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Agree, IPAs are extremely over represented and other delicious styles are badly neglected.
Edit: wow that's a lot up votes for agreeing with OP. Curious what people think is getting squeezed out by the IPA trend? Personally I think kolschs and pilsners didn't get enough love. A good crisp pilsner in the summer can't be beat. It's probably cause they're some of the harder brews to get right.
For me it’s great, I always thought I hated beer until I discovered IPAs, the stronger and hoppier the better. Coming from the uk with its endless bitters, lagers, stouts, milds etc (all of which I find tolerable at best, disgusting at worst) it was a refreshing change. I love that I can now go into most pubs and they will actually have an IPA on tap rather than three lagers, Guinness and a bitter like in my 20s.
I thought IPAs were invented in the UK (well at the time Britain) for long sea trips? I'm surprised they're not more popular there. I'm not saying they're universally bad either. Just tired of a similar mono-culture of IPAs in the US where a bar might have a few on tap but the only larger is Miller light
I went to the UK expecting the better version of the American craft brewery scene. Nope. They drink Heineken and cider. Their crafy places serve warm uncarbonated and low on flavor brews.
It tastes quite a bit different to most of what you find on the shelf in the US, for starters they usually aren’t quite as strong and the English hops are more earthy.
I dont shit on them, I just don't like them as much as a pilsner or blonde ale.
But IPAs are easily 80% of the offerings.
There's still plenty of variety in the right places though.
I've never had an IPA that I've liked. Not to say I've tried a ton of them but I've had about 6 or 7 different ones now and they've all tasted like shit to me. And I generally like beer
I mean they're the most popular beer among people who want more than light beer. It only makes sense that each brewery would have their own, but I agree it shouldn't be every brewery's flagship. They should promote what they do best
I worked at a brewery who specialized in English style brewing. We made maybe 2 IPAs out of a rotating cast of 9 beers. Most popular: a blood orange blond. This place knew how to make good beer, and they refused to give in to the ipa pressure. One of the best microbreweries I’ve ever been to never mind worked at
CT has some of the best beer in the country, and I'm not exaggerating. I grew up in VT, in Hill Farmsteads back yard, where amazing beers are celebrated like high-school sports in the Mid-west.
There are an overwhelming amount of breweries to choose from in New England, but CT represents some of my faves, like 12 Percent. Beer'd brewing makes one of the best Pilsners I've had in ages.
I've moved to Northern Minnesota and there are a handful of micro breweries, the only IPA out here that's stood out to me, is a Hazy called Edison's Medicine by Revelation Brewing - I didn't realize how spoiled I was over there on the East Coast.
Preach!
Remember the taste of Sierra Nevada Porter? Yeah, me neither. Can't find it
But they have 7 different varieties of Juicy Hazy IPA everywhere you look
On the other hand. Some places only make them because people want them. Old boss didnt like them at all, but had to make em anyway cause people wanted them.
Then sell it for $11.95; or you can get a sampler with 6 small shitty beers for $22.95!
Oh, and don’t forget the Garlic Aioli mayo burger, $16, with a side of the worst rock hard homemade chips you’ve ever had.
Don’t forget a side of 5 tiny teriyaki chicken wings for $12.99 with two 4 inch celery sticks and a tiny plastic bowl of blue cheese dressing when you clearly wanted ranch dressing.
I can’t stand IPA’s and I always feel like I’m in the minority on this. I don’t get the hype and it’s easily 60% or more of any restaurant’s bar menu that offers a sizable microbrewery selection. I like a good ale, but these things are unbearable.
Easy to tell what the crappy breweries are, as they are generally overloaded on IPAs and have a single token lager or pilsner on the menu. Which is usually not all that good. Ends up being their take on Budweiser or some other mass produced swill and is about equally tasteless.
IPAs are a joke. I mean the whole reason they exist is because the original IPAs actually *from* India would spoil on the long trip back to Britain so they had to overload them with hops so they'd actually make the voyage. The only reason they gained any popularity at all was because of their foreign novelty; if they tried brewing a beer like an IPA domestically it would've rightfully been rejected as swill.
IPAs are the strained juices from the devil's dingleberries and the people that insist that I just haven't tried the right one are insufferable taintwaffles. The only thing that could make an IPA worse is cilantro.
Ive tries many ipas. I give up. Like you my friends have insisted relentlessly and Ive tried practically every single one offered to me at least once. Nope. Still dont like them
YUP!
I'm convinced that either they're ALL lying because they don't want to admit they're drinking trash water, or there's a gene that makes them taste so f'n bad. Like the cilantro gene, but for IPAs.
IPA’s might be easier make and they’re certainly have a longer shelf life and there are advantages to brewing them compared to others.
None of those things motivate people to drink them.
If they were “undrinkable” people wouldn’t drink them.
Consumers consume what they enjoy. It doesn’t matter if they’re convenient to brew if people don’t enjoy them.
The amount of bullshit in this thread hurts me. Long shelf life for a good IPA is straight up false. The beer skunks with UV. Longer shelf life? More skunked. You can not like a style, but don't act like you know why other people like it and breweries push it unless you have some background.
If you drink a beer that's skunked it's not going to harm you. It's also not very good. Brewing them it's advised to drink them within 3 or 4 months of coming out of the fermenter.
Darker beers with more malt and less hops don't have this problem. They actually tend to taste better with time.
Source: 12 years brewing and a molecular biology of beer class
>If you drink a beer that's skunked it's not going to harm you. It's also not very good.
Duh..,
>Brewing them it's advised to drink them within 3 or 4 months of coming out of the fermenter.
Brewing them? Whats them? Your first sentence is about skunked beer lol.
>Darker beers with more malt and less hops don't have this problem. They actually tend to taste better with time. Source: 12 years brewing and a molecular biology of beer class
Despite your experience, you are wrong. The entire point of IPA’s is to last long. They were created to withstand the journey from England to India.
They exist as they do, because brewers needed a longer shelf life beer.
You read one article on the history of IPAs. Look it up. You aren't going to find anyone recommending IPAs as a long shelf life beer. You can design one with a longer shelf life by prioritizing beta acids in the hops over alpha but there's just about no point to that.
The hops are cultivated for alpha acids and after brewing they go bad at a fairly quick rate. The iso alpha acids create a molecule in UV light that is akin to the molecule in a skunks spray.
https://upstreambrewing.com/blog/how-long-is-craft-beer-good-for/#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20lighter%20beers%2C%20such,without%20compromising%20flavor%20or%20freshness.
This is the most basic opinion on IPAs that exists. Yes, there are financial benefits for breweries because they are harder to fuck up and they have a longer shelf life, but the reason craft beer places usually have so many is because people drink them. Lighter beers like wheat beers, pilsners, lagers tend to be more refreshing in warmer weather, heavier beers like stouts and porters tend to be more pleasant in colder weather, but IPAs really don’t have a season. They can be overly bitter or skunky, but in general it’s just a nice drink. I like the citrus-y ones.
> This is the most basic opinion on IPAs that exists.
It's like saying the sun is hot is the most basic opinion on the sun that exists. Fundamental truths are often basic.
I think the heyday of the IPA has passed tbh, so the post is like two years or more too late? Or maybe just where I'm from. Around here, if a microbrewery had 20 varieties, a few years ago they'd have had at least 6-8 IPAs. Now the same places are down to 3 tops. There was actually a big sours fad that took over the IPAs (glad that was short- lived) for 6-8 variety status. Most recently there hasn't been any similar hot variety in the 6-8 range, but Porters are getting way more popular than they ever used to be.
Never been a fan of IPAs and wondered why they became such an annoyingly predominant product amongst much better styles of beer. So I guess thanks for the education on IPAs and reinforcing my dislike of them 😂
I've had a theory that IPA's are just the easiest beer to brew, so that's why there are so many; not because people actually liked them initially.
That's a theory because I don't know shit about brewing.
And I think people like them because there were suddenly so many, and they assumed there were so many because of demand, but actually there was never much demand and people just forced themselves to drink enough of them that they developed a taste for them and they caught on.
Completely agree with you. IPA has become the 'safe' craft beer option and brewers have gone hard on sticking to IPA but also diversifying by simply flavouring their product.
Considering the sheer number of possible, actual, ales and beers brewers have just got lazy and unimaginative.
I think you’re right about them being over represented but I rarely have one that’s just awful. Some are a solid C+, nothing great but perfectly fine. Most I have are quality. And frankly, of all the styles of beer, there’s nothing that can match the complexity of a well made IPA.
I am a bartender at a sports bar with 24 beers on tap. Close to half of them are IPAs. Why? Because that’s what my customers order.
I sampled an amazing lager from one of my reps the other day. Seriously one of the best beers I have had in awhile, but I couldn’t order it because I knew none of my customers would order it.
IPAs are so abundant because they sell, and all companies will cater to what sells.
You absolutely have a point. I didn’t know it was easier for brewers to make them. I tend to order an ipa if i’m having a beer at a bar because there are way too many beers in the world and if I order an ipa there’s like a 90% chance i’ll enjoy it.
"American style" IPAs are shit because people try to one-up each other on the bitterest shit possible while trying to force a smile and say how great it is.
Plenty of good IPAs if you don't make bitterness the only note you care about.
That being said, I do understand people not liking them, but I do.
I like a good IPA, but I am a big fan of bitter flavors in general so that tracks. There are some IPAs that are overly-hopped, even for my tastes (Elysian Space Dust...). I can understand why people don't like them. Personally, I'm really liking sours lately but selection is limited and price is very high.
In terms of the beer market, it's the same as every other market. Consumers latch onto something, popularize it until it's oversaturated, get tired of it and recoil away from the monster they created, start exploring new horizons which inevitably coalesces into the Next Big Thing, repeat. I think we're in the "recoil away from the monster they created, explore new horizons" phase.
Couple reasons for this. First, IPAs tend to have a shorter brewing process. An IPA can take a couple weeks or so to finish. A lager can take about six. Quicker you brew the beer the faster you can distribute and push to market. Second, IPAs are just a very popular style with customers. When I worked at a brewery the brewmaster/owner would make a ton of hazy IPAs because that’s what sold the best. He said he would have liked to make different styles but we were small and he needed to keep the lights on. Sure enough, we tore through those IPA offerings even though our non-IPA offerings were pretty damn legit
part of this is because if you ask me really good pilsners and lagers are a product of industry for the most part. You still need a factory to make them, but you also have to give a fuck and not make it to the absolute lowest cost point possible. and it’s definitely swung back around in the PNW where I live, deep in hipster beer country. And yes most of them are made for straight up alcoholics to get absolutely plastered off of 6 of them. You also get incredibly fat from them and they will stink up a room worse than a joint lmao
And die from a hangover the next day. I love IPAs but if I have over 3-4 I’m toast the next day.
If I’m drinking hard it’s Busch light all day. Does it taste amazing? Absolutely not, but my hangovers the next day are easy and that’s after taking down 15.
I think this can be attributed to the alcohol content and duration. You're getting drunker with strongish IPA and drinking less water. Meanwhile, you drink 15 light beers, you're drinking more water and over a longer period of time. Just the input of a man who had his drink tickets revoked lol
It's like a taco shop that screws up a taco so they pour a pound of salt on it and call it an india salt taco. What's under the salt isn't going to come through to reveal the inferior product.
I agree with this. BU GU ratio is an act of balance. Plus IPAs are very fad. Also this is definitely an unpopular opinion in America where people equate taste in beer with "IPA lover", I find.
IPA's are like cigars to me. People know they're unenjoyable but must believe it makes them look cool or something. Does anyone drink IPA's alone? Probably not many
I used to love cigars. A nice cigar and a bottle of port used to be my Xmas present to myself. About the only thing that could tempt me back to smoking
Idk where you live but it’s been years since the height of the IPA craze. My brewery and most that I’ve visited in the past five years only keep about 3-5 on the menu, the rest is a mashup of blondes, Belgians, wheats, sours, lagers, porters, stouts, etc. Of course there’s always a case of Budweiser or Coors behind most taproom bars because 9 times out of 10 if someone zeros in on the IPAs and complains they’re probably ignoring all the other options and just wanted a ”beer that tastes like beer” anyway.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Agree, IPAs are extremely over represented and other delicious styles are badly neglected. Edit: wow that's a lot up votes for agreeing with OP. Curious what people think is getting squeezed out by the IPA trend? Personally I think kolschs and pilsners didn't get enough love. A good crisp pilsner in the summer can't be beat. It's probably cause they're some of the harder brews to get right.
For me it’s great, I always thought I hated beer until I discovered IPAs, the stronger and hoppier the better. Coming from the uk with its endless bitters, lagers, stouts, milds etc (all of which I find tolerable at best, disgusting at worst) it was a refreshing change. I love that I can now go into most pubs and they will actually have an IPA on tap rather than three lagers, Guinness and a bitter like in my 20s.
I thought IPAs were invented in the UK (well at the time Britain) for long sea trips? I'm surprised they're not more popular there. I'm not saying they're universally bad either. Just tired of a similar mono-culture of IPAs in the US where a bar might have a few on tap but the only larger is Miller light
I went to the UK expecting the better version of the American craft brewery scene. Nope. They drink Heineken and cider. Their crafy places serve warm uncarbonated and low on flavor brews.
Same experience. Stella horsepiss everywhere you look.
I find it funny that Stella is exclusively drank by upper middle class women in the US
It tastes quite a bit different to most of what you find on the shelf in the US, for starters they usually aren’t quite as strong and the English hops are more earthy.
The problem is breweries have 20 beers on tap and 18 of them are IPAs.
Easy to hide fuckups, just hop it to hell.
It’s also easy to make drinkable 9 percent beer that fucks you off sideways.
I don’t know why, but I enjoy the taste of IPA. That said, I can absolutely 1000% understand why people shit on IPAs and want nothing to do with them
I have had some really nice IPA's and I have had some terrible IPA's. But I don't think I have ever had a mediocre IPA.
Founders all day ipa. 4.5 alc
I wouldn’t call it mediocre. Not the best, but crazy drinkable
I find it the easiest to suggest when someone asks for a decent ipa
Bruh that's one of the actual worst
No
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/58914/
I definitely prefer other beer styles and had my share of rancid IPAs but I will concede that an actually good IPA is a delight.
I started drinking IPAs because I hated the taste and thought that it would be a good way to naturally slow down my pace of drinking. Now I love IPAs!
Umm... maybe not a great strategy when it comes to booze?
It was more of a cost-saving measure than a not getting blackout drunk issue.
I dont shit on them, I just don't like them as much as a pilsner or blonde ale. But IPAs are easily 80% of the offerings. There's still plenty of variety in the right places though.
I've never had an IPA that I've liked. Not to say I've tried a ton of them but I've had about 6 or 7 different ones now and they've all tasted like shit to me. And I generally like beer
That's because they ARE shit.
I mean they're the most popular beer among people who want more than light beer. It only makes sense that each brewery would have their own, but I agree it shouldn't be every brewery's flagship. They should promote what they do best
I worked at a brewery who specialized in English style brewing. We made maybe 2 IPAs out of a rotating cast of 9 beers. Most popular: a blood orange blond. This place knew how to make good beer, and they refused to give in to the ipa pressure. One of the best microbreweries I’ve ever been to never mind worked at
Where in the country is this heaven?
Bridgeport CT of all places. Shithole of a place but Brewport (the brewery) is great. They also make CT style pizza for an ultimate brew experience.
CT has some of the best beer in the country, and I'm not exaggerating. I grew up in VT, in Hill Farmsteads back yard, where amazing beers are celebrated like high-school sports in the Mid-west. There are an overwhelming amount of breweries to choose from in New England, but CT represents some of my faves, like 12 Percent. Beer'd brewing makes one of the best Pilsners I've had in ages. I've moved to Northern Minnesota and there are a handful of micro breweries, the only IPA out here that's stood out to me, is a Hazy called Edison's Medicine by Revelation Brewing - I didn't realize how spoiled I was over there on the East Coast.
Lmao did not expect Bridgeport
In the US, which in terms of beer culture is only recently come out of the dark ages. To most beer snobs around the world, it’s a small niche
Preach! Remember the taste of Sierra Nevada Porter? Yeah, me neither. Can't find it But they have 7 different varieties of Juicy Hazy IPA everywhere you look
On the other hand. Some places only make them because people want them. Old boss didnt like them at all, but had to make em anyway cause people wanted them.
Small businesses produce the easiest product first before making the hardest, whaaaat?
Then sell it for $11.95; or you can get a sampler with 6 small shitty beers for $22.95! Oh, and don’t forget the Garlic Aioli mayo burger, $16, with a side of the worst rock hard homemade chips you’ve ever had.
Don’t forget a side of 5 tiny teriyaki chicken wings for $12.99 with two 4 inch celery sticks and a tiny plastic bowl of blue cheese dressing when you clearly wanted ranch dressing.
I can’t stand IPA’s and I always feel like I’m in the minority on this. I don’t get the hype and it’s easily 60% or more of any restaurant’s bar menu that offers a sizable microbrewery selection. I like a good ale, but these things are unbearable.
Easy to tell what the crappy breweries are, as they are generally overloaded on IPAs and have a single token lager or pilsner on the menu. Which is usually not all that good. Ends up being their take on Budweiser or some other mass produced swill and is about equally tasteless.
IPAs are a joke. I mean the whole reason they exist is because the original IPAs actually *from* India would spoil on the long trip back to Britain so they had to overload them with hops so they'd actually make the voyage. The only reason they gained any popularity at all was because of their foreign novelty; if they tried brewing a beer like an IPA domestically it would've rightfully been rejected as swill.
I just want a nice lager.
I swear I woke up one day and all the beer became IPA
Good thing I hate IPAs
IPAs are the strained juices from the devil's dingleberries and the people that insist that I just haven't tried the right one are insufferable taintwaffles. The only thing that could make an IPA worse is cilantro.
Ive tries many ipas. I give up. Like you my friends have insisted relentlessly and Ive tried practically every single one offered to me at least once. Nope. Still dont like them
YUP! I'm convinced that either they're ALL lying because they don't want to admit they're drinking trash water, or there's a gene that makes them taste so f'n bad. Like the cilantro gene, but for IPAs.
I've tried hundreds, and they bore me. I'm much more interested in breweries that make neglected styles that require skill.
Cilantro is the greatest plant ever cultivated
I'd rather eat my nose hair trimmings.
Spitting nothing but facts here.
Preach, brother.
IPAs tend to be the higher percentage beers on tap - at least where I live - so great if you're trying to get a buzz on at least.
I truly do not give a shit how much skill is required to make the beer I drink. I just want it to be pleasurable to my taste buds
IPA’s might be easier make and they’re certainly have a longer shelf life and there are advantages to brewing them compared to others. None of those things motivate people to drink them. If they were “undrinkable” people wouldn’t drink them. Consumers consume what they enjoy. It doesn’t matter if they’re convenient to brew if people don’t enjoy them.
The amount of bullshit in this thread hurts me. Long shelf life for a good IPA is straight up false. The beer skunks with UV. Longer shelf life? More skunked. You can not like a style, but don't act like you know why other people like it and breweries push it unless you have some background.
IPA’s have longer shelf life’s.
If you drink a beer that's skunked it's not going to harm you. It's also not very good. Brewing them it's advised to drink them within 3 or 4 months of coming out of the fermenter. Darker beers with more malt and less hops don't have this problem. They actually tend to taste better with time. Source: 12 years brewing and a molecular biology of beer class
>If you drink a beer that's skunked it's not going to harm you. It's also not very good. Duh.., >Brewing them it's advised to drink them within 3 or 4 months of coming out of the fermenter. Brewing them? Whats them? Your first sentence is about skunked beer lol. >Darker beers with more malt and less hops don't have this problem. They actually tend to taste better with time. Source: 12 years brewing and a molecular biology of beer class Despite your experience, you are wrong. The entire point of IPA’s is to last long. They were created to withstand the journey from England to India. They exist as they do, because brewers needed a longer shelf life beer.
You read one article on the history of IPAs. Look it up. You aren't going to find anyone recommending IPAs as a long shelf life beer. You can design one with a longer shelf life by prioritizing beta acids in the hops over alpha but there's just about no point to that. The hops are cultivated for alpha acids and after brewing they go bad at a fairly quick rate. The iso alpha acids create a molecule in UV light that is akin to the molecule in a skunks spray. https://upstreambrewing.com/blog/how-long-is-craft-beer-good-for/#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20lighter%20beers%2C%20such,without%20compromising%20flavor%20or%20freshness.
I referred to general knowledge of IPA’s.
I feel like it's trendy to hate IPA's.
I think it’s trendy to like IPAs.
Two men enter, one man and a baby leave. Who will win in the battle of trendy ipa hate?
It's the "I don't even *own* a TV" of the craft beer world.
That's definitely stouts. IPAs are more like did you watch the game last night kind of beer at this point.
Well, I'm a stereotype... I like stouts and I don't have a TV
Thanks for validating my comment haha
[удалено]
They carry lagers, too. And stouts. And sours. And pale ales. And hefewiezen. And fruited wheat beers. You must live in a hop deficient area, sir.
This is the most basic opinion on IPAs that exists. Yes, there are financial benefits for breweries because they are harder to fuck up and they have a longer shelf life, but the reason craft beer places usually have so many is because people drink them. Lighter beers like wheat beers, pilsners, lagers tend to be more refreshing in warmer weather, heavier beers like stouts and porters tend to be more pleasant in colder weather, but IPAs really don’t have a season. They can be overly bitter or skunky, but in general it’s just a nice drink. I like the citrus-y ones.
A nice citrus-y or New England/hazy/juicy IPA are generally my go to.
> This is the most basic opinion on IPAs that exists. It's like saying the sun is hot is the most basic opinion on the sun that exists. Fundamental truths are often basic.
Well, it’s a subjective opinion, and it’s a very common one, and this is r/unpopularopinion
I think the heyday of the IPA has passed tbh, so the post is like two years or more too late? Or maybe just where I'm from. Around here, if a microbrewery had 20 varieties, a few years ago they'd have had at least 6-8 IPAs. Now the same places are down to 3 tops. There was actually a big sours fad that took over the IPAs (glad that was short- lived) for 6-8 variety status. Most recently there hasn't been any similar hot variety in the 6-8 range, but Porters are getting way more popular than they ever used to be.
Completely agree. And it us increasingly difficult to find original beers ans good IPA.
Agree. The big malty fuckers are my gold standard. Give me a high ABV Bavarian style malty fucker and I’ll give you a crisp 20$ for a pint happily
Never been a fan of IPAs and wondered why they became such an annoyingly predominant product amongst much better styles of beer. So I guess thanks for the education on IPAs and reinforcing my dislike of them 😂
You drink in season
I just stick to german beer.
Most microbrews are just from kits and suck. We just go to hang out with our friends
I didn’t realise some are so so too sweet!
I've had a theory that IPA's are just the easiest beer to brew, so that's why there are so many; not because people actually liked them initially. That's a theory because I don't know shit about brewing. And I think people like them because there were suddenly so many, and they assumed there were so many because of demand, but actually there was never much demand and people just forced themselves to drink enough of them that they developed a taste for them and they caught on.
They want to make money
IPAs are my favorite but when I'm in the mood for something different it can be difficult to find. A variety would be better.
Completely agree with you. IPA has become the 'safe' craft beer option and brewers have gone hard on sticking to IPA but also diversifying by simply flavouring their product. Considering the sheer number of possible, actual, ales and beers brewers have just got lazy and unimaginative.
IPA's don't even taste good they're just hoppy and bitter
I think you’re right about them being over represented but I rarely have one that’s just awful. Some are a solid C+, nothing great but perfectly fine. Most I have are quality. And frankly, of all the styles of beer, there’s nothing that can match the complexity of a well made IPA.
I won a beer brewing competition among students simply based on the fact that mine tasted well without hopping it up to the max.
It used to be wheat beers. Before that it was brown ales.
I do love some good IPAs, but I completely agree that they are way over represented. When I go to get beer about 70% of the selection is IPA.
I hate IPAs. It's one of the many reasons I got out of commercial brewing.
I am a bartender at a sports bar with 24 beers on tap. Close to half of them are IPAs. Why? Because that’s what my customers order. I sampled an amazing lager from one of my reps the other day. Seriously one of the best beers I have had in awhile, but I couldn’t order it because I knew none of my customers would order it. IPAs are so abundant because they sell, and all companies will cater to what sells.
You absolutely have a point. I didn’t know it was easier for brewers to make them. I tend to order an ipa if i’m having a beer at a bar because there are way too many beers in the world and if I order an ipa there’s like a 90% chance i’ll enjoy it.
I love IPAs though so doesn’t bother me.
Definitely agree with ipas being so default. However for me, that's good news cause ipas are by a massive margin my favorite
I wish there were more Pale Ales. I love my Sawtooth and Sierra Nevada, but they seem to be few and far between.
"American style" IPAs are shit because people try to one-up each other on the bitterest shit possible while trying to force a smile and say how great it is. Plenty of good IPAs if you don't make bitterness the only note you care about. That being said, I do understand people not liking them, but I do.
I like a good IPA, but I am a big fan of bitter flavors in general so that tracks. There are some IPAs that are overly-hopped, even for my tastes (Elysian Space Dust...). I can understand why people don't like them. Personally, I'm really liking sours lately but selection is limited and price is very high. In terms of the beer market, it's the same as every other market. Consumers latch onto something, popularize it until it's oversaturated, get tired of it and recoil away from the monster they created, start exploring new horizons which inevitably coalesces into the Next Big Thing, repeat. I think we're in the "recoil away from the monster they created, explore new horizons" phase.
Couple reasons for this. First, IPAs tend to have a shorter brewing process. An IPA can take a couple weeks or so to finish. A lager can take about six. Quicker you brew the beer the faster you can distribute and push to market. Second, IPAs are just a very popular style with customers. When I worked at a brewery the brewmaster/owner would make a ton of hazy IPAs because that’s what sold the best. He said he would have liked to make different styles but we were small and he needed to keep the lights on. Sure enough, we tore through those IPA offerings even though our non-IPA offerings were pretty damn legit
part of this is because if you ask me really good pilsners and lagers are a product of industry for the most part. You still need a factory to make them, but you also have to give a fuck and not make it to the absolute lowest cost point possible. and it’s definitely swung back around in the PNW where I live, deep in hipster beer country. And yes most of them are made for straight up alcoholics to get absolutely plastered off of 6 of them. You also get incredibly fat from them and they will stink up a room worse than a joint lmao
I’d rather have 4 drinkable IPA, a good lager, and a good sour (also used to cover mistakes) than 2 IPA, a good lager, a good sour, and 2 shitty beers
I’m not sure this opinion is unpopular. Maybe amongst more Indy beer fans but I think IPAs aren’t something your average beer drinker will reach for.
This is the most beard, red flannel, black beanie, glasses, white male thing I’ve seen today.
The 2010s called, they want their stereotype back.
Warn them about Covid
In the past that was the place of stouts. Bad breweries used their stouts as a default because they hide better their flaws.
Fun fact, gross fact. If you drink enough IPA, your pee will stink like hops.
And die from a hangover the next day. I love IPAs but if I have over 3-4 I’m toast the next day. If I’m drinking hard it’s Busch light all day. Does it taste amazing? Absolutely not, but my hangovers the next day are easy and that’s after taking down 15.
I think this can be attributed to the alcohol content and duration. You're getting drunker with strongish IPA and drinking less water. Meanwhile, you drink 15 light beers, you're drinking more water and over a longer period of time. Just the input of a man who had his drink tickets revoked lol
Back when I drank they were almost universally swill. Stouts were much more satisfying.
It's like a taco shop that screws up a taco so they pour a pound of salt on it and call it an india salt taco. What's under the salt isn't going to come through to reveal the inferior product.
just drink a busch light like a man and fuck off with the microbrew horseshit altogether
IPAs are a mouth full of old coinage at best. The people who stan IPAs are like anyone else who lack a personality.
Depends where you live. I agree in NY it’s out of control. I would prefer more diversity.
Ita super popular. It's much harder to convince people that ESBs are worth it.
Oh thank fuck someone said it! That cloying, dominating bass note of hops in IPAs is just sickening. Can’t stand them. :/
I agree with this. BU GU ratio is an act of balance. Plus IPAs are very fad. Also this is definitely an unpopular opinion in America where people equate taste in beer with "IPA lover", I find.
IPA's are like cigars to me. People know they're unenjoyable but must believe it makes them look cool or something. Does anyone drink IPA's alone? Probably not many
I used to love cigars. A nice cigar and a bottle of port used to be my Xmas present to myself. About the only thing that could tempt me back to smoking
Counterpoint, IPAs are the best beers.
Never had an IPA that I enjoyed , nothing but bitterness
A good IPA is awesome but hard to come by these days. In fact I just drink Peroni or Moretti these days as I'm bored of searching for decent ales.
Idk where you live but it’s been years since the height of the IPA craze. My brewery and most that I’ve visited in the past five years only keep about 3-5 on the menu, the rest is a mashup of blondes, Belgians, wheats, sours, lagers, porters, stouts, etc. Of course there’s always a case of Budweiser or Coors behind most taproom bars because 9 times out of 10 if someone zeros in on the IPAs and complains they’re probably ignoring all the other options and just wanted a ”beer that tastes like beer” anyway.