DIPA confession

[RevA]

I have generally disliked almost hated IPa's and DIPA's. The first one I tasted was at a small craft brewery, I loved their pale ale and stout. The DIPA tasted like sucking on a hot pine cone dipped in onion and garlic - this caused me to be wary of the style. It didn't help that the next two offerings I tasted were off. For years I never bothered even trying another IPA or DIPA as they are over-hyped and ruin my desire to drink another beer.
Yesterday I visited my LHBS to buy bulk malt- homebased shop in a nearby town. The owner was busy brewing and offered me a taste of his latest beer. Beautiful red colour, tropical fruit smell, nice bitter aftertaste but not overwhelming, IMHO perfectly balanced. He then asked me what I thought of his Red DIPA. I honestly had answered "it is the best DIPA I've ever tasted". Then he tells me it should be about 120IBU and 8.5% abv. It did not taste that bitter or that alcoholic.

It just goes to show that sometimes we (I) are quick to dismiss something after getting a rotten apple.

Now I'm in the fun position that I have to taste a few IPA's and DIPA's to figure out what I like and then brew my first IPA...

 

[monkeymath]

"hot pine cone dipped in onion and garlic" is the perfect description of the first - and, incidentally, only - DIPA I've had.
I was in Toronto, super excited about all the brew pubs and what have you, taking notes of all the beers I had. For that DIPA I wrote down "it's everything that you would think might be wrong about 'doubling' an IPA".

 

[ChiknNutz]

That's akin to my view of a lot of west coast IPAs. And for the same reasons, pretty well avoided anything that said IPA for years. It wasn't until I just recently discovered NEIPAs that I decided I do in fact like IPAs if not overblown with super bitter hops. Before we relocated from north of Seattle, one of the favorite local stops was the Diamond Knot brewery. Lots of folks drooled over their "Industrial IPA" though I pretty much hated it. These are it's specs:

INDUSTRIAL IPA
Full-bodied. Deep & earthy. Piney. Smooth, malty finish.

IBUs 85
Alcohol by Volume 7.9%
Hop Meter 4
MALTS: Pale 2 row, Munich
HOPS: Columbus, Super Galena

 

[Velnerj]

I had a similar experience with sour beers. The first sour beer I tried was so acidic it tasted like stomach bile. It felt like I was drinking vomit.
To this day I can't stand sour beers. Citrusy is fine but when it starts to get acidic it takes me back to retroperistalsis beer. No thanks.

 

[bleme]

That's pretty much how I felt about my first couple of IPA's. When I first got into brewing, I went 50/50 with a friend. We were talking about what we wanted to brew our first couple of times and he said, "Anything but an IPA!". I said "OK, but why?" and he replied, "Imagine you are playing a pick-up game of basketball, shirts vs skins. It's a hot day out and everyone is soaked with sweat. You go in for a lay-up and a skin jumps up to block you so you get a face-full of sweaty arm pit. THAT'S an IPA!"

After that explanation, I was a little hesitant to order an IPA but I did it anyway. I didn't like it, but is wasn't that bad! Then I got the Kirkland Craft Beer Assortment and tried the IPA from there and realized that is exactly how David described it!

I've gotten better at picking good IPA's over the years, but DIPA's and TIPA's always seem better balanced and tastier to me.

 

[Sailingeric]

I think IPA's have come a long way in the years. Around here it has gone from bitter bombs to more tropical and fruity with some of the newer hop varieties. Some IPA's I would not even consider an IPA based on taste alone.

 

[bleme]

I think IPA's have come a long way in the years. Around here it has gone from bitter bombs to more tropical and fruity with some of the newer hop varieties. Some IPA's I would not even consider an IPA based on taste alone.

Yet Racer 5 and Union Jack are still around and still darn fine beers.

 

[eric19312]

Love me a well made west coast DIPA and will pick that over NEIPA almost every time.

However these days I look to avoid the level of residual sugars in either style and am sticking with either low alcohol styles or brut IPAs which tend to taste more like NEIPAs than west coasters.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I love IPAs, almost never touch DIPAs.

But oddly it's the opposite for me--often DIPAs are too sweet for me. And if anything is described as a triple IPA, I walk away.

 

[madscientist451]

He then asked me what I thought of his Red DIPA. I honestly had answered "it is the best DIPA I've ever tasted". Then he tells me it should be about 120IBU and 8.5% abv. It did not taste that bitter or that alcoholic.

Most homebrew shops will share recipes, if it was that good perhaps you should ask for it?

 

[Dland]

I'll go ahead and ask, what is a DIPA?

Now time to speculate;

Detroit IPA maybe, 'cause the special water is like nowhere else?

Denver IPA, 'cause you are all high?

Whatever,.... I know I could look it up,... {;

 

[Genuine]

I remember my first IPA ever was Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA. I immediately fell in love with the pine and grapefruit flavors, intense bitterness, the aroma.

 

[madscientist451]

DIPA definition:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/articles/3889/what-defines-a-double-ipa/

 

[day_trippr]

Wow.
Anyway, neipas seem to straddle the IPA/DIPA line if not solidly cross it. I'm good with that, the overall softness can handle a few extra ABVs.
I tend to brew pretty near everything in the 7-8.5% ABV range, pretty much straddlers, and that fits my drinking habits nicely...

Cheers!

 

[RevA]

Most homebrew shops will share recipes, if it was that good perhaps you should ask for it?

He is willing to give the recipe, but I'm currently not willing to spend 60 bucks on hops for a single batch of beer...

 

[madscientist451]

He is willing to give the recipe.....

Maybe put it in here? I've never heard of a red DIPA and homebrew recipe that calls for $60 of hops is somewhat unusual.
If the malt was $20 and its a 5 gallon batch that would work out to about $2 a pint. Pricey for home brew, but I was at a restaurant last week where they charged me $7 for a what looked like an 8oz pour in a small glass.....(Hazy NEIPA)

 

[Snuffy]

I was not an IPA fan for a long time. Hop bitterness ruined a beer for me once it crossed a certain point. It was like eating a steak that would be great if someone hadn’t ruined it with loads of rosemary in the marinade. Eventually I encountered some that were well balanced so the malt contended with the bitter of the hops enough to make it beer and not just piney funk. Doubles like Pliny surprised me because there‘s just so much hops in there you think it has to be over the top - and it is, but the balance is in the hops used I think. The varieties and amounts and schedule in the boil is a stroke of genius. NEIPAs are ok, but I’m not big on hazy beers and that seems to be the signature characteristic of every one I’ve had. Probably I just haven’t had the right one yet.

 

[bleme]

He is willing to give the recipe, but I'm currently not willing to spend 60 bucks on hops for a single batch of beer...

It's probably only $60 if you buy them by the ounce from your LHBS. If you buy them in bulk from HopsDirect or YakimaValleyHops, you can probably cut that in less than half. Many of us here probably already have all the hops wasting away in a freezer, just waiting for the right recipe...

 

[RevA]

It's probably only $60 if you buy them by the ounce from your LHBS. If you buy them in bulk from HopsDirect or YakimaValleyHops, you can probably cut that in less than half. Many of us here probably already have all the hops wasting away in a freezer, just waiting for the right recipe...

Would not suprise me if it is the price per ounce.

 

[eric19312]

I think getting the magic combination of hop varieties in an IPA is kind of overrated idea.

It is fun to taste differences between hops but the personal likeability of an IPA will be more based on hitting reasonably close to the bitterness level you find pleasing. This will be a little different for every malt bill so best to keep your IPA malt bills simple and once you find something you like leave it alone. If you do that you will learn how many IBU you like in that beer and have freedom to experiment with different hop varieties.

Good clean bittering hops or hop extracts are really helpful in these beers for hitting standard IBU targets.

Point of this is that if you liked that beer that had $60 worth of hops for 5 gallons, copy it's malt bill and IBU targets but don't assume it will only come out well if you use the super premium hops.

 

[NickTheGreat]

My favorite style is a DIPA. But I like the sweeter resin-y kinds, like Hopslam. I also like the super bitter ones, but not quite as much.