sandyeggoxj
Well-Known Member
No
I was getting tired of absolutely every style of beer being crammed into a bourbon barrel.
Me personally? I'm waiting for English styles to be a trend. I haven't found many US brewers to do English styles right. US-brewed Belgian-styled beers are very common (around here at least), and often very good. But I have yet to find many breweries to routinely do good traditional English ale. It's always an Americanized interpretation and they never pull it off right. English Brown Ale with Citra? Yeah, uh, no thanks. Of course, the Brits are mimicking the Americans and beginning to use more of the American hops, so perhaps I'm just dragging my feet and trying to stop the sands of time.
IPA's have made craft beer legit. I love variety and drink all kinds of beers, but IPA is what put good beer on the map.
What "IPA" craze? I don't think their is one. There is a craft beer "craze" (if you want to call it that), but not an IPA craze. If your store sells mostly only IPAs then you're shopping at the wrong place. But I'm willing to bet that once you honestly look around (take pictures and post them here) you'll see that IPAs do not account for 4/10 beers on the shelf.
IPA is one of the more popular American styles. So yes, you'll see more of it on the shelves. American hops have made a serious mark on the map of craft beer. They have contributed a unique flavor and taste that was really never there before. Pale Ale and IPAs have been re-defined as styles. There is a distinct difference between an American west coast IPA and a British IPA. Same with Pale Ale. The variety is great, and also explains why you hear "there are so many bad, unbalanced IPAs out there", which translates usually to "I prefer more malty beer".
Yes, there are poorly made IPAs out there. But no more so than any other style. It just gets exaggerated because some people who love west coast IPAs may "hate" any other version they taste (like myself) and vice-versa.
I'll also add this: no brewer just "dumps" a bunch of hops in an IPA because they want to jump on the bandwagon. The reason so many breweries are making IPAs is because they believe they can sell it because they know so many people like it. Who the hell cares if you're not one of them? They may make a bad IPA but it's more likely due to poor process than it is the decision to use a lot of hops. Their other bees are likely also not good.
While I agree that IPA's are not what made craft beer legit, your statement goes to the opposite extreme of overstatement. It's hard to pinpoint what style beer brought craft to where it is today, but I'd give a nod to APA's like SNPA.All good beer put good beer on the map. And to credit it to one beer style is an insult to the passion of everyone on this forum.
First things first, I enjoy an IPA from time to time but the industry is being overly consumed by it... I went to one of the local beer stores earlier and decided I would turn away from the Belgian part of the store and try to find some Belgian style beers in the american beer section to save some money... Well after walking down the two ailes it seemed like all I saw was "IPA" "double IPA" "imperial IPA" and so on and so on... It kind of annoyed me that the market has become pretty much nothing but IPA... I saw the section for green flash and 4 out of the 5 beers they had were IPA, the other being a black ale, which I'm sure had a big stack of hops... I don't understand why IPA has gotten this big, a lot of the time they come completely unbalanced with overloaded hops and little malt profile.. I personally think Belgian beers are the best styles but since they don't have 100 IBUs they get little attention... Smh so many closed minded people
Will never get tired of IPA's...I am getting tired of fruity beers but that's the great thing about beer...there is no right or wrong
I'm annoyed with the high abv craze, nearly impossible to go out and session drink these days!
I'm annoyed by beer brewed the hard way.
I'm annoyed by all the choices these days. Back in the day I could just go buy a regular old beer. Now I have to choose. I miss the good ole days when it was just the big 3.
I've been hunting as many different IPAs as I could for years. The recent explosion is awesome. I still stick to my favorite which is Stone IPA. I've been adventuring the world of stouts recently and planning one for my next brew day. I'm pretty stoked about it
I just finished kegging my black IPA, Darth Muerto. Of course I sampled. Delicious as usual.
IPA's have made craft beer legit. I love variety and drink all kinds of beers, but IPA is what put good beer on the map.
I understand the concept. I collect Irish whiskey and store it away and I know wine people do the same. I also know home brewed stouts usually don't hit their peaks until around 8 months or more in some cases. I just have little patience with most beers for some reason. If it's a special event like a wedding or milestone birthday or something I am breaking out the whiskey.
There are almost no IPAs made in the US.......The ales that represent themselves as IPAs are usually way over the top in IBUs as compared to true IPA. They also tend to use hops that are completely inappropriate for a true IPA.
While I like many of the so called IPAs, I recognize that the name is mis-applied. It's time we came up with a suitable name.... American Bitter Ale for example. Many American so called IPAs have triple digit IBUs. Original IPA IBUs would be in the 40 or 50 range, not 90 to 150. Neither is high citrus grapefruit flavor in any way related to IPA. Hops like Fuggles and Goldings are what would have been in a real IPA..... the big C hops didn't even exist.
IBU might be a name that would better describe the product.......
H.W.
I'd have to disagree that "many" American IPAs are in the triple digit IBUs.
I do agree on the concept though that there is an IBU shift to the upper echelon of style. Some places APAs are more of an IPA, and some places IPAs are more of a DIPA.
There are almost no IPAs made in the US.......The ales that represent themselves as IPAs are usually way over the top in IBUs as compared to true IPA. They also tend to use hops that are completely inappropriate for a true IPA.
While I like many of the so called IPAs, I recognize that the name is mis-applied. It's time we came up with a suitable name.... American Bitter Ale for example. Many American so called IPAs have triple digit IBUs. Original IPA IBUs would be in the 40 or 50 range, not 90 to 150. Neither is high citrus grapefruit flavor in any way related to IPA. Hops like Fuggles and Goldings are what would have been in a real IPA..... the big C hops didn't even exist.
IBU might be a name that would better describe the product.......
H.W.
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