I don't have anything against IPAs. In fact I'm drinking a delicious Sierra Nevada Tropical Torpedo right now. I was making a little joke about American ones because just about every new brewery has one in their lineup, not just because of popularity but also, I suspect, because it's an easy style to make, it can have a quick turnaround time, and off-flavors can hide behind IBUs. I don't really avoid new brewpubs with an American IPA, it's just that I'm usually not impressed by most of them. Plus I have a soft spot for British pale ales (IPAs et al) and I think they sadly unappreciated many people these days.
Fair enough.
IPAs don't have that much quicker turnaround than most other styles - all depends on the yeast used.
I guess they can be easier to make - a mash of 2-row, bung in a ton of hops, and there you go. The hard part is making them WELL, and I suppose that's where you're heading. A ton of hops will boost IBUs, but knowing what hops play well with each other is more of an art.
I have one brewepub near me that has had a few changes of brewers. The place has been around for 20+ years, they had one brewer that was there for 10+ of those years. (she wasn't the first one they had, she left about 5 years ago) She did a lot of styles really well, including IPAs. They then had another who was there for about 4 years - he's been gone maybe 6 months now. He was OK, did a few things well, but most of his beers were... uninspired. Hops were there, malt was there, but it didn't really pop. I didn't go often during that time.
The new guy, has revamped most of the recipes, and even the old ones are like totally different beers. He's also brought in a new stout and a few new IPAs, all of which are great. A lighter one, a more or less standard west coast, and a NE one, all of them out of the ballpark. I've started going back there more or less regularly.
Then there's another brewery with taproom that is doing EVERYTHING well - stouts, sours, IPAs, even a Scottish 80 shilling that is out of this world (and even better on cask) (I really like British styles - milds, bitters etc, and especially well- executed casks)