IPA tastings

Why does it seem every time I go to a tasting with multiple brewers it seems like all they offer is an IPA or some version of an IPA? I consider myself a more traditional brewer and love me a good lager. Why are all these craft brewers so stuck on hop bombs?

Because people like them and they want to satisfy their customers and/or make money. I love me some ipa so I have no issue with it!

bennie1986 said:

Because people like them and they want to satisfy their customers and/or make money. I love me some ipa so I have no issue with it!

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Don't get me wrong I love a good pale ale or IPA but it seems as if this is all that's available. Come on guys put out a good clean, crisp, refreshing Pilsner from time to time, or a nice helles or maibock.

They will, when its trendy. I could be wrong maybe IPAs will always rule. They will always be my favorite but I am kind of board of them myself.

The stores by me that have tastings do lagers, stouts, porters, Belgians, sours, and all sorts of beers as much as they do ipa's, you must be in the wrong place!

meltroha said:

The stores by me that have tastings do lagers, stouts, porters, Belgians, sours, and all sorts of beers as much as they do ipa's, you must be in the wrong place!

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Not stores, the last one was at the Lincoln Park Zoo and had over 150 beers. I found one lager, a helles and it was the best beer I found. All the others were IPA's a few wheat and wit beers, but 70% were IPA's.

Begin2Brew said:

Don't get me wrong I love a good pale ale or IPA but it seems as if this is all that's available. Come on guys put out a good clean, crisp, refreshing Pilsner from time to time, or a nice helles or maibock.

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umm... go to Europe?

but seriously. the best part of homebrewing is being able to make what you want. i say make it yourself and have 5 or 10 gallons to sit on for a few months.

I think it is because IPAs are not only popular but really fun to brew. Honestly. With lagers you are pushing for clean flavors and light tastes. With IPA you can push boundaries and get crazy with all the different hops and techniques. This is also why I think more people are getting turned onto them. Most lagers can taste a little different but you are still dealing in a pretty strict flavor profile. With IPA there is a lot more flexibility. At least IMHO. I think the same is somewhat true for the amount of people I see trying stouts now because they are looking for more variety in the flavor profiles.

Why ales? In part because they are the most striking contrast to the mainstream light lagers, in part because they allow more variation and thus more room for both experimentation and brand recognition, and in part because ales are, in several ways, easier to brew and more forgiving of sloppy technique - flavors which would be a fault in a lager become 'character' in an ale.

As for why IPAs specifically, it's mostly just a matter of being trendy, and as a contrast to the earlier trend for Belgian styles, but there are other reasons. American micro-brewers have been fixated on hop-heavy recipes from day one, the US craft brewing movement being mainly centered in hop growing areas such as Northern California, Oregon and Washington. High hop rates and floral/citrusy hop aroma have been a signature of American craft brewing since New Albion Pale Ale, which was literally the first US micro-brewer and the first commercial beer to feature Cascade hops (and while 29 IBU may not seem much today, it was startlingly different in 1976). Also, IPAs are particularly forgiving of poor technique and handling, as the high hop rates tend to mask faults and act as a preservative (that was the original impetus of the style, circa 1790, after all - the high alcohol and the antibacterial qualities of the hops were used to keep the beer fresh over the course of a long sea voyage through the tropics).

Begin2Brew said:

Don't get me wrong I love a good pale ale or IPA but it seems as if this is all that's available. Come on guys put out a good clean, crisp, refreshing Pilsner from time to time, or a nice helles or maibock.

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Ways away from IL, but Hanger 24 just introduced a Helles Lager on tap in their tasting room. I think craft breweries are going to start bringing lagers into the mix to get the BMC drinkers into their tasting rooms.

seigex said:

Ways away from IL, but Hanger 24 just introduced a Helles Lager on tap in their tasting room. I think craft breweries are going to start bringing lagers into the mix to get the BMC brewers into their tasting rooms.

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Yup. Ballast Point recently released a lager. Forgot the name though

Begin2Brew said:

Not stores, the last one was at the Lincoln Park Zoo and had over 150 beers. I found one lager, a helles and it was the best beer I found. All the others were IPA's a few wheat and wit beers, but 70% were IPA's.

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If you are ever around Itasca, IL, Church Street Brewery does a really nice Helles that they always have in their tap room. They have an IPA as well, but the rest of their beers, usually 5 or 6 on tap, are more of the traditional styles.

For the same reason people want super hot buffalo wings instead of different flavors of basic BBQ wings.

Bigger and more tongue numbing is trendy in our foods and beers. 'Merica!

jayhem said:

for the same reason people want super hot buffalo wings instead of different flavors of basic bbq wings.

Bigger and more tongue numbing is trendy in our foods and beers. 'merica!

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+1.