What's up with the IPA fad?

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CavScout

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Maybe I'm missing something but I don't understand the IPA frenzy that's going around. At my local stores there's a ton of IPA's. I go looking for beer I haven't tried for inspiration and because I like to try new beers between homebrews, but it seems all anyone is making is new types of IPAs or spin offs.

I've tried well over 40 different IPAs in my life time and never saw the big deal. Every single one packs pretty much the same experience. Its like dragging my tongue across a dirty carpet floor. After about 2 they become more appealing but I've never enjoyed them and have never been amazed by the taste of one.

I went into my local beverage lounge recently and asked if they had anything new. Said nothing on your pallette, its all IPAs. Long story short, a couple of guys over heard and talked about all their favorite IPAs and how they were "hopheads". I tried everyone they mentioned and did not care for them. I couldn't help but notice while talking to these guys, they would make weird faces every time they took a drink. It was almost like the Miller bitter beer face commercials back in the day ( I think Miller is dirt beer for the record). One was drinking Rogues Yellow Snow IPA which I've had and will pass over any day.

Anyone else anti-IPA or am I truly a minority?
 
I'm absolutely a hop head, but I do get upset when bottle shops stock ~75% ipa's. Often I'll go to whole foods and think hmm maybe a 6er of brown ale or porter would be nice.
No brown ale.
Nothing but imperial porters (7.5%+).

It's a drag.
 
CavScout said:
Maybe I'm missing something but I don't understand the IPA frenzy that's going around. At my local stores there's a ton of IPA's. I go looking for beer I haven't tried for inspiration and because I like to try new beers between homebrews, but it seems all anyone is making is new types of IPAs or spin offs.

I've tried well over 40 different IPAs in my life time and never saw the big deal. Every single one packs pretty much the same experience. Its like dragging my tongue across a dirty carpet floor. After about 2 they become more appealing but I've never enjoyed them and have never been amazed by the taste of one.

I went into my local beverage lounge recently and asked if they had anything new. Said nothing on your pallette, its all IPAs. Long story short, a couple of guys over heard and talked about all their favorite IPAs and how they were "hopheads". I tried everyone they mentioned and did not care for them. I couldn't help but notice while talking to these guys, they would make weird faces every time they took a drink. It was almost like the Miller bitter beer face commercials back in the day ( I think Miller is dirt beer for the record). One was drinking Rogues Yellow Snow IPA which I've had and will pass over any day.

Anyone else anti-IPA or am I truly a minority?
Click to expand...

Well, apparently you don't like beer.. (or at least the taste of it)..

Jokes aside - taste is individual.. Tough luck that you dislike IPAs - I think they're an extremely enjoyable and versatile beer style. They account for atleast 50% of the beer I consume.

Lastly weird faces doesn't mean they dislike it - it means they enjoy it to such an extent that they are unable to control their facial expression.. (I can think of other situations than beer drinking where one might look slightly "off".. :cross:)
 
I'm a decent hop head, but I try, and brew, lots of styles. Tonight I'm traveling and found a bomber of a local IRA and an Imperial Stout.

IPAs were also a big fad mid to late 1800s when they were the "light" beers of the time. :)



Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I'm an IPA guy but I see where you are coming from. I think a lot of brews use similar hops, so, they are not always exciting.

If you have't already, try these: dales pale ale by Oskar blues, troegs pale ale, or Sierra Nevadas pale ale. Those are the only three IPAs I'll buy at this point.

Ever since I started making my IPAs with Citra or simcoe hops, I've had a hard time buying IPAs .

I think if you have an IPA with simcoe hops, you'll fall in love.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
 
CavScout said:
Maybe I'm missing something but I don't understand the IPA frenzy that's going around. At my local stores there's a ton of IPA's. I go looking for beer I haven't tried for inspiration and because I like to try new beers between homebrews, but it seems all anyone is making is new types of IPAs or spin offs.

I've tried well over 40 different IPAs in my life time and never saw the big deal. Every single one packs pretty much the same experience. Its like dragging my tongue across a dirty carpet floor. After about 2 they become more appealing but I've never enjoyed them and have never been amazed by the taste of one.

I went into my local beverage lounge recently and asked if they had anything new. Said nothing on your pallette, its all IPAs. Long story short, a couple of guys over heard and talked about all their favorite IPAs and how they were "hopheads". I tried everyone they mentioned and did not care for them. I couldn't help but notice while talking to these guys, they would make weird faces every time they took a drink. It was almost like the Miller bitter beer face commercials back in the day ( I think Miller is dirt beer for the record). One was drinking Rogues Yellow Snow IPA which I've had and will pass over any day.

Anyone else anti-IPA or am I truly a minority?
Click to expand...

Different strokes for different folks. The reason there are so many IPAs is because the demand for IPA is pretty big. This means that a lot of people do like IPAs.

As far as the bitter beer face, who knows. Maybe they're hop-head poseurs, and don't actually like IPAs. Maybe it's similar to those of us who enjoy sour candy or spicy hot foods. They may make us make funny faces, but that doesn't mean we don't enjoy them.

I started off HATING IPAs. However, the more different beers I drank, the more I liked hoppier beers. Now I'm a hop head and am always looking for a bigger more bitter IPA. You just never know how your taste will develop over time.
 
hehawbrew said:
I'm an IPA guy but I see where you are coming from. I think a lot of brews use similar hops, so, they are not always exciting.

If you have't already, try these: dales pale ale by Oskar blues, troegs pale ale, or Sierra Nevadas pale ale. Those are the only three IPAs I'll buy at this point.

Ever since I started making my IPAs with Citra or simcoe hops, I've had a hard time buying IPAs .

I think if you have an IPA with simcoe hops, you'll fall in love.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
Click to expand...

Been contemplating on brewing an IPA for the summer. Just to see if I can brew a type of beer I dont care for and make it tastento my liking. Figured I would decide once I get my Saison off and running.
 
I prefer a more balanced beer myself. Something malty in the 4 - 5 ABV range and less than 30 IBU(s). IPA(s) are a bit bitter for me. But different stroke for different folks.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I drink almost exclusively west coast style ipas. I try to make and drink other styles but they a taste the same. I think I have completely demolished my tastebuds. Its not a fad, its a real thing, people who love ipas really love them. %75 of all the beer I dtink
 
Stores stock what sells. I happen to love IPAs, and drink mostly APAs, IPAs, and sometimes American reds, so that would be a great store for me.

I don't think it's a "fad"- it's just what a lot of beer geeks like.

I don't like Belgians or sours, and lots of people like those.
 
I was a huge hop head for the last couple years and brewed mostly IPA's.

Recently I've changed my taste to Lagers especially Pilsner, probably because I still like a good hoppy beer.

There may be some Imperial Pilsners or IPL's in my future. Experimentation is part of the fun in this hobby.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
I think it is a fad to a lesser extent.

It seems like there's a rush to produce an extreme of some form or another - more IBU, more ABV, more experimental hops, more extreme yeast (beard brew), more-more-more. I think that with the recent explosion of really good craft beer, breweries of all sizes are trying to differentiate themselves from each other by means of extremes. What's an easy style to through a ton of crap into, have a fast turn around, and produce a high ABV? IIPA.

When in the last 10 years did we have so many beers that were late/dry hop focused?

The thing is, they sell well. Folks are buying them up, some due to taste, some due to it's current fashion status. They (the hoppy beers) will continue to be around, but there'll be a breaking point where they just can't cram anymore IBU into them and the fad will stall out.

Hopefully then they'll get back to making a quality wee-heavy... :D

JMO.
 
IPA's are a broad style. My favorite is the IPA from O'dell brewing. I enjoy the hoppy ones too as in Stone's Ruination. Not all IPA beers are extremely hopped. Not all hoppy IPAs are well made beers. I don't think it's a fad. The hop genie is out (or should I say in) of the bottle.

There I times i like and want a malty beer or just a simple pale ale or blonde.
 
IPAs are only a beer up to a certain point, much like hot sauce is a condiment.

There's practically an arms race to ramp up IBUs and Scoville units that rapidly degrades food products into dares, and both substances have the "tougher than you" boneheads that swear they enjoy the tastebud killing bitterness/heat of the nuclear option, even when their grimaces/fire-spewing rectums betray them.

My guess is the IPA train still has a way to go before running off the tracks. Calling it now: some upstart brewery (or the tards at Dogfish head) will start dry-hopping bottles. Hopheads will swear by it, partially because the inevitable vomit from consuming said beer will be pre pine-scented.
 
Like the bourbon barrel fad?

Personally, I love IPAs. I seek out local ones wherever I go. I have tried at least 200 different commercial examples. One of the biggest positives in homebrewing, for me, is having fresh hoppy beer. It sucks buying what should be a great hop forward IPA at the store, only to find out that it is old and most of the hop flavor is gone. I always know the born on date for my homebrew.

IPA lover since 1998
 
I have some kind of allergy to hops. IPAs make me sick as a dog the next day. Anything with heavy late additions actually. Ironically I was thinking about posting a similar thread myself. I would like more IPAs if I didn't get sick from them but most of them taste the same to me regardless. Hops is also a fairly potent sedative and I can feel the effects after one- talk about taking the wind out of your sails.

I am as much a malt fiend as much as anyone could be a hophead. If I didn't make my own beer I suppose I would be perturbed about the availability (lack therof) of browns, stouts, and ambers. So I mostly make ambers, stouts, and browns. Pilsner is far and away my favorite hoppy style. Agree that stout and porters on the commercial market seem to be on the big side.... Definitely a serious need for some mild ales.
 
MarathonMurse said:
IPAs are only a beer up to a certain point, much like hot sauce is a condiment.

There's practically an arms race to ramp up IBUs and Scoville units that rapidly degrades food products into dares, and both substances have the "tougher than you" boneheads that swear they enjoy the tastebud killing bitterness/heat of the nuclear option, even when their grimaces/fire-spewing rectums betray them.

My guess is the IPA train still has a way to go before running off the tracks. Calling it now: some upstart brewery (or the tards at Dogfish head) will start dry-hopping bottles. Hopheads will swear by it, partially because the inevitable vomit from consuming said beer will be pre pine-scented.
Click to expand...

Oso's from Wisconsin already does this. It's called Lupulin Maximus, there is a hop cone in each bottle.
 
I enjoy some IPAs, but for the most part, I like beers that aren't so highly hopped... Ordinary pale ales are more enjoyable for me.

What nobody seems to get is that IPAs are best warm........ or relatively warm as American beers go. Served ice cold, they are often overpoweringly bitter and harsh. Warm them to a proper IPA serving temp, and the subtleties and nuances of flavor come through. I'll never forget taking a Mexican friend to a favorite country bar once. I ordered an IPA as it was the only beer on tap fit to drink.........Unless you consider Coors Light and it's ilk "fit to drink". Greg, trying to be cool, surrounded by upper class gringos, ordered the same........... he made a horrible face when he tasted it, and left it on the bar for awhile, then hit it again 10 or 15 minutes later, and found it better, and before long it was good enough that he ordered another, and yet another......... Gregorio's no dummy... he ordered the second beer long before he finished the first........ he'd figured IPAs out without me having to explain!

This time of year, IPA doesn't even sit in the fridge here.......It sits in a place in the house where temps range in the low to mid 50's......... Try that with Coors Lite ;-)

H.W.
 
CavScout said:
Maybe I'm missing something but I don't understand the IPA frenzy that's going around. At my local stores there's a ton of IPA's. I go looking for beer I haven't tried for inspiration and because I like to try new beers between homebrews, but it seems all anyone is making is new types of IPAs or spin offs.

I've tried well over 40 different IPAs in my life time and never saw the big deal. Every single one packs pretty much the same experience. Its like dragging my tongue across a dirty carpet floor. After about 2 they become more appealing but I've never enjoyed them and have never been amazed by the taste of one.

I went into my local beverage lounge recently and asked if they had anything new. Said nothing on your pallette, its all IPAs. Long story short, a couple of guys over heard and talked about all their favorite IPAs and how they were "hopheads". I tried everyone they mentioned and did not care for them. I couldn't help but notice while talking to these guys, they would make weird faces every time they took a drink. It was almost like the Miller bitter beer face commercials back in the day ( I think Miller is dirt beer for the record). One was drinking Rogues Yellow Snow IPA which I've had and will pass over any day.

Anyone else anti-IPA or am I truly a minority?
Click to expand...

Your in the minority. :) I do agree that people seem to be going crazy these days with the IBU bombs, vs. IPA's that are "moderate" (but still an IPA). You might want to try a traditional English style IPA that is a bit more balanced, or as another post mentioned some ales that don't quite make the IPA category (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Dales Pale Ale, or even better Mirror Pond) as a way to see if you like those.

Or, more importantly try things and just settle in on what YOU like, screw everyone else. That's what's nice about brewing...you can craft the brew any way you want. Me, I like IPA's and typically brew an IPA, followed by something else, followed by an IPA, etc. [But I can say I'm not a trend follower as I've like IPA's since the 80's and my very first batch of beer way back in the late 80's was an IPA kit.]
 
I don't get something.

Why do some beer lovers feel that it's "cool" to slam something they don't care for?

"Budweiser- it's horsepiss"
"IPAs- for people with no taste"
"Lagers- for people who don't like flavor"
"lagers- for people who have discernment"
"PBR is for hipsters" (my dad drank that for years)

I just don't get it. I don't like Belgians, and I don't like hefeweizens. I don't like sours, and I don't like wheat beers.

But I don't think it makes me look more awesome by insulting others' taste if they do like them.

Drink what you like. No one is holding you down forcing you to consume what they like. Buy what you like- vote with your wallet.

There is a reason that IPAs are popular- because a lot of people like them.

Bud Light is popular, too- because a lot of people like it.

If I don't, that's ok. I'm not too much of a beer snob to sneer at those who like certain things.

We've had several of these types of threads lately, and it isn't very friendly or welcoming to other people who may actually have different taste than someone else.

A guy who was very insulting last week about people who like hoppy beers stated he loved Leinenkugal's Berry Weiss because he actually has taste buds. Ok, that's fine that he likes a beer that is more sugary and fruity than Fruity Pebbles. I'm ok with that. It's his choice.

Let's not keep up this type of arrogance. We all have different tastes. We can all express what we like without denigrating others.

Beer snobs can be nearly as bad as wine snobs, and that's not a compliment.
 
I'm not sure it's a fad. Look at the recipe section on here. IPA is the second highest thread count just behind american ales. People like IPAs.
 
Love a good IPA. I had Lagunitas Hop Stoopid Saturday. I enjoyed it. Usually, however, I think what makes a good IPA is what makes good beer in general--balance. IBUs need a malt backbone.
 
I'm not much of a hop head, and I'm also not a huge IPA guy. I'll drink em from time to time (I bought a 6er of Jai Alai yesterday, I had 3 of em today), and brew em from time to time, but I'm much more preferential to a balanced beer.

My issue isn't the hop flavor and aroma, which I usually find pleasant, although many IPAs taste the same in that regard, I just don't like the really harsh and overpowering bitterness you get in some of em. But at the same time, I like em dry. So for me, something pale, dry, lower bitterness, and loaded with late hops would be my preference. But I'll go for a good Bitter over even the "perfect" IPA any day.
 
MarathonMurse said:
IPAs are only a beer up to a certain point, much like hot sauce is a condiment.

There's practically an arms race to ramp up IBUs and Scoville units that rapidly degrades food products into dares, and both substances have the "tougher than you" boneheads that swear they enjoy the tastebud killing bitterness/heat of the nuclear option, even when their grimaces/fire-spewing rectums betray them.

My guess is the IPA train still has a way to go before running off the tracks. Calling it now: some upstart brewery (or the tards at Dogfish head) will start dry-hopping bottles. Hopheads will swear by it, partially because the inevitable vomit from consuming said beer will be pre pine-scented.
Click to expand...

I don't think there's an arms race to up the IBUs. That seems like 5 -10 years ago. I think it's more about flavor and aroma now. With new techniques and the amount of hop varieties out there I think the IPA is only going to get better and evolve as time goes on.

I wonder if people ever said a stout was a fad? It's still here isn't it? I think the IPA is here to stay. It may change with technology and technique, but I think will always be here. Hops are awesome, and aren't going anywhere soon!!!
 
CavScout said:
Maybe I'm missing something but I don't understand the IPA frenzy that's going around. At my local stores there's a ton of IPA's. I go looking for beer I haven't tried for inspiration and because I like to try new beers between homebrews, but it seems all anyone is making is new types of IPAs or spin offs.

I've tried well over 40 different IPAs in my life time and never saw the big deal. Every single one packs pretty much the same experience. Its like dragging my tongue across a dirty carpet floor. After about 2 they become more appealing but I've never enjoyed them and have never been amazed by the taste of one.

I went into my local beverage lounge recently and asked if they had anything new. Said nothing on your pallette, its all IPAs. Long story short, a couple of guys over heard and talked about all their favorite IPAs and how they were "hopheads". I tried everyone they mentioned and did not care for them. I couldn't help but notice while talking to these guys, they would make weird faces every time they took a drink. It was almost like the Miller bitter beer face commercials back in the day ( I think Miller is dirt beer for the record). One was drinking Rogues Yellow Snow IPA which I've had and will pass over any day.

Anyone else anti-IPA or am I truly a minority?
Click to expand...

Lad, you are running a little late. The latest thing is Saison. Look for it in the best bottle shops. :D
 
Part of the joy of drinking a well hopped delicious IPA is when the glass is done and it's a bit later and you let out a good healthy burp, the kind that fills the nose, and all the hop aroma comes back. Mmmmm!
 
Not the biggest fan of IPA. I am more malt forward, I do enjoy Bells two hearted ale when it is fresh. Very enjoyable.

I do see where the OP is coming from. When I go to the beer store all the craft stuff is high abv or ibu. I have to choose from the big craft brewers (summit, sam, etc) to get a session craft brew. But this is the reason why I brew. Brew what I like and enjoy.
 
iaefebs said:
This^^ I don't think the earth is going to stop rotating if you don't like IPA's
Click to expand...

Just trying to see what there is to like about them. I haven't bought any in 2 years. Can't really complain about them if you haven't really tried your farshare in my opinion.
 
CavScout said:
Just trying to see what there is to like about them. I haven't bought any in 2 years. Can't really complain about them if you haven't really tried your farshare in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I don't know what a farshare is. If you can't find a beer you like ,you live in the wrong state.
 
My only complaint about the IPA craze is that it has pretty much eliminated any other style of beer at the local brew pubs. I was into IPA's before they were chic. I like me some hops, though I'm not a huge fan of the big bombs. But I also like variety. We went to our local pub the other night and every single beer on the menu was either an IPA, double IPA, Imperial IPA, or APA. Nothing else at all. It's not quite as bad as going into a bar that has nothing but Bud, Bud Light and Coors Light, but it's disappointing.
 
You're in California.My son enjoys coming home to Michigan so he can get a non California IPA. We trade beers, he sends me the California IPA beers and I send the Michigan IPA... Good deal for both of us. He complains the same as you do. But I like the CA brews and he likes the MI brews. I love the seasons -20° to 98° and he likes 73° year round. Different strokes for different folks even in the same family.
 
iaefebs said:
I don't know what a farshare is. If you can't find a beer you like ,you live in the wrong state.
Click to expand...

There's several types and styles of beer I like just haven't found an IPA. Wanted to Make sure I wasn't missing anything or there's that one IPA I haven't tried that's right on instead of going to the trend of the Yellow Snow IPA Hoptimus Primes and the other extremely hopped beers.
 

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