. I prefer a little less dry hop aroma in and more in the way of just bitterness and flavor.

I like it, but agree with StunnedMonkey. It's more like a pale ale. Harpoon's IPA bears a striking resemblance to it. They're almost the exact same thing, actually.

As a hophead, however, Long Hammer doesn't measure up as an IPA. I prefer much more bitterness.

Actually, it was one of the first commerical IPAs widely available and I imagine was pretty extreme back then. For it to be considered a "poor example" of style is ironic as it was pretty much a pioneer.

That being said, it was the first IPA I ever tried and was the beer that had a larger impact on me than probably any other beer. It led to me trying and enjoying 50-100 other IPAs, including my own recipes.

DrewsBrew said:

Actually, it was one of the first commerical IPAs widely available and I imagine was pretty extreme back then. For it to be considered a "poor example" of style is ironic as it was pretty much a pioneer.

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It was actually completely different back then. Last year, Redhook switched to the Longhammer from their original IPA. The original IPA was MUCH better, the Longhammer is much more bland and lacks the hop pressence that it had before, and is a poor example of the style.

BarleyWater said:

It was actually completely different back then. Last year, Redhook switched to the Longhammer from their original IPA. The original IPA was MUCH better, the Longhammer is much more bland and lacks the hop pressence that it had before, and is a poor example of the style.

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Agreed, it used to be much better. I seemed that they changed the beer around the same time they starting using Budweiser to distribute.

DrewsBrew said:

Actually, it was one of the first commerical IPAs widely available and I imagine was pretty extreme back then. For it to be considered a "poor example" of style is ironic as it was pretty much a pioneer.

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Perhaps a better way to say it would be that Long Hammer is a poor example of the "current state" of IPA's, particularly West Coast examples.

As others have mentioned, I also think the Long Hammer IPA is much more subdued than the old Redhook IPA, but then it's been awhile since I've had that. It'd be interesting to try them side by side, but obviously that can't happen.

I had a case of Long Hammer here for an afternoon family get together about a month ago. The crowd was your typical BMC crowd so I didn't want anything too extreme. The Redhook seemed a decent compromise between what I'd normally prefer and what the crowd would prefer. Most of them seemed to like it well enough.

Professor Frink said:

I seemed that they changed the beer around the same time they starting using Budweiser to distribute.

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One good thing about that though. I got married last year and the reception venue got all their beer through the Bud distributor. I couldn't get anything but Bud and what they distribute, but I could get Redhook.

Try a Bell's Two Hearted Ale for a good example.

Thanks for the comments, I'll look for a better example before I decide if one is going into the fermenter sometime soon.

I like a good amount of bitterness in my beer, but I definitely like beer with a good malt profile. Stouts, Amber Ales, Oktoberfests, etc... are among my favorites, along with wheat beer, but I'm looking to branch out and expand my world of beer.

bsay said:

Thanks for the comments, I'll look for a better example before I decide if one is going into the fermenter sometime soon.

I like a good amount of bitterness in my beer, but I definitely like beer with a good malt profile. Stouts, Amber Ales, Oktoberfests, etc... are among my favorites, along with wheat beer, but I'm looking to branch out and expand my world of beer.

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Excellent idea. When in doubt, sample more beer.

Long hammer is pretty dry, even for an IPA. I can see how someone who likes a fuller bodied beer would find it lacking. I don't know where you're at so it's hard to make a recommendation, but Two-Hearted Ale and Stone IPA are a couple of my favorites. But there are many of course.