IPA's... what's the draw?

[Chap]

I just don't get the love affair w/ IPA's or even Double IPA's. Maybe's it's my tastes buds but the bitter after taste and smell really turn me off. I have tried several different brands, most recently Ballast Point's Sculpin, and I just don't enjoy the flavor. Definitely not slamming anyone's choice of beer, just wondering what I am missing in this style of beer.

 

[SourHopHead]

You are not alone. My buddy hates all hops and only brews certain styles, but that is what he likes. I personally am a HopHead. The more hop flavor the better IMO, but I do have a limit on bitterness. Some people look for the complexity of the hops used when added at the various times. Just something I have always liked. When I open those hop bags it is like heaven.

 

[GregR]

I just don't get the love affair w/ IPA's or even Double IPA's. Maybe's it's my tastes buds but the bitter after taste and smell really turn me off. I have tried several different brands, most recently Ballast Point's Sculpin, and I just don't enjoy the flavor. Definitely not slamming anyone's choice of beer, just wondering what I am missing in this style of beer.

man if you didn't like sculpin then you just don't like the style. that is hands down one of my favorite IPA's of all time.

 

[Yooper]

I could ask the same question about wheat beer. I can't stand wheat beers. It tastes like liquid grape nuts to me. Worse than that is hefeweizen. Yuck! Wheat beer with icky "flavors".

I love IPAs, but hate wheat beers. I guess that's why there are so many different styles of beer- plenty for all of us to love.

 

[Beernik]

I'm not an American IPA fan. But I am a sometimes double IPA fan and an English IPA fan.

Part of it is I don't like the "C" hops very much. The rest of it is that regular IPAs tend not to have a strong malt character. Whereas the maltiness comes through better in a DIPA.

 

[Heineken]

If you love hops, you'll love IPAs. I love hops and therefore, a IPA fanatic. However, I can see where some people wouldn't like the smell of hops and would be turned off. That leaves you with only about 50 types left to brew.

 

[Edcculus]

Bitter is not a flavor humans are supposed to like. Thats why anything bitter like black coffee and hoppy beers require more of an aquired taste than say coffee with tons of sugar or milder, easier drinking beers. Maybe you'll never like them. Thats ok too.

 

[AnOldUR]

IPA's... what's the draw?

Alcohol and Hops.






Love it or leave it. It's up to you.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

IPAs= Blech. I don't like coffee, either.

 

[BogusOwnz]

I enjoy some IPA like two hearted is one of my favorite beers but they just aren't my go to style. I don't like any IIPAs I've tried.

 

[ericsabbat]

IPA's just bring something different to the table in terms of flavor profile. Its something I developed a taste for after starting my friends down the road of sour beers. You are either going to really like them or you are going to really not, that being said I really do and have a couple Pliny the Elders in my fridge as I type this.

 

[McKBrew]

My thought is that IPA's are the hot pepper and sour patch kids of the beer world. Some people like to push the envelope when it comes to food, some people like to push the envelope when it comes to beer.

Not sure if there is a direct corellation between people who like extreme foods and people who like extreme beer.

 

[GregR]

My thought is that IPA's are the hot pepper and sour patch kids of the beer world. Some people like to push the envelope when it comes to food, some people like to push the envelope when it comes to beer.

Not sure if there is a direct corellation between people who like extreme foods and people who like extreme beer.

I love me some seriously spicy foods, and I love me some seriously hoppy IPA's as well. hmmmm

 

[r2eng]

My thought is that IPA's are the hot pepper and sour patch kids of the beer world.

Well put.

Just like spicy food and cilantro: some people love 'em, some won't touch 'em.

I'll leave most barleywines and all sour beers alone, but IPA's and IIPA's are like the flame to my moth.

 

[northernlad]

My thought is that IPA's are the hot pepper and sour patch kids of the beer world.

QFT. McKbrew is gonna get a lotta love for that statement.
My beer of choice is IPA., but I do not like them all (Ranger) and I do not like them to be bitter for bitterness' sake. I accidently made an IPA that is exactly what I like in a highly hopped beer. A quick bitterness with a ton of flavor and aroma.

 

[Rick500]

I could ask the same question about wheat beer. I can't stand wheat beers. It tastes like liquid grape nuts to me. Worse than that is hefeweizen. Yuck! Wheat beer with icky "flavors".

I love IPAs, but hate wheat beers. I guess that's why there are so many different styles of beer- plenty for all of us to love.

That's me, exactly, too. (I didn't really learn that I just don't like wheat beers until after I'd made one, unfortunately.)

Yoop, we need to have a beer or two sometime.

 

[danorocks17]

I could ask the same question about wheat beer. I can't stand wheat beers. It tastes like liquid grape nuts to me. Worse than that is hefeweizen. Yuck! Wheat beer with icky "flavors".

wheat beers taste like rotten pumpkin or some kind of melon to me. I think people taste things differently. I hate tomatoes and nobody can understand it. I always say, if you could taste tomatoes the way I taste them, you wouldn't eat them. Is it possible our brains interpret flavors differently? I think so.

 

[Myke_J]

I'll leave most barleywines and all sour beers alone, but IPA's and IIPA's are like the flame to my moth.

That's pretty much how I am, but in the last 6 months I've had a few barleywines and sours that I liked. Hell, I even made a barleywine recently just to try and make something I will like. Next thing I know I'll be tossing some Brett into my Pale Ale or something

 

[giligson]

just a random google hit - but you get the idea:
http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/omi.2008.0031

 

[ericd]

I like IPAs like Titan and Hop Rod Rye, can't stand those tounge-scraping bitterfests like Hercules.

I thought old ruffian was way too bitter (BW but still high in the IBUs) when i first had it, but it's great at room temp. Serving temperature is important.

 

[carnevoodoo]

I'm with GregR on this one. If you don't like Sculpin, you're just not meant to like IPAs. It isn't even a particularly bitter beer. It is actually not too bitter with a big grapefruit and citrus nose.

But these beers aren't for everyone. I don't like drinking 99% of the reds in the world. I think they suck. Everyone has their styles they just don't like.

 

[Chap]

After all these positive posts about IPA's I had to try again. Had a 2nd Sculpin in the fridge... man I just can't do it. I guess thats why there are so many different styles of beer. Opened a Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock, now that was tasty!

Enjoy them all!

 

[david_42]

IPAs are an occasional thing for me, much like hot peppers. You might have better luck with an American Pale. A good one will not have any hop bite and it will let the malt come through.

 

[slowbie]

I know I'm a little bit late to the party, but I personally love IPAs and IIPAs. I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm a hop head because I also have found a lot of malty beers that I love (old ales, scotch ales, etc.).

However, a friend of mine who doesn't like any beer at all (but drank one of my homebrew IPAs anyways), asked me what the appeal of beer is. He is one who will openly admit that he only likes sweeter things like soda or sweet mixed drinks. When I thought of it, if I were to describe the taste of an IPA to myself before I tried an IPA, I would think it sounded gross. Yet for some reason, I love them so much.

 

[fezzman]

Waaay back when I was first experimenting with non-BMC beers, I stopped by the store to get a bomber of something different. I was off to a pool party and wanted something to kick off a nice buzz. I found a bomber that had a nice abv and off I went.

At the party, I popped the top and took my first swig swig (right from the bottle). Eeeek...what was this crap? Hmmm...it's an IPA. I choked it down and made a mental note to avoid that style. It was a Hercules DIPA.

Somehow, someway, somewhere my taste buds have evolved. Now if I'm at a bar and see an IPA/DIPA that is typically the first glass I start with. I loves me some hops, yo.

The first time I tried a barleywine wasn't pretty either. Now it's one of my favorite styles.

Your taste evolves. Forget about the fuss some people have for a certain style and drink what you enjoy. Eventually you may just stumble on something unexpectedly and look back on when you didn't like it.

 

[Homercidal]

I say drink what you like. There are plenty of styles to go around. But I also think people ought to give IPAs an honest chance. I thought a friend was crazy when he would only drink IPAs, but now I'm a hophead. Some are better than others, but I really enjoy a full hop aroma and flavor. The bitter should be not too strong IMO, but bring the flavor!

 

[Goatey]

i find this post to be so funny. i think i'm the kind of guy that likes "extreme" foods.

i don't think there is a single style of beer i can't enjoy in the right situation.

there's nothing better than a nice winter warmer beer in the middle of january or a light hefe in the middle of july.

in my eyes, everything has its place.

 

[BargainMugs]

I could ask the same question about wheat beer. I can't stand wheat beers. It tastes like liquid grape nuts to me. Worse than that is hefeweizen. Yuck! Wheat beer with icky "flavors".

I love IPAs, but hate wheat beers. I guess that's why there are so many different styles of beer- plenty for all of us to love.

I love Hefes, but I'm not a big fan of IPAs. Victory's Hop Devil is pretty good as hops go IMO. To each their own I guess.

 

[sithspitt]

After all these positive posts about IPA's I had to try again. Had a 2nd Sculpin in the fridge... man I just can't do it. I guess thats why there are so many different styles of beer. Opened a Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock, now that was tasty!

Enjoy them all!

Your in San Diego, try Stones IPA. If you don't like that then your really don't like IPA's. I love them but hate wheat beer. Wheat beer tastes like bananas to me which I can't stand.

 

[beowulf]

Like many, IPAs were an acquired taste for me...sort of. I was a died-in-the-wool malthead about 8 months ago. I decided to be a bit more open-minded and had a few IPAs and thought 'ya know, I need to learn to appreciate it for what it is'. Not everything needs to taste like a Belgian dubbel (my fave at the time). Before too long, I couldn't get enough hops. My next batch after that was an IPA (Yooper's 60-minute clone - thanks Yooper!!!!!). And oddly, I too am a bit bored with wheat beers. I got a good deal on Erdinger hefe-weizen, and am officially burned out on wheat, but boy they make a nice, heavy bottle. After you become accustomed to the hops, you'll notice that there is a malty, full-bodied backbone to most IPAs as well. It's not just a fizzy, hoppy, light beer. Most are in the 6-7% range, which I also like.

Right now, it's my favorite style. I also loves a good DIPA as long as it's not tooooo sweet (sorry Ska Decadent). Barleywines are a definite thumbs up as well. I recently made a SMaSH IPA because my buddy and I went through the first IPA so quickly. I think it's just learning to appreciate different things....like hops! I am all over the fragrance of a freshly opened bag of Amarillo....mmmmm...

By the by....yes, I too am crazy for extremely hot foods...tacos slathered with Pure Death sauce...oh yeah... Habanero poppers, even better...