holy crap!

I tried an IPA tonight from STONE BREWERY (in CA)...never had one....the bitterness burned my stomach and the intense hop flavor really turned me off to any IPA's in the future. I enjoy Stouts, Lagers and Ales as well as domestic...this beer was over the top and completely unenjoyable to me.

How do you guys that love IPA's do it?

their not all like that. I have had some where I figure two guys were sitting down and said "lets put all those hops in the corner in our IPA" and others that say "how can we make an IPA that is balanced". I like the second choice myself. I realize an IPA should be hoppy, but i can open the freezer and stick a # of hops in my mouth anyday

I'm pretty new to these boards, but on another website I used to frequent (we'll call it Beer Schmadvocate) beer drinkers like you were often looked at like you came from Mars. Personally, I've been active in the craft beer community for ten years and homebrewing for five, and I've never been a big IPA guy. That being said, I can appreciate a good IPA and do crave a nice, hoppy brew from time to time (especially with fish for some reason). My suggestion, counter-productive as it may seem, would be to start with double IPA's. American IPA's are almost by definition unbalanced, but double IPA's such as Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA have more malt background that actually results in a much more balanced brew. You also might want to check out British-style IPA's such as Goose Island's which are less assertive. Like me, you may never become a hophead, but hopefully finding an IPA or two that you like will help broaden your beer-drinking horizons.

I laughed at this, because a couple of years ago I thought I hated hoppy beers. Now, I love them.

I happen to think Stone IPA is a bit tame. I'd like a few more hops.

You may be a hops sissy now, but you'll come over to the darkside. It takes time for you palette to properly mature.:cross:

You know, I was just thinking- we all have different tastes. I don't care for roasty/smokey beers, but others love them.

Even in food, I love cilantro but others hate it. I hate chocolate, but others love it. We all have different tastes.

I think in a way that hoppy beers are like spicy food. People that aren't accustomed to spicy food might think a food is very hot, while people who are used to spicy food think it's mild. Some thing with hops- I'm a hophead, so I'm sort of used to the nuances of hops, and don't find even Stone Ruination out of line for an easy to drink beer.

I really like a good IPA....but something like DFH 90 min. is about the limit of the style. I also like ESB, Scottish.....beers that have only an incidental hop flavor. IMHO, at present highly hopped beers are a fad.

I really like Stone IPA. You definitely have to develop a taste for the hops, though. I know back when I first started drinking craft brews IPAs tasted like bitter crap to me.

Now that you've tried a crap IPA (sorry Stone is unbalanced crap IMO), try a Russian River Pliny or a Lagunitas Hop Stoopid. When all those hops are properly balanced with some malt, it's a truly magical thing...

Funny, but the more styles of beer I'm exposed to the less interested I am in one-flavor beers, like American IPAs. A lot like drinking wine, at some point you buy a bottle with a cork.

I read this and had to laugh. I can't remember when I tried my first IPA but I was hooked from the start. I was staying with my parents in my hometown about 4 years ago for a High School reunion and I had picked up a couple different IPA's that ended up not getting consumed so I left them for my Dad. Keep in mind I've never seen my Dad drink more than a couple Coors Lights in one sitting in my life. Anyway, he called me about 4 months later and said "what was that sh*t you left in my fridge, that was terrible!"

To each their own I guess, me I hate Corona.

I hated IPAs until about a year ago. Now I want more and more hops. Drink some good APA's to work into it.

jkarp said:

Now that you've tried a crap IPA (sorry Stone is unbalanced crap IMO), try a Russian River Pliny or a Lagunitas Hop Stoopid. When all those hops are properly balanced with some malt, it's a truly magical thing...

Click to expand...

Pliny? Balanced with malt? The grain bill is 2 row and sugar.

I love me some pliny but it is glorious in its imbalance (and its drink ability regardless). Stone IPA has less hop bitterness and flavor and more malt character than Pliny.

The only thing balanced about Pliny is that the hops are well balanced with the other hops.

HAHA I probably am a HOP sissy now. It was funny..I was in BevMo looking for some 22oz micro brews for the day and I overheard this guy saying "for everyday this is the best thing" I went over to his aisle and saw him holding the STONE IPA.

It sounded great...holy moley...I drank 1/4 of a glass and dumped it all...it was terrible!!!

It smelled wonderful...like digging in the hops bag too weigh out some hops for the home brew....

So I am willing to give the IPA's another chance....in your guys' opinion....what is a good IPA I can get in CA to boaden my IPA horizon?

remilard said:

Pliny? Balanced with malt? The grain bill is 2 row and sugar.

I love me some pliny but it is glorious in its imbalance (and its drink ability regardless). Stone IPA has less hop bitterness and flavor and more malt character than Pliny.

The only thing balanced about Pliny is that the hops are well balanced with the other hops.

Click to expand...

+1


23456789

YooperBrew said:

I happen to think Stone IPA is a bit tame. I'd like a few more hops.

Click to expand...

When I first started drinking 'real' beer I thought SNPA was the hoppiest beer around. I used to only drink one pint of it before switching to something like Belhaven so the bitterness didn't give me a stomach ache. Now its not until I have had a few of them that I can actually taste the hops.

remilard said:

Pliny? Balanced with malt? The grain bill is 2 row and sugar.
.

Click to expand...

Heh, last I checked, 2-row was a malt.

Don't get me wrong, Stone would make a great paint thinner.

We clearly have *VERY* different pallets.

I would try different IPAs before you write them all off. I absolutely hate Stone IPA. Tastes like flowers in my mouth.

On the other hand, I love Sweetwater IPA, MOJO, Bell's Two Hearted, DFH 60, Sierra Nevada, Duclaw Venom, Troegs Nugget Nectar, Stone Ruination, etc. There are different types of IPAs, so you just have to keep tasting them all to see if any do it for you. Troeg's makes a nice compromise amber called Hopback Amber. Great hop flavor and aroma, but still enough maltiness to make it very drinkable.

Ya know, I, too hated IPAs until, well, I still hate them. Blech. And don't try and say that I will develop a taste for them, because if I haven't by now, I'm not gonna. Show me the malt, baby!

ChshreCat said:

Drink some good APA's to work into it.

Click to expand...

IPAs just aren't for everyone but if you just reeeeally want to get into them then the above advice is a good stepping stone. Start with pale ales and work into IPAs...

-Tripod

Tripod said:

IPAs just aren't for everyone but if you just reeeeally want to get into them then the above advice is a good stepping stone. Start with pale ales and work into IPAs...

-Tripod

Click to expand...

+1 on this advice. A couple I'd suggest you start with would either be a Sierra Nevada PA or a Mirror Pond PA from Deschuttes Brewery. See what you think and go from there.

I remember years ago trying the SNPA and having the same reaction you had to the Stone IPA. But after jumping in to home brewing (along with age) my tastes have changed.

Stone's not a beginner's IPA. I'm drinking a 160 IBU Sister Star of the Sun right now, and I still would rather reach for another IPA before I'd reach for a Stone. I look at the Stone IPA as more of a once a year taste of a big beer, malty interpretation of an IPA. Not the crisp and refreshing beer than others are, the variety is huge. My favorites are Lagunita's and Terminal Gravity IPA (although that one is not really for IPA virgins either IMO).

Whatever cheeses your macaroni! Everyone's got different tastes, but as others have said in this thread I didn't like the really hoppy beers in the beginning. But I think you'll find that as you drink more different styles, you expand quite a bit. Like now, I like IPA's, not my favorite style, but I drink em from time to time.

I am definetly a hop head, and I love it when I am around my dad and he wants to try what I'm drinking. He usually sticks to coronas and margaritas. Anyways, when he takes a sip, all he does is pucker his lips, shiver hes head, and say HOLY CHETS!!! how can you drink that stuff. hahaha! I love it

ILOVEBEER said:

I tried an IPA tonight from STONE BREWERY (in CA)...never had one....the bitterness burned my stomach and the intense hop flavor really turned me off to any IPA's in the future. I enjoy Stouts, Lagers and Ales as well as domestic...this beer was over the top and completely unenjoyable to me.

How do you guys that love IPA's do it?

Click to expand...

I don't like Stone Brewery in general (most of their stuff) because it's too hopy for me too. Their Arrogant Bastard isn't that drinkable to me, even though my brother loves it.

jkarp said:

Now that you've tried a crap IPA (sorry Stone is unbalanced crap IMO), try a Russian River Pliny or a Lagunitas Hop Stoopid. When all those hops are properly balanced with some malt, it's a truly magical thing...

Click to expand...

Agreed!! Try Ninkasi Total Domination too. Also, make EdWort's Bee Cave IPA. That is an IPA I really enjoy. I am really really picky about IPAs. I either love em or hate em, and it's the balanced ones I tend to enjoy.

EuBrew said:

I read this and had to laugh. I can't remember when I tried my first IPA but I was hooked from the start. I was staying with my parents in my hometown about 4 years ago for a High School reunion and I had picked up a couple different IPA's that ended up not getting consumed so I left them for my Dad. Keep in mind I've never seen my Dad drink more than a couple Coors Lights in one sitting in my life. Anyway, he called me about 4 months later and said "what was that sh*t you left in my fridge, that was terrible!"

Click to expand...

I had almost the same situation - a few months ago drinking some Lagunitas Imperial Red (awesome beer btw) and my dad, a coors light guy, tasted and said, "people drink this... on purpose?!?!?"

Oh well.

Personally, I go back and forth between the malty and the hoppy depending on what mood I'm in. Also, your tastes definitely change - right now I'm drinking a pale ale that a few months ago I thought was pretty damn hoppy - now it's just another smooth pale ale.

For me - there's nothing like the jarring feeling of a great IPA hitting your mouth and saying "Wake up, fool! It's time for flavor!"

If you're looking for balanced IPA's -- in my opinion (which is only that) Bear Republic's Racer 5 is good, and if you can get it (dunno if they distribute in areas outside of mine) Rahr's Storm Cloud IPA is also a pretty nice balance of malt and hops. Been a while since I had it but Flying Dog also seemed to have a nice malt backbone to it, but like I said -- been a while.

I'd also recommend Dale's Pale ale, which is somewhere in between a pale and an IPA. Stone's beers are prolly not a good jumping off point when it comes to balance.

Much like food, my problem with beer is that I have a hard time finding one I'm not in love with.

Picobrew said:

Also, make EdWort's Bee Cave IPA. That is an IPA I really enjoy.

Click to expand...

I haven't found an IPA I like yet, but I'm brewing this on Sunday. Just waiting on the Warrior hops.

ILOVEBEER said:

So I am willing to give the IPA's another chance....in your guys' opinion....what is a good IPA I can get in CA to boaden my IPA horizon?

Click to expand...

Sierra Nevado Torpedo

or

RedHook Longhammer

2 great IPAs in my opinion....

ThreeTaps said:

I haven't found an IPA I like yet, but I'm brewing this on Sunday. Just waiting on the Warrior hops.

Click to expand...

it's a good IPA (and actually similar to Stone's - they use warrior also )

I hated the first IPA I had. I'm assuming you had the Ruination IPA? That's now one of my favorites

As it has been said a few times, give her time I think that the Stone IPA is a fairly standard IPA, great on both aroma and bitterness. You wanna feel the burn get some IIPA's that are rocking some high IBUs and teach yourself the true beauty of a hopped up beer. I would bet in a year or less you have the Stone IPA again and think back going... wow, i thought this was bitter..... Welcome to the darkside... where hops enter the boiling wort like nothing you have ever seen before....

Torpedo is great, but its is a pretty big on the hops for a guy who has not developed a love for the IPA.

+1 on the Longhammer, though. Not a challenging IPA at all.

OP, I assume you had their IPA and not Ruination?

northernlad said:

Torpedo is great, but its is a pretty big on the hops for a guy who has not developed a love for the IPA.

+1 on the Longhammer, though. Not a challenging IPA at all.

Click to expand...

yeah, true on Torpedo, and there's a fair amount of folks on here that would consider Longhammer a weak APA

A really good "IPA with training wheels" is Widmer's Broken Halo. It's actually fairly close to SNPA in terms of balance, just a bit stronger.

But as others have said maybe you will never like hoppy beers and that is certainly OK too. Not every homebrewer or craft beer lover needs to become a hop head!

I used to hate hops, now I love them, I too became a convert. My favorite homebrew is a clone of Avery Maharaja (El Dictador in my dropdown), it uses about 10oz of hops for 5 gallons. My first taste of DogFish 90 I had the same reaction as you, couldn't even finish the bottle, now it's one of my favorite craft beers.

Picobrew said:

Agreed!! Try Ninkasi Total Domination too. Also, make EdWort's Bee Cave IPA. That is an IPA I really enjoy. I am really really picky about IPAs. I either love em or hate em, and it's the balanced ones I tend to enjoy.

Click to expand...

IPA's for the most part, meh, (Not high on my list) with that said the Ninkasi Total Domination is very well balanced and I really enjoy that one. I just tried Widmer Bros, Broken Halo IPA, I can have one of these about once a month or so. Ninkasi brews are some of the best I have ever had IMO.

For the not so hop-initiated, I'd go with a SN Torpedo IPA or (my current fav) Lagunitas IPA. Both are a little toned down in the hoppy category, but still has that good balanced bitterness.

I don't understand calling an IPA "balanced". By definition, it is unbalanced toward the hop character. Some IPAs have more malt character than others, but none are balanced.

Lagunitas is one of the more malty IPAs I've had, that doesn't sacrifice the hop character too much.

OP, where in California are you? It might help with suggestions.