OK, I'll admit it. I will probably never brew an IPA.

I am not crazy about IPAs either, for that matter Ales. I am not a big ale fan. I enjoy, Koelsch, Altbier, Hefe, and maybe a Cream Ale once in a while, but I love Lagers!

A world apart.

m.

I love them, but mine never turn out.

I don't brew IPAs simply because there are about 80 brewpubs within driving distance that all have great IPAs. Block 15, alone, has 5 or 6 big, hoppy beers. Even the Thrifty market has 4-5 of them available. I brew beers that are tough to find.

Mateo said:

I am not crazy about IPAs either, for that matter Ales. I am not a big ale fan.

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That's an interesting one. What is it about ales that turns you off? I could never go all lager; I'd miss some of my favorite flavors!

david_42 said:

I don't brew IPAs simply because there are about 80 brewpubs within driving distance that all have great IPAs. Block 15, alone, has 5 or 6 big, hoppy beers. Even the Thrifty market has 4-5 of them available. I brew beers that are tough to find.

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Amen. I find good porters impossible to find, so I try to stick with them.

That's the same reason I brew bitter. I can't buy an ordinary bitter without paying too much, so that's what I brew. If I want something else that I don't drink much, then I'll buy it.

I don't brew IPA's much, mostly because you have to drink them so fast before they turn. Then I get burned out on them. I hate IPA's that are too old.

I'm particularly satisfied when I brew a big Belgian beer. How much is a bottle of Westmalle Tripel, $6-$7? It cost me $20 to make over two cases.

I just don't like a lot of bitterness. Some of the IPAs and IIPAs I've tried taste cloyingly sweet to me and I don't like that either.

I agree that it (bitterness) is just another 'acquired taste', like beer/alcohol in general or coffee or unsweetened chocolate or cigars, etc. And that's not to make it sound like one is more 'refined' in acquiring said taste. We're acquiring a taste for something humans just aren't 'naturally' supposed to like.

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

That's the same reason I brew bitter. I can't buy an ordinary bitter without paying too much, so that's what I brew. If I want something else that I don't drink much, then I'll buy it.

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Ditto. I love me a good bitter, but there aren't a lot of domestic craft examples, and the stuff I love is too expensive to justify. Same goes for the Belgian styles I love. (Having five gallons of saison on tap is just such a sweet justification for this hobby.)

I use to not like bitter beers and thought even SNPA was too bitter but oh have times changed in the last couple of years. It is actually the complete opposite now and it seems like I can't drink a beer unless it has a distinct bitterness taste in it.

Same boat... My taste buds have just never really agreed to super hoppy beer. I perfer the tastes of hefe's, and porters, dunkelweizens, and belgians. To each his own.

bigjoe said:

I particularly like IPA much anymore. My friend and I did drink quite a lot of it summer 2008. He still drinks it constantly and I'm done with IPA's.

I like hops, but to me so many IPA's have little character other than hops.There are very few I will even drink commercially anymore.

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Conversely, to me, they seem to be the easiest beers to brew in terms of being really hard to mess up. The three Cs hop character is pretty easy to attain. Balance, not as easy, but in comparison to beers that rely heavily on grain bill/yeast for flavor, altogether more simple.

I like all kinds of brews, but my avatar speaks for me!!

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I don't like wheat or fruit beers. Some people don't like hoppy beers. Some people don't like dark beers. This is a news flash???

Denny said:

I don't like wheat or fruit beers. Some people don't like hoppy beers. Some people don't like dark beers. This is a news flash???

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Well, I for one did not know you didn't like wheat or fruit beers. So it's news to me.

Denny said:

I don't like wheat or fruit beers. Some people don't like hoppy beers. Some people don't like dark beers. This is a news flash???

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No, just a conversation starter.

Denny said:

I don't like wheat or fruit beers. Some people don't like hoppy beers. Some people don't like dark beers. This is a news flash???

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more commonly called a 'forum'

i've never even had an ipa, but then again, i'm no hophead. i doubt i'll ever brew one for myself, but you never can tell if you'll stumble on to a great beer of any style that makes you want to whip out the old recipe book.

If chilled properly, I will go for an IPA every day. Still hard to beat a Hefe or an American wheat in terms of refreshing.

triethylborane said:

Still hard to beat a Hefe or an American wheat in terms of refreshing.

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I'll take a German pils over either of those on a hot day.