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Scuba_Steve81

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I am pretty stuck in my ways, and a picky drinker. So far, I really only like wheats and lagers.

Mind you, I was scarred by my first Mr Beer IPA, and never gave any of them another try!

I now want to expand my horizons. I have 8 real full scale brews under my belt. I am fermentation controlled now and use BIAB on a 17g kettle.

What IPA should I try my hand at, or what bottled beer should I sample to see if it is even worth my time, money, and beer space to attempt this again?
 
I would just get 8 oz or so of centennial and make something 6.5 % or around there . Do late additions and hop stand then 3 oz dryhop. Might also try bells 2 hearted, ranger IPA, or sculpin ipa but it is hard to find very fresh IPA in store because distributor will just let them sit in warehouse hoping to sell the almost expired ones that nobody will buy.
 
Wait. Are you seriously try to tell me that the first IPA you ever had was a Mr. Beer IPA you made? I've never made a beer that I hadn't already samples tons of commercial styles of, so that sounds very suspicious to me...

Plus, in 2016, IPA is possibly the #1 most popular craft beer style, so I don't think I need to recommend anything to try.
 
worlddivides said:
Wait. Are you seriously try to tell me that the first IPA you ever had was a Mr. Beer IPA you made? I've never made a beer that I hadn't already samples tons of commercial styles of, so that sounds very suspicious to me...

Plus, in 2016, IPA is possibly the #1 most popular craft beer style, so I don't think I need to recommend anything to try.
Click to expand...

Suspicious? Really?

The Mr Beer kit came with the IPA. I was just starting out, and went with what was easy and... basically free to start with. I didn't know I would utterly hate it, so I just went with it.

Also, I know IPAs are extremely popular nowadays. But I also know that their are a million different tasting IPAs out there.

I obviously do not want some giant bitter hop monster such as the first beer mentioned in this thread. But as a totally inexperienced IPA drinker, I don't know what is an overwhelming IPA vs a more toned down IPA that I can test the waters with.

Forgive me if I am taking your comment wrong, but it is coming across pretty ****ty as I am reading it...
 
If you don't like bitter beers, then IPAs are not for you. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, for example, is not an IPA, but an APA (American Pale Ale), and nowhere near as bitter as a pale ale. Some people don't like IPAs, and there's no reason to be embarrassed or ashamed if you don't like them. It's just a matter of taste. Just like you shouldn't be embarrassed if you don't like Pilsners or lambics, etc.

In my opinion, there is no such thing as a "toned-down IPA." In fact, the very nature of IPAs means that they are very bitter and very hoppy. There is a pretty wide range, sure, from IPAs at 40 IBUs to IPAs at 100 IBUs, but they are mainly characterized by that "bitter" and "hoppy" character.

Now, if you didn't like the beer because of some other reason (it was fermented too warm or it was made from low-quality ingredients or it had some off-flavor, etc.), then I think you should definitely try out other IPAs. But if it was some characteristic of the beer (i.e. the bitterness) that caused you to be "scarred" by it, then I see no reason to try any other beers in that style.

The first beer I brewed was pretty horrific, but it was a style that I had drank quite a few times before, so I knew that the reasons I hated it weren't specific to the style, but it still didn't "scar" me. My question is: if this is a style you never drank before and a style that you didn't like, then why bother trying anything else in the style?
 
IMHO, you should probably try some APA's (American Pale Ale). I'm something of a hophead, myself and I'm finding lately that the IPA style has turned into kind of a macho bitterness battle. But, the pale ale category seems to include beers that aim for balance over bravado.

Somebody said Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and that's kind of the standard for the style. Dale's Pale Ale by Oskar Blues is good. Here in SWFL, Reef Donkey by Tampa Bay Brewing is really nice.

Bear in mind that hoppiness declines pretty rapidly. IPA's are probably the best reason to "Drink Local" A 2 week old can of a merely decent local IPA will beat a 6 month old Pliny any day of the week.
 
I don't care for American IPAs much either. First, I don't like the US hop flavors (grapefruity, resiny) as much as I like European hops. Second, I like to taste some of the malts, but US styles are just in-your-face, "look at how much hops I can put in there" kind of beers. I keep trying them, just to give them a chance, but they're usually just too much for me.

Try a UK IPA and see how you like it. It will at least give you an idea if you like IPAs. You can find Samuel Smith's India Ale fairly easily, but I'd look at the bottling date, since they're imported in. Who knows how long it's been on the shelf.

What I like about the beer is that you can pick up on the malts in the background, as well as the hops.

Most of the UK IPAs don't score well on US rating sites (like BA). But the US IPAs do, so that tells you something about the US raters' palates. Since you don't like the US IPAs, your palate may be more like mine. Try one, then brew one up if you like it.
 
Brew what you like. I don't like IPA's all that much either. I mostly brew porter, stout, lager, kolsch, sour beers, and some "session" IPA's and American pale ales with hops for flavor more than bitterness.
 
Pick up a sixer of Lagunitas Lil Sumpin'. Very smooth with great flavor. It shows 64IBU on the bottle. My favorite commercial beer and I'm not a fan of IPAs, I brew mostly malt forward beers.
 
Thank you for the advice. Again, I am not trying to brew what I dislike. I just want to broaden my horizons a bit. I think the APA or UK IPAs ideas are a good start. This is exactly the kind of advice I was looking for.

So assuming I can find them all fresh, these would be a few good starters to try?

Sierra Nevada PA - APA
Samuel Smith's IA - UK IPA
Lagunitas Lil Sumpin' - IPA
 
Scuba_Steve81 said:
Thank you for the advice. Again, I am not trying to brew what I dislike. I just want to broaden my horizons a bit. I think the APA or UK IPAs ideas are a good start. This is exactly the kind of advice I was looking for.

So assuming I can find them all fresh, these would be a few good starters to try?

Sierra Nevada PA - APA
Samuel Smith's IA - UK IPA
Lagunitas Lil Sumpin' - IPA
Click to expand...

someone else mentioned it earlier in the thread, but I'd add Belle's Two Hearted Ale to your list. It's a slightly hoppy ale (not an IPA), and has great flavor.
 
dsniegocki said:
someone else mentioned it earlier in the thread, but I'd add Belle's Two Hearted Ale to your list. It's a slightly hoppy ale (not an IPA), and has great flavor.
Click to expand...

Bell's Two Hearted is an IPA. It's really nice, and one of my "go to" beers.

It is fairly bitter, but not like a West Coast IPA, and it has lots of hops flavor.

Our local store has a "pick 6" six pack for $10. You can pick 6 of whatever you'd like to try, so you're not stuck with a whole six pack if you don't like it.

You didn't say where you are located, and the picks would be far different in, say, New York vs Wisconsin. If you say where you are, we could definitely give better advice!

I wouldn't go with Samuel Smith's. It's an English IPA, but since it's probably pretty darn old by the time you get it, it may not be a decent representation at all of what it should be. I'd try to get something more local.

If you like citrusy flavors, something like Deschute's Fresh Squeezed IPA may be good for you, and they are widely distributed.
 
raysmithtx said:
Pick up a sixer of Lagunitas Lil Sumpin'. Very smooth with great flavor. It shows 64IBU on the bottle. My favorite commercial beer and I'm not a fan of IPAs, I brew mostly malt forward beers.
Click to expand...

I agree, Lagunitas make some excellent IPAs that really feature some nice American citrus hops. Lil Sumpin and their standard IPA are all good examples. Dogfishhead 60-minute IPA is similar although a bit more bitter.

Bell's Two Hearted is a good example featuring Centennial hops. Usually classified as an IPA, although on the milder side of the spectrum.

In my opinion, Sierra Nevada is on the hoppy end of the APA range, not quite an IPA.

I don't think Arrogant Bastard is a good example. It is hoppy like an IPA, but much darker and more malt forward, more like a Strong Ale. To me it is so malty that you can't even taste the hops.
 
I like what has been said thus far, and thought I would include my own experiences as a ex-IPA hater and now IPA being my drink of choice. I joined UNTAPPD awhile back and started logging all my beers. At that time I HATED IPAs, did not like the strong hops flavors and overall just thought they tasted terrible. I rated a few I tried at that time 1 star. I stuck mostly to lagers, heffas, and just lighter stuff. What I started to do was get into Stouts and darker brews as there are PLENTY of desert brews to really kill any too strong flavors. This slowly got me into more hops and darker malts. About 50 or so in I noticed a distinct change in my ability to taste and better define different tastes in the brews. It was at this time I tried another IPA. It was a completely different experience than the first times as this time I was able to honestly tell the different flavors hitting my tongue and was able to define what I liked and what I did not like. It was odd to having tasted lots of other beers I noticed that I LOVED the hops flavors now. I really think it all had to do with me being able to taste the individual flavors, and even ignore something in there I might not like and just taste the ones I did. I used that as a starting point to really narrow what I liked in the IPAs, and it has been a love affair since.

Now days I drink mostly Imperials and Doubles, loving anything SUPER hopped and strong. Stone brewery makes some great brews for this, Ruination and Go To IPA of a lot of citra and in my face hops.

Overall I have to say, Untappd was the change for me, forcing me to actually taste beer and not just drink it, rate it, explain it, and try to understand it by taste... took me to the next level (and got me into homebrewing...)
 
Yooper said:
Bell's Two Hearted is an IPA. It's really nice, and one of my "go to" beers.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. I never really thought of it as such, with the amount of "in-your-face" IPAs that are around these days. It's fairly tame with regard to hop flavor compared to many new IPAs IMHO, which is one of the reasons I love it.
 
Singletrack said:
Good luck trying to find a bottled IPA!
Click to expand...

I don't know what this means. I have problems finding anything but IPA's a the liquor store. They make up at least half of the craft beers on the shelves.

Yooper said:
Bell's Two Hearted is an IPA. It's really nice, and one of my "go to" beers.

It is fairly bitter, but not like a West Coast IPA, and it has lots of hops flavor.

Our local store has a "pick 6" six pack for $10. You can pick 6 of whatever you'd like to try, so you're not stuck with a whole six pack if you don't like it.

You didn't say where you are located, and the picks would be far different in, say, New York vs Wisconsin. If you say where you are, we could definitely give better advice!

I wouldn't go with Samuel Smith's. It's an English IPA, but since it's probably pretty darn old by the time you get it, it may not be a decent representation at all of what it should be. I'd try to get something more local.

If you like citrusy flavors, something like Deschute's Fresh Squeezed IPA may be good for you, and they are widely distributed.
Click to expand...

This is also what I would suggest, try a few. There are so many out there and there is quite a bit of difference between them.

I would not judge any style based on a MrBeer kit. IMO, you are taking a shot in the dark when using them. Some might be fairly good, unlikely to be REALLY good. I also doubt a MrBeer IPA would be brewed anywhere near the way a decent recipe would do it. All grain or unhopped malt extracts with multiple addition times and usually dry hopped.
 
Scuba_Steve81 said:
I am pretty stuck in my ways, and a picky drinker. So far, I really only like wheats and lagers.

Mind you, I was scarred by my first Mr Beer IPA, and never gave any of them another try!

I now want to expand my horizons. I have 8 real full scale brews under my belt. I am fermentation controlled now and use BIAB on a 17g kettle.

What IPA should I try my hand at, or what bottled beer should I sample to see if it is even worth my time, money, and beer space to attempt this again?
Click to expand...

I prefer American Pale Ale's personally.... for a commercial brew... Sierra Nevada is great but I 've been hooked on Founder's All Day IPA for a while now. I love the Grapefruit bite..... Goose Island (cough cough) has a couple of good ones as well!!!!
 
Up till this year I have been more of a Saison, Dubbel, Tripel, Porter, Stout, seasonal drinker(Wheat, Oktoberfest, Winter Ales). So, like you this year I decided to start trying some IPA's, the hop varieties that are available now make it so one IPA can be very different from the next. In the past they were mainly floral/bitter bombs, not my thing. Now you can get anything from very fruity, trpolical, herbal, flowery, bitter, etc.

A couple that I like that should be widely available and don't come across with a big bitter punch are Stone's Delicious IPA and Stone's Pataskala Red X. If you're near the PA/NY border UPstate Brewing's Double (their Double IPA) is much the same, although I think it's only 35-40IBU so many will argue it's not an IPA.

Go to your major grocery store and look through the aisle, research the IPA's see what hops they use, how many IBU's, etc they are and buy a couple 6'ers or if they allow mix a couple 6 packs. Go to some local breweries and try whatever IPA's they have, talk with whoever is serving and ask what hops they use, ask if they lean more towards late additions to increase the IBU's or if their using "traditional" 60 min hops for that. Most micro/home town breweries are more than willing to talk about this stuff, especially if they're not busy.

I wouldn't go this route by randomly making 5 gal of an IPA without first getting an idea of what hop flavors, aroma's, and level of IBU you're comfortable with. If you made something heavy on Chinook and Centennial I can guarantee you'd be dumping it, that would be like a major pine and flower bomb, at least it is to my palate.
 
Was never wild about IPAs until I had Lagunitas Sucks. Liked it so much I bought a case. I never buy a case. Now I love IPAs...even stuff like Palate Wrecker (not recommend to you right yet).

Sucks
Sculpin
Two-Hearted
Odell IPA
Yellow Rose
Mosaic Promise (APA)
Fresh Squeezed
 
I would definitely recommend grabbing a bunch of different bottles of IPAs or APAs at the store and see what you like best.

I have 2 schools of thought on learning to like hops: Either ease yourself into it with some APAs, or just buy a 6-pack of Bells HOPSLAM! and drink 1 per night. By the end of the week your regular IPAs will be refreshing and hardly that bitter.

When drinking an American IPA, pay close attention to the FLAVOR of the hops. Try to ignore the bitterness (many IPAs eschew bitterness and go with overloaded Late Addition hops, to give more flavor than bitterness.) There should be enough malt/sweetness to balance the bitterness, but the flavor should be centered on the HOPS. Some IPAs, like Bell's Two-Hearted, or a tad less bitter than a lot of them these days, and malty so make it more approachable. I'd recommend that , or some APAs like SNPA to get started with.

It's amazing that there are so many IPAs out these days, but there have been some newer malts being used, and a LOT of newer hops being grown, so there is a huge selection of ingredients available to make a very wide range of IPAs. There's West Coast style dry and bitter and refreshing IPAs, Midwest maltier and hoppy but not too bitter IPAs, NorthEast IPAs which are often describes as JUICY (and usually very, very cloudy, and very young).

I'd hate to tell you to just enjoy your wheats and lagers when there are so many options for hops lovers these days. I've always said, everyone becomes a hophead eventually! :mug:
 
There are different ends of the IPA spectrum. Some are balanced, some want to emphasize the hops. Most IPAs you find on the shelves today really want to emphasize the hops. Maybe you should research the IPAs available in your area and grab a few for science. These days, most IPAs tend really emphasize hops. There are other IPAs that are more balanced and easier to drink. I think trying a few different types might give you an idea of the type of IPA you might like and help you appreciate the style. No problem if you don't like IPAs. Everyone has a different palate, so while IPA might by the #1 most popular craft style (if indeed true), there are plenty other great beers that others might enjoy more. I used to be a hop head and recently found it more enjoyable to indulge in balanced beers. Some can still have great hop presence, but it doesn't wreck my palate for the rest of the day.

SNPA would be a great place to dip your toe in the water. The Bells two hearted IPA is a good one too. Might check out Ed Wort's Haus Pale Ale if you haven't already. Very easy drinker and like the SNPA would be a nice start point.
 
Let me preface this reply that I'm not a big fan of bitter overly grapefruity IPAs, but I do get in the mood for some now and then... Bluepoint mosaic ipa is light on the bitter grapefruit flavor. If that is what turned you off, and Ballast point sculpin is not horribly bitter, but much more of that grapefruit taste" it is the horribly bitter that I so not enjoy. As far as having fresh grapefruit, I like the ruby red sweet ones.
 
I also think Bell's Two-Hearted is a good choice.

I'm not an expert just remembering what I've heard, but Two-Hearted has been around for a while and was one of the earlier commercial IPAs that got the whole IPA craze started. At the time extremely bitter hoppy beers were sort of unheard of so it's one that isn't too ridiculously over the top. It's not a SMaSH beer but kind of close. It uses only Centennial hops and mostly 2-row. There are some good clone recipes out there.
 
Scuba_Steve81 said:
Thank you for the advice. Again, I am not trying to brew what I dislike. I just want to broaden my horizons a bit. I think the APA or UK IPAs ideas are a good start. This is exactly the kind of advice I was looking for.

So assuming I can find them all fresh, these would be a few good starters to try?

Sierra Nevada PA - APA
Samuel Smith's IA - UK IPA
Lagunitas Lil Sumpin' - IPA
Click to expand...

Scuba - what are some of the craft/commercial beers that you do like/gravitate towards ? Might give us an idea of where your palate is at and what to suggest.

Me personally - I hate IPAs - haven't found one that I like yet. My wife can't get enough of them and insists that I must try them when she finds a new one. Either she is trying to poison me or likes to see my 'bitter beer face'.
 
Pariah3j said:
Scuba - what are some of the craft/commercial beers that you do like/gravitate towards ? Might give us an idea of where your palate is at and what to suggest.

Me personally - I hate IPAs - haven't found one that I like yet. My wife can't get enough of them and insists that I must try them when she finds a new one. Either she is trying to poison me or likes to see my 'bitter beer face'.
Click to expand...

I am pretty limited. But a lot of this is fear of the unknown. I really haven't messed with many craft brews.

Shiner is my favorite commercial beer. I absolutely love most of their line. Bock, hef, dunk, blonde, black.

Sam Adams, especially the fall and winter brews. Not a huge fan of standard SA though.

Yuengling, Heineken, Shock top wheats, Leinenkugul wheats.

I grew up on MGD prior to the Mr Beer incident, but cant stand it now.

Fruity wheats such as a lemon summer shandy are good, but usually too lemony to drink more than a bottle or 2 comfortably.

I also have found a recent liking to meads.

I can also tell you that I want to try to work my way into dark beers. I hate Guinness. Again, I love a shiner black though, but only after two or three lighter beers. I usually buy the mixed pack, start with a blonde, then hef, then bock, then dunk, then black.


Btw, great advise so far. I am going to try to find a store I can mix and match at. I have a store that sells crafts in single bottles if I remember right.
 
yeahfairly said:
I prefer American Pale Ale's personally.... for a commercial brew... Sierra Nevada is great but I 've been hooked on Founder's All Day IPA for a while now. I love the Grapefruit bite..... Goose Island (cough cough) has a couple of good ones as well!!!!
Click to expand...

I see you're in Arkansas. If you can get your hands on Commotion (by Great Raft out of Shreveport), give it a try. I love it.
 
For a commercial example, try Founder's All Day IPA. It's sessionable, widely available nationwide, and I find it somewhat milder than some of the high-Alpha hop bombs out there.
 
Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin is also a nice IPA. My wife, who doesn't like bitter IPAs, likes it. Plus the grapefruit might appeal to your taste for fruit beers, though it can in some ways add to the bitterness.
 
But also, don't feel pressured into drinking IPAs right away, even though they are "in" right now. If you want a gateway to IPAs, there are a lot of great hoppy saisons out there. I highly recommend Apex Predator by Off-Color brewing. Crisp and hoppy, but with fruity esters that cut some of the hop bite.
 
Scuba- Here's a vote for the Sam Adams Rebel IPA series. I am not a fan of the 'slap you in the face' bitter IPAs, but find the SA versions to be flavorful without overdoing it.
As in Yooper's neck of the woods, we have a local packie as well as a local supermarket that have 'create your own' six packs. It's a great way of trying something without getting six of something that you wind up dumping or giving away.
 

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