Does anyone really like IPA's?

Does anyone really like over-the-top grainy beers? Pours like motor oil, tastes like burnt toast, makes your poo poo black?

I didn't think so.

Fletch78 said:

Does anyone really like over-the-top grainy beers? Pours like motor oil, tastes like burnt toast, makes your poo poo black?

I didn't think so.

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I look at beers like breasts. there are all different kinds and I love almost all of them. some more than others, some not so much (like the ones I'm getting from drinking all this beer!). but why just stick to DD's when there are so many others? Variety is the spice of life!

scrambledegg81 said:

I say "meh" to Karl Strauss now. Seems they're more bent on being brewstaurants than a craft brewery, especially since they only have a few different releases in the 20+ years they've been open. (Just my 2 centavos.)

If you're headed to SD, definitely head to Green Flash over in Vista, the Yardhouse downtown, and Pizza Port in Carlsbad (ahh...my old stomping ground *sniff). Can't go wrong with either, but Pizza Port is a must-do.

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Seconded on everything here. Pizza Port Carlsbad has GREAT beer and pizza, at really solid prices. Tons of varieties, too.

If I could add to this, Ballast Point is another one that is really solid.



Back on the subject at hand, I LOVE IPAs. I appreciate a good IRS or porter etc (I just enjoyed a Great Divide Barrel Aged Espresso Yeti this weekend...) but my first love is always the hoppy side of things. I love the intensity of flavors you get without being too heavy. I like the non-extreme styles too (I've been loving Trader Joe's Summer Kolsch lately) but I'm a hophead first

GregR said:

I look at beers like breasts. there are all different kinds and I love almost all of them. some more than others, some not so much (like the ones I'm getting from drinking all this beer!). but why just stick to DD's when there are so many others? Variety is the spice of life!

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I LOVE breasts. er... Beer... What is the topic here? When exposed to it longer, which confuses and bewilders me more?

As I sample more and more craft beer, my palette is shifting ever so slightly. I remember the day I tried beer for the first time and thinking "how the F could anyone actually like that, aside from the fact of intoxication??". Now, I am multi-faceted. I love all shapes and sizes, A to Ecup, IPA to BMC. Obviously, everyone has their preferences, but a sampling never should be refused!

I can't yet really get into some of the stuff from Stone, and the likes. My favorite IPA is SN celebration ale, and I am cloning it for the second time soon.
I think a really good IPA is hard to brew. A lot of breweries feel the need to get into that marketshare, but don't end up doing the best job. Some just have it right.

P.S. ....this is an old as hell thread!

Fletch78 said:

Does anyone really like over-the-top grainy beers? Pours like motor oil, tastes like burnt toast, makes your poo poo black?

I didn't think so.

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every had old viscosity by port brewing? "this ain't your daddy 30 weight oil"

humann_brewing said:

every had old viscosity by port brewing? "this ain't your daddy 30 weight oil"

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I had Older Viscosity once....oddly it was somehow thinner. I guess it's hard to keep that thickness once you ramp up to 12.1%abv

munche said:

Seconded on everything here. Pizza Port Carlsbad has GREAT beer and pizza, at really solid prices. Tons of varieties, too.

If I could add to this, Ballast Point is another one that is really solid.

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Pizza Port Carlsbad does one of my favorite Double / Imperial IPAs: Poor Man's IPA. Very dry, very hoppy and very big (9%)--and very highly recommended, especially if you like Pliny. Ballast Point do an outstanding IPA, Sculpin, and the recipe for that one is in the public domain

ILuvIPA

Sir Humpsalot said:

Seriously, I have never had an IPA that I liked. I brewed Yooper's DFH60 clone and the sampling has indicated that it's a really good beer, and it's really good for an IPA, but truth be told, it's hopped like crazy and it just takes away from the beer-ness of it all.

I drink IPA's when I'm around homebrewers just to be polite. I guess I can understand what folks see in them, but deep down, I just don't think they're that great and if I never had another one, or if the style had never been invented, I wouldn't really be saddened.

Anybody else feel the same?

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I don't like the typical American style IPA that usually features a weak malt flavor and very aggressive, sharply flavored hops. Most of them are just too out of balance for my preferences. It's sort of like overly spicy food where the Scovill units overpower the flavor of the other ingredients. I like hops and hop bitterness and regularly brew IPA with IBU numbers well over 100 but do not care much for what the majority thinks is a good IPA today.

Yup, I do. I dig a big IPA.

I grew hops so that I could brew the most hoptastic beer ever with out spending $80 on the batch.

3 weeks in primary............

some grains.......
some yeast.........

AND.........

25 PHUCKING OUNCES OF CASCADE, HALLERTAUR, MAGNUM, N BREWER, MT HOOD....

I'm sooooooooo happy.

25 ounces? what batch volume?

My SWMBO loves the beers that taste like biting into a grapefruit peel, she would likely love it!

IPAs are pretty one-dimensional. A lot of times, commercial IPAs taste like they've aged too long (lost hop flavor) or were brewed with high alpha bittering hops to make it to 70+ IBUs as cheaply as possible.

I used to really like IPAs, but I've moved on. Belgian IPAs and APAs are more to my liking.

I'm not a fan of crazy hoppy beers, but I do enjoy a well balanced IPA. The signs of a truly balanced IPA (by my standards):

-Can swallow a drink without the throat closing
-Doesn't have a sharp "pine" flavor when resting on the palate
-Doesn't have a bitter aftertaste that is stronger than your average beer
-Smooth...hard to define just tastes like it melds with the very light malt flavor
-Not a strong malt flavor, just a subtle one
-Good Aroma

I guess for me the best way to describe it is like tea. You can put a lot of leaves in a cup and ruin the tea, and putting too little does little more than flavor the water. Also, I hated IPAs all together when I first drank one. Oddly...I noticed that I craved the unique flavor...then I started to drink them more and more. I still don't like the overhopped ones though...

humann_brewing said:

Just don't rush into them, if you enjoy other beers have them, I almost guarantee you will transition into a hop lover eventually

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I hate this attitude among certain beer drinkers. I guess I must be an inadequate beer drinker with a sub-par palette...

And the funniest part is the people who believe this way don't understand what they are saying when they write this stuff.

Before I got into the hobby, I only drank wheat beers and lagers, now I prefer APA's and IPA's.

I'm curious what beers people mean when they say "typical American IPA"

I'm spoiled, Cali has the best IPA in the world (Yep, I said it), and I've had some pretty asstastic examples from some of the "big" brewers in other states. But it's hard not to love a Green Flash West Coast IPA, Ballast Point Sculpin (gold medal at the world beer cup iirc), Lagunitas IPA or Pliny

rexbanner said:

...or were brewed with high alpha bittering hops to make it to 70+ IBUs as cheaply as possible.

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Nothing wrong with that if it's just for bittering. It's when brewers start substituting any malt / hop flavoring ingredients with rice syrup and other adjuncts that genuine scorn is appropriate

IPAs are supposed to be one dimensional. I love IPAs for what they are, but I also love Belgian-inspired sour beers that are coming out of the West coast right now (esp. Russian River's Consecration--superb!)

Airborneguy said:

I hate this attitude among certain beer drinkers. I guess I must be an inadequate beer drinker with a sub-par palette...

And the funniest part is the people who believe this way don't understand what they are saying when they write this stuff.

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*palate.

And lots of people transition from lighter beer to IPAs. It is very common.

But do you understand my point? The quote I commented on was "I almost guarantee you will transition..."

No, I won't. I have been drinking quality craft beer all over the world (as opposed to FROM all over the world), for almost 15 years now, and HATE most IPA's.

So when someone treats non-IPA drinkers as if they merely haven't been enlightened yet, I quite frankly take it as an insult.

carnevoodoo said:

*palate.

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And thanks... obviously my palate isn't the only thing which needs correcting.

I like IPAs okay. Not my favorite style and not something I often brew. In fact the last one I made was only for a friends wedding and that was only because it's his favorite style.

I think on the whole they're overdone as a style. IPAs are like .... everyone has one.

I think for really interesting beers with great flavor and complexity, Belgian style ales are the way to go.

In fact my friends IPA was mashed a little low with a Belgian centric grain bill and fermented high on Abbey Ale yeast.

Airborneguy said:

And thanks... obviously my palate isn't the only thing which needs correcting.

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Airborneguy, no need to apologize (tongue in cheek recognized). That fact that you've enjoyed beer the world over is proof that you enjoy beer wherever it's from - regardless of the style. Cheers!

munche said:

I'm curious what beers people mean when they say "typical American IPA"

I'm spoiled, Cali has the best IPA in the world (Yep, I said it), and I've had some pretty asstastic examples from some of the "big" brewers in other states. But it's hard not to love a Green Flash West Coast IPA, Ballast Point Sculpin (gold medal at the world beer cup iirc), Lagunitas IPA or Pliny

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:rockin::rockin:

whenever i gave someone a glass of my ipa i had to explain why it didnt taste like bud light. i mostly make the comparison to hot sauce. its not something u can take or leave. you either hate it and can only have it when its hidden in the recipe. or the people who would pour a bottle on everything they ate if they could afford it. other people who hate it think it just hides everything else when the hot sauce lover says it enhances everything else. or those crazy few who have the "everything else" just so they can have the hot sauce.

sometimes the bite of hops can be so bad its almost painful and will not let u taste a god damn thing you have after that(stone ruination), but sometimes thats just really enjoyable for some reason. its like why do people like the burn of hot sauce when for the most part it doesn't have much taste. i have no idea cuz im no psychology major but i can figure out that the two seem to be connected in some way.

krisagon said:

25 ounces? what batch volume?

My SWMBO loves the beers that taste like biting into a grapefruit peel, she would likely love it!

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5 gallon. Also 5 oz dry hopping as we speak, but I didn't want to say 30 oz when 5 didn't contribute to the IBU's.

Airborneguy said:

But do you understand my point? The quote I commented on was "I almost guarantee you will transition..."

No, I won't. I have been drinking quality craft beer all over the world (as opposed to FROM all over the world), for almost 15 years now, and HATE most IPA's.

So when someone treats non-IPA drinkers as if they merely haven't been enlightened yet, I quite frankly take it as an insult.

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I wouldn't take offense to it. A lot of us DID transition into IPAs so we tend to assume it is an acquired taste, and also assume that some other people may follow that same trend. That said, there are plenty of people like yourself who never do get into IPAs, which is also fine.

There are two sides to this.

There are the extremely overbittered IPA's with IBU's at or over 100. Which I find rediculous.

And there are the bitterness balanced extremely hoppy flavored and fragrant IPA's.
The latter I find exquisite.

I think a lot of people are turned off to the extreme bitterness present in some IPA's. Some of my favorite IPA's aren't all that bitter, but have plenty of hop flavor and aroma, which is the reason I love drinking them.

I never really liked bitter IPAs until I discovered the unique effect high amounts of non-volatized hop oils have on the character of the buzz.

Not my everyday beer - but every so often I like to just melt in my chair. That's when I seek out an Imperial IPA.

I freaking love IPA's. I also freaking love Doppelbocks.

Someone was giving my **** one time for liking a really hoppy beer, saying "everything should be balanced". How boring. I love a nice balanced lager or pale ale as much as the next guy, but why advocate making everything middle-of-the-road? I also get irritated by people who claim all hoppy beers to be "one-dimensional". A IIPA with a full hop profile can be extremely complex, maybe not malt complexity, but you can pick out a bunch of flavors and aromas from a well hopped beer. A Doppelbock has zero hop complexity, but no one give them crap for being "too malty and one dimensional".

This is why we are all in this hobby... We can make the beer we love the way we like it. You like IPAs but you cant find one that is hoppy enough for you...You make it.
We all have pickier palates than the regular bud/miller crowd. I know there is a lot of IPA hopheads out there, but I am not one of them. I like it hoppy, but balanced. Im not putting it down, to each is his/her own... Cheers!

IPAs and DIPAs are my favorite beer styles. Hops are magical.

gilaminumbeer said:

there are two sides to this.

There are the extremely overbittered ipa's with ibu's at or over 100. Which i find rediculous.

And there are the bitterness balanced extremely hoppy flavored and fragrant ipa's.
The latter i find exquisite.

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+1!!!!!!

Bitterness is subjective as well.

SNPA holds no bitterness for me anymore.
I thought it a good reference point, even though it is not even called an IPA.

SNPA is how i introduce IPA to a BMC drinker.

NuclearRich said:

SNPA is how i introduce IPA to a BMC drinker.

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Just as a point of clarification, I believe that Sierra Nevada is an American Pale Ale, not an India Pale Ale. If you look at the style guidelines, an IPA could be considered just a bigger, hoppier APA. So SNPA is definitely a good entry point for those BMC'ers. It is just about the most perfect, balanced, delicous beer that is widely available, to my tummy.

NuclearRich said:

SNPA is how i introduce IPA to a BMC drinker.

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Although I can appreciate it's availability, SNPA is a pretty sub-par APA. Drink one side-by-side against Two-Hearted or any other quality APA, and you'll realize how bland it really is.

I guess it's because I'm 23, but I don't know any BMC drinkers. I have two friends who have not developed any taste for beer, but the rest all know what a quality beer tastes like. I think younger generations aren't developing any of this die-hard loyalty to BMC.

I don't waste homebrews on people who won't appreciate them. It's nothing personal. Would you buy your gay friend a high-priced hooker? No.

smizak said:

I also get irritated by people who claim all hoppy beers to be "one-dimensional".

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All hoppy beers one dimensional? Nope. Most? Yup.

How many hop varieties does it take to make an IPA have "complex" hoppiness?

Though I'm biased. I love malt. However, I do love English IPA. Perfect marriage of malt complexity, and hop stupidity.

You're quite probably deriving your disdain for SNPA because the beer isn't as fresh once it makes it's way to your side of the country. Hop flavor and aroma fade rather quickly sadly, I can tell the difference between a fresh six pack and one that's been refrigerated and on the shelf just a few hours away from Chico.