What is the appeal of IPA's?

[Beer-lord]

To anyone who's not into hoppy beers, send me your hops and I promise I will put them to good use.

[RedBEERd]

I think our tastes change with aging.....for me (I'm 56) I can honestly say that until about 7-10 a years ago, I really didn't like hoppy beers, but more of the pales etc, even more of the german styles. But also, I really didn't give many others a try...and once I started trying OTHER beers than what was my "taste", and trying to get out of my box, I realized that there was much more to it than just bitter, not bitter etc, and my palate told me what I enjoyed more. So I experimented, with the help of a friend who was in to different beers and, here I am today.

Also, when I was younger, my tastes had to match my finances, and some good beers cost lots of moolah.

I can still very much enjoy a good hefe on a hot summers day, a good coffee porter almost any time and even a pilsner if I have to but when I need a fix, I go to what I like.....and fortunately now I can afford it, or at least I rationalize that I should expect to spend a tad more on what I want.

[mtsoxfan]

A few years back, I tried an IPA that turned my mouth inside out. I shyed away from them, execept to cleanse the pallette after a heavy malty brew. Over the years, I slowly tried some, and liked some. What I value in an IPA, is balance. Just a bit of bitterness, but a mellow bitterness. I too, like the aroma, flavor next. To me, SA Rebel fits the bill. I know of others out there as well, but that is an easy drinking IPA.
I can appreciate what a hoppy brew brings to the table. But, like everyone else, I like what I like...

[Inkleg]

Here's my take on this. I prefer mustard on things over ketchup, vinegar based BBQ over sweet. For me, I like the bitter, my tongue likes bitter, bitter makes me happy. I like hoppy beers, but not a fan of Citra hops. This took me a while to figure out. I'd drink a hoppy beer and not like it, but then drink a different hoppy beer and love it. Started looking up what hops the beers had and the one not liked had Citra. Found I don't like my hoppy beers to be sweet. I want malt there, but if it's going to get in the way, not so much. Everyone's taste buds are different. I like hop burps, I like hop candy. I LIKE HOPS!!!!! But I like Stouts and Porters too.

You can learn to like different tastes, but in the beer world, if you're thrown in the deep end of the (insert beer style of choice here) pool you may drown and that happens with a lot of people. It was this way with me and sour beers. I had given up on them, thinking there was something wrong with folks who liked them. I ran across a thread on HBT, titled "Help me not give up on Sours." People listed sours in the shallow end of the pool and walked him to the deep end. I listed and sought out those beers and.....well.....now have 11 gallons of sour beer fermenting.

@TT, Dank refers to Good, Strong, In your face, Piney, Cat Piss , Goodness. Well that's my definition anyway.

[braukasper]

When I first started brewing, I could not stand an IPA. Hell, I did not even like a hoppy pilsner. What happened?? I have no idea I can't get enough. However when I drink IPAs I tend to stay with hoppy beers for the rest of that day. Like manshi I also favor Belgiums. You can brew a very nice hoppy Belgium IPA with a nice funk.

[Beer-lord]

I'm going to help all the IPA lovers out with this bit of info.....I am going to the Pub tonite to drink nothing but hoppy beers. And there will be absolutely no guilt and simply a smile on my face and a happy tongue.

[teutonic terror]

I'm going to help all the IPA lovers out with this bit of info.....I am going to the Pub tonite to drink nothing but hoppy beers. And there will be absolutely no guilt and simply a smile on my face and a happy tongue.

Enjoy your's and my part too friend!

[RickBeer]

I like the bitter, my tongue likes bitter, bitter makes me happy.

Stop being so bitter. See a pshrink.

[Rebel_B]

I'm not sure, but as I've gotten older, I have certainly drifted toward IPAs as my 'go to' drink. An informal poll at my work, from last year, came up with the result that >50 year old men greatly preferred the IPAs. The <50 year olds were more in sync with milder styles. I suspect there is a similar drift in taste with distilled spirits as well.... I don't observe a bunch of younger drinkers with scoth whiskeys in hand either.

[Wings_Fan_In_KC]

I think like someone else said, I'm addicted to the hops aroma more than anything. I love a New Belgium Ranger IPA or a Founders All Day IPA but I get as much or more enjoyment from whiffing it than I do from drinking it.

[mashani]

Even taught SWMBO about that and she smells every beer she drinks now before taking a sip!
I see alot of you don't appreciate the citrus/grapefruit aspect of some hops.
Well, they are the mainstay of my IPA/APA!

I also see, from lots of my research on hops, alot of folks like "dank" tasting hops.
Describe "dank" if you can?

I actually do like citrusy hops. But I don't like my IPAs to be all about citrus. I am a big fan of piney/resinous/earthy/spicy hops. That's probably because I like me my fuggles, my styrians, my saaz, etc. in non-IPAs... I grew up on Belgians and British beers. So I like that vibe in all of my beers. It's just a personal taste preference thing and since I brew for me... well it's all about me

Dank... Trying to figure out how to describe. Think the musty nature of something like a Brett beer or a musky fruit like cantaloupe or tropical fruit with the sweetness removed - mixed with something like the resinous/earthy nature of cannabis residue (not saying I've ever tasted that LOL)... I like dank. Others maybe not so much. I do personally think dank/spicy/earthy/resinous plays much better with a malty grain bill then citrus. I like my citrus in American wheats and pale ales.

[FedoraDave]

Great conversation, and some good observations on what makes any style of beer outstanding.

It's well-known that you can make a good beer with just ten or twelve pounds of 2-row, two or three ounces of hops, and enough healthy yeast.

But making a great (or at least extremely pleasing) beer by working with ingredients and techniques above and beyond those basics is what makes brewing fun, and beer so fascinating. The addition of some specialty grains, and/or the changing of the hops bill creates a whole different profile. Utilizing a different process, such as hop-bursting or FWH can do the same.

Tailoring a beer for an individual taste is where the craft comes into this. Bitter is not bad. Malty is not bad. Balanced is not bad. And all three of these things mean different things to different people.

I'd also add that having a preference in beer styles is very different than only drinking one kind of beer. Sometimes a really forceful bitter beer is what hits the spot for me. Sometimes it's a smooth amber lager. Sometimes it's a nutty brown ale or a milk stout. Sometimes it's all four, in whatever order pleases me. If they're well-made and please me when I drink them, it's a good experience.

That's not to say that under most circumstances, a person may feel like having a really strong IPA. That's just personal taste. But my point is this: saying "I always go for the most bitter IPA I can get" is the same as saying, "I always get a hamburger when I go out to eat." To me, that just shows a lack of imagination and self-awareness. Might as well drink BMC exclusively and turn into one of those beer drinkers. And I know, despite individual preferences in beer styles, that The Borg appreciates the nuances of all styles of beer, acknowledges well-made beer of any style, and welcomes diversity in styles and tastes.

[teutonic terror]

I'm not sure, but as I've gotten older, I have certainly drifted toward IPAs as my 'go to' drink. An informal poll at my work, from last year, came up with the result that >50 year old men greatly preferred the IPAs. The <50 year olds were more in sync with milder styles. I suspect there is a similar drift in taste with distilled spirits as well.... I don't observe a bunch of younger drinkers with scoth whiskeys in hand either.

This is a different concept, even if it is informal/unscientific!
I would assume it was the other way around!
Personally, I have really started to enjoy straight whiskey more that I did when I was in my thirties and forties!

Interesting!

[Chuck N]

Like the OP said; I like IPAs but I don't want one of the "flame thrower" IPAs. I like the ones that have that nice, mild bite to start out with but finish with a flurry of flavors brought on by the hops. One of my all time favorites (which I can't find around here any more) was Lucky Bucket IPA. Summit's "Saga" IPA is now a standard in my fridge (until I commence brewing again ).

But then there are also times I like a nice malty brown ale or stout too.

I liken the different tastes in IPAs to the different tastes in Buffalo wings. Sometimes I like my wings "naked" (the wings are naked, not me ) so nothing but the "chicken cooked over charcoal" flavor comes through. (A lot like a nice, malty nut brown ale.) Other times I like them with a sauce that has just a slight burn to it. So I can not only taste the chicken but I can also taste the complexities of the sauce too. (A lot like a nice, mild IPA.)

Where my son likes wings with the sauce on them that can remove old varnish from wood. I watch him as he sweats more and more as he eats and almost has to force himself - or so it appears - to take the next bite. I don't understand how he can enjoy it but he claims he loves them. <shrug>. To each his own.

[The_Professor]

...I know alot of you consider Sierra Nevada a lightweight IPA.
This stuff scorches my flavor receptors for some reason!...

I think I know what you mean by that and I believe that is because SNPA has a pretty healthy bittering addition. Now some people will laugh at that because that's what an IPA is, right? But we all know that there are different timings for hop additions to achieve different results. So if SNPA has a good flavor to you but a bit too harsh what you want is that beer with a lower bittering addition.

If one is brewing an IPA and decides on a certain IBU with a large part of the recipe being only a bittering addition, then there is going to be some bitterness and harshness. But with the same target IBU focused on mostly flavor hops there is going to be a lot more flavor rather than bitterness. This may be why even a really flavorful IPA can be "tongue numbing" since the IBU is still really high even though what one notices is a lot of flavor.

I have to think that it is as legitimate to have a beer feature hop flavors as to feature malt, yeast, fruit, herbs, smoke, or anything else.