IPA Rant...

[Mirilis]

So I admit I like IPA's as much as the next guy but I feel other beer styles arent given much credit. At least as far as media goes.. its always IPA this and IPA that .. westcoast etc.

TBH I want to hear about big malty beers.. dopplebocks and such. Its all about how much hop character you can add in some beers and it seems like no one talks about how much great malt character you can get into it.

Just seems like IPA is a flavor of the month that has been the FOTM for too long. What do you guys think?

 

[Ridire]

I think saying something is the flavor of the month for too long is contradicatory

 

[Calichusetts]

I think we have this thread about every two months, year after year. So....not really a fad. Its probably just a perception you have and then you see it more often, because you are looking for it.

I don't quite know where you are talking about (forum, bars, liquor stores, etc) but I find a tremendous amount of balance everywhere I look in my neck of the woods, and on here.

 

[kcmobrewer]

Word


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[grathan]

With so many new hop varieties you never get tired of it.

 

[Beer-lord]

I never tire of IPA's. I want to eat, drink, bathe, have sex with, watch tv with, and work with......HOPS!

 

[Homercidal]

FOTD (Flavor of the DECADE!)

I know what you are saying, but there are plenty of choices for continuing focus, such as Belgian beers, sours, session beers, etc. But so far they haven't risen to the level of the IPA.

Maybe because hops are so awesome?

 

[Mirilis]

Hops are pretty awesome. I think maybe it was because I was at a club meeting and everyone wanted me to try their beers::: Here try this black IPA, try my IIPA, try my Brown IPA..

I was just looking around for someone to say hey .. try this Munich Dunkel.. or Here is my Maibock..

 

[campbellmike]

I have yet to visit a bar or store and not been able to purchase a non-IPA beer but I've sure had it the other way around.

Maybe there's a lot of conversation, etc… about IPAs because people like them? There's also a lot of conversation about sours, stouts, etc… because well, people like them.

If you look around you should be able to find plenty on any style you like.

 

[AnOldUR]

Just seems like IPA is a flavor of the month that has been the FOTM for too long. What do you guys think?

Like others are saying, with all the new hops, techniques and sub styles, the flavor keeps changing, so the "flavor of the month" analogy is not applicable. The mass appeal of IPA’s is the broad area of tastes it now covers. All you have to do is love hops!

 

[Rjppunk]

Gotta ask how long malt and yeasts were the defining flavor and trend in the history of beer culture?

 

[Dopeybrew]

My only gripe against the IPA craze is that there are so few(that I have had) that are balanced. Most just seem to want to melt my tongue with hoppy bitterness. There is no malt backbone to a lot of the IPA's that I have tried just hops hops and more hops. After a while I just gave up on the style.

 

[Calichusetts]

My only gripe against the IPA craze is that there are so few(that I have had) that are balanced. Most just seem to want to melt my tongue with hoppy bitterness. There is no malt backbone to a lot of the IPA's that I have tried just hops hops and more hops. After a while I just gave up on the style.

I've always found this criticism a bit off. Some are balanced, but they are not supposed to be balanced. They are suppose to be hop-centric. Very few styles are balanced. Most focus on the yeast (sours, Belgians, etc), or the malts or both. Its only when we talk about hops that we suddenly need balance. Just drink a pale ale or ESB instead.

There are plenty of less-than-bitter IPAs too, especially with late hopping, dry hopping, etc. I will admit that plenty are too bitter for mosts taste and I'm sure they don't want to search through the sea of IPAs to find them.

 

[Dopeybrew]

I've always found this criticism a bit off. Some are balanced, but they are not supposed to be balanced. They are suppose to be hop-centric. Very few styles are balanced. Most focus on the yeast (sours, Belgians, etc), or the malts or both. Its only when we talk about hops that we suddenly need balance. Just drink a pale ale or ESB instead.

There are plenty of less-than-bitter IPAs too, especially with late hopping, dry hopping, etc. I will admit that plenty are too bitter for mosts taste and I'm sure they don't want to search through the sea of IPAs to find them.

It isn't that I dislike hops, far from it. I love RIS's. I love them because of that backbone of malt AND the hoppy bitterness. But as for straight IPA's, I just haven't found one that suits my pallet. Is there one out there that I would like? Who knows, like you said most don't want to swim in a sea of IPA's to find one that they like. Especially when there are so many other styles that are out there that do suit my pallet.

 

[m00ps]

I think iPas are so popular because they are now going nuts with new hops. You don't see new malts coming out each year for dark beers or new Belgian yeasts...its the hop explosion that fuels it

That being said, I think iPas are becoming more and more pedantic. Every single brewery has at least one in their starting lineup. The vast majority of iPas I try have this very generic american IPA taste of cascade centennial and other c hops. Every once and a while I'll find one that stands out though, but I try to make mine as unique as possible

 

[todd_k]

The newest IPA fad is terrible, the session IPA. What a terrible idea! People complained about IPA's being unbalanced before and now a session IPA just takes it to another level.
You know what I never see anymore? A regular stout. Everyone makes Imperial Stouts, Bourbon barrel aged stouts, fruit flavored stouts.... I can never find a normal, plain old stout. Oatmeal stout is the closest I can find in Kroger.

 

[Homercidal]

The newest IPA fad is terrible, the session IPA. What a terrible idea! People complained about IPA's being unbalanced before and now a session IPA just takes it to another level.
You know what I never see anymore? A regular stout. Everyone makes Imperial Stouts, Bourbon barrel aged stouts, fruit flavored stouts.... I can never find a normal, plain old stout. Oatmeal stout is the closest I can find in Kroger.

To be fair, a Session IPA is not actually an IPA. It uses the IPA moniker to inform you that it has an abundance of hop flavor and bitterness. The "Session" part tells you that it's lighter in body and you can drink more before getting plastered.

If it were actually an IPA, they would call it.... an IPA!

 

[todd_k]

To be fair, a Session IPA is not actually an IPA. It uses the IPA moniker to inform you that it has an abundance of hop flavor and bitterness. The "Session" part tells you that it's lighter in body and you can drink more before getting plastered.

If it were actually an IPA, they would call it.... an IPA!

It's a scam so they can charge more by calling it an IPA while saving on the reduced ingredients.

 

[Mongrel]

The newest IPA fad is terrible, the session IPA. What a terrible idea! People complained about IPA's being unbalanced before and now a session IPA just takes it to another level.
You know what I never see anymore? A regular stout. Everyone makes Imperial Stouts, Bourbon barrel aged stouts, fruit flavored stouts.... I can never find a normal, plain old stout. Oatmeal stout is the closest I can find in Kroger.

Deschutes Obsidian Stout is a classic.

It's a scam so they can charge more by calling it an IPA while saving on the reduced ingredients.

Nah, they're actually really popular here during the summer. People want the hops without drinking something that's going to put them on their ass while enjoying the outdoors.

 

[Mirilis]

Isnt a Session IPA just a Pale Ale? I wasnt really fooled by that one.

 

[Calichusetts]

They are called ISA (India Session Ale) for what its worth. Many now label as so.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I don't think it's coincidental that one of the first phases that craft beer drinkers (and homebrewers) go through is the IPA phase. The flavors are intense, and it's kind of a backlash against the BMC stuff. Some folks stick with hoppy, and that's fine. Some branch out into other stuff. And some get tired of it.

I like a good IPA every once in a while. While I like a good malt balance, my principle complaint with many IPAs is too much bitterness, not enough late hops. My ideal IPA is fairly dry but enough malt to balance, on the lower end of the IBU spectrum, and loaded to the hilt with late hops. But even then, I can only take em in small doses. If I open a bomber of any given IPA (especially if it's an Imperial), I really enjoy the first half, and want to dump the second half. Same goes for a 6er of em. Even great IPAs (like Stone's Enjoy By) this is the case.

So point is, to each their own.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Isnt a Session IPA just a Pale Ale? I wasnt really fooled by that one.

No, they tend to be pale ale malt bills with IPA hop bills. Pale Ales don't have 60-80 IBUs.

 

[user 198378]

They are called ISA (India Session Ale) for what its worth. Many now label as so.

Nope, not all

 

[Calichusetts]

Nope, not all

View attachment 235705

Nice photo bro...

Got Ipswich ISA in my fridge...if you need a pic

 

[paperairplane]

I like IPA - it's one of the big reasons I brew. I don't really like Scotch ales or sweet malty beers. I've spent a lot of money on sours - and I get what and why I am supposed to appreciate them - but I don't want my beer to taste like vinegar, sours suck. Funky Belgians are funky - not really interested.

I make what I like - right now I have a 3.5% dry stout, a 8% rye/oatmeal stout and a Citra session IPA with 70 IBU and 4.5%.

 

[m00ps]

No, they tend to be pale ale malt bills with IPA hop bills. Pale Ales don't have 60-80 IBUs.

Exactly. To me the difference between iPas and pale ales are pale ales are balenced. Ipas are about hops and that is it. Everything else, the grain bill yeast, amd water profile, is chosen to accentuate hops

 

[Devin]

I love hops and I love hoppy beers. IPA's shouldn't be balanced, IMO. If they are balanced - then they shouldn't be called IPA's. Like someone mentioned before, hops and the quest to add more hoppiness to my beer is the sole reason I got into homebrewing.

That said....I have recently been venturing out to other styles quite a bit. Ambers, Stouts, Irish Reds, hell - I am even planning on brewing a Lager soon (I used to really not like Lagers). I am really starting to enjoy other varieties.

However, I still love to fall back to a punch-you-in-the-face super-hopped brew. I type this while drinking some Elevated IPA from La Cumbre Brewing. Awesome hop punch. If you like hops - try some the next time you are in the southwest. Better yet, get a bottle of Project Dank from La Cumbre. Holy Hop Heaven.

 

[Dopeybrew]

Perhaps balanced is an incorrect description of what I(and many other IPA dislikers) don't like about IPA's.

I look at my hop heavy beers like I look at making spicy food. I don't just want heat I want flavor too. You could give me the hottest food on the planet, if all I get is heat nothing else I don't like it. There has to be an accompanying flavor component to the heat. It can be subtle, but it has to be there. The same can be said about hops. For me, there needs to be a malt complement to an IPA for me to enjoy it. It doesn't have to be 50/50 or even 20/80 but there needs to be some maltiness to complement the hops.

 

[campbellmike]

Perhaps balanced is an incorrect description of what I(and many other IPA dislikers) don't like about IPA's.

I look at my hop heavy beers like I look at making spicy food. I don't just want heat I want flavor too. You could give me the hottest food on the planet, if all I get is heat nothing else I don't like it. There has to be an accompanying flavor component to the heat. It can be subtle, but it has to be there. The same can be said about hops. For me, there needs to be a malt complement to an IPA for me to enjoy it. It doesn't have to be 50/50 or even 20/80 but there needs to be some maltiness to complement the hops.

Then you need to try more IPAs. You might look at Red IPAs which typically seem to have more complexity and malt flavor.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Perhaps IPA is the BMC of the craft beer industry...

 

[Devin]

Perhaps balanced is an incorrect description of what I(and many other IPA dislikers) don't like about IPA's.

I look at my hop heavy beers like I look at making spicy food. I don't just want heat I want flavor too. You could give me the hottest food on the planet, if all I get is heat nothing else I don't like it. There has to be an accompanying flavor component to the heat. It can be subtle, but it has to be there. The same can be said about hops. For me, there needs to be a malt complement to an IPA for me to enjoy it. It doesn't have to be 50/50 or even 20/80 but there needs to be some maltiness to complement the hops.

I guess I can see the analogy somewhat. I also agree that excessive heat becomes silly at some point - even down here in the SW desert. However, that is just pain-inducing. I have never felt pain because someone used 1.5 lbs of hops in a 5 gallon batch of brew. I just love hops. I like hop tea, I like to just chew on a hop flower by itself quite frequently. Good stuff.

 

[user 198378]

Nice photo bro...



Got Ipswich ISA in my fridge...if you need a pic

No thanks, I'd rather drink a cold SD IPA brah