I used to hate them, but got used to them when a friend left a ton at my house. Now I try them frequently. Not my favorite, but definitely interesting, and usually higher abv
Yeah, I'm not out here trying to convert anyone. I thought they were repulsive once, but tastes evolved, becoming increasingly hoppy over time. I drink 2 and I'm happy. The only beers I look down on are Bud Light and Coors Light. Live your joy.
"More" flavour isn't necessarily a win. Moldy bread has more flavour than fresh bread, but the quality of the flavor? That matters. And IPA flavor generally tends to be somewhat revolting to me.
To put it into context, my favourite cider is the cloudy one you practically have to chew that is only sold out of the back of farm vehicles at country shows in re-used 5-litre plastic containers and is alcoholic enough to run a tractor on. Watery lager just won't do.
It’s not so much “more” flavor as it is *any* flavor. I can drink any IPA but can’t touch any American lager. They have no discernible characteristics.
IPAs are noble, delicious, and, obviously, not for everyone. but then, they were brewed for a specific purpose. I promise you if you, too, were on an ocean voyage of almost 11,000 Miles, sailing by the wind for months at a time, and an IPA was the only thing that remained intact, you'd love it, too.
I heard a theory recently that a possible reason many people (myself included) don't like the taste of modern IPAs is that they're too fresh and not made properly: The aging from putting them in casks and sailing them half-way round the world is important, actually.
1) er....I don't think so (meaning if you don't like it, you won't like it. Period) Chacun à son gout and all that. Some people can't stand digital and others (suckers for even-numbered distortion) prefer vinyl (I mean..wtf??)
2) Vanilla lovers are the equal and peers of chocolate lovers. I'm one of the demented ones who loves bitter. If bitter's not a preferred taste, you won't like it.
oh yes, they were brewed for a purpose. but as you said it was necessity, not enjoyment. it feels like generational Stockholm/peer pressure at this point
Wait. Stockholm syndrome? You mean, you're being held captive by a deranged brewer until you finally succumb and begin sympathizing with his career goals?
And IPAs are very fit for that purpose. The problem becomes when breweries just start overhopping everything because it's easier than finding a proper blend.
1) Breweries figured....."what hell! They like hops? I'll give 'em some hops!!"...then they'd drop the entire year's hop harvest into the brew, and wait to see whether the brewing vat dissolved or not.
Eh, most of the hate of IPAs has more to do with people hating on how popular they got for awhile and the type of people who, stereotypically, drink them.
As a fan of bourbon and limoncello, I like to tell myself I am above the plebian tripe of the beer swilling masses.
My hate of IPA is that I don't like the taste and whenever I go to a brew pub they never have what I want, just 12 different varieties of IPA. If I'm lucky they might have a pilsner which aren't as bad.
I did say MOST of the hate, not ALL the hate. If that's your local bar scene though then I suggest you change up your beverage of choice. Can never go wrong with a polish professor, Manhattan, or tequila slammer.
What too sweet limoncello destined to be drink chilled when youve eaten too much is superior to beer in your mind ? I will never understand you americans.
Nah, I gotta represent my US roots by being an ignorant and uncultured swine, so instead of drinking it nice and slow as an aperitif, I do it by the shot.
The only time people voluntarily drank this microbrew crap voluntarily was during prohibition. Theres a reason good beer brands have been around hundreds of years ( sit down, and shut up murican pisswater drinkers), they know what they’re doing.
Hops were originally a preservative, not a flavoring. Hopped beer was cheaper to make- hops took the place of alcohol as the preservative, meaning the beer could be weaker and require less malt, so it eventually drove out unhopped ale (hops came to England during the Reformation.)
Real question: are you a sweet or savory person? Do you like your coffee black or all dressed up with cream, sugar, shots of flavor? Do you like your spaghetti sauce sharp or sugary and out of a bottle? Breakfast - is it eggs and hot sauce or toast & jam?
it's hard because of where you are. I don't know the US breweries as well. What I would say is, the fresher the hops, the better the flavor. So buy local. Also, be prepared to spend some money, as supermarket beer has nowhere near same amount of hops. Bucket list beer in US for me is Pliny the Elder
Years ago I would have agreed wholeheartedly but these days I prefer them over most beer. Variety is the spice of life though as some days a lager slaps.
I dunno, man... you started with "I don't like beer," but from there you go on to crap on a specific kind of beer. This is like somebody saying, "I don't like Russian lit, but FUCK DOSTOEVSKY!"
This is pretty much every problem with social media wrapped in one comment. 😀 Thanks...?
Cannot stand the taste of IPAs, way too hoppy for me. Give me a decent beer very low in hop content or a good wheat based. Hops do not make the flavor.
Pacific Northwestern beer lover here, and I totally agree! I have no idea how the IPA trend keeps going, it's soooo bitter. Gimme some toasted malt flavor, please!
Beer is the greatest invention of mankind, and IPA is the greatest addition by the British.
Invented to survive the long journey to India and the high temperatures over there.
Like many things British in origin, it took others to really make it amazing. After arguably hundreds of years of hop attrition in British IPA recipes and the onset of refrigeration technology, Californians finally realized the “off-flavor” of a preservative ingredient was anything but.
It's ok to just like what you like. It took me years to figure out that I don't like lagers and much prefer malty beers like bitters, stouts, and reds.
I prefer stouts and porters and agree with your take here. The only IPA I can stand is Heady Topper which isn’t bad. I think the IPA trend just resulted in a lot of low effort bad beers because people were willing to pay for them.
I'll trade you some olives or hot sauce, for IPA, since these are things I don't think are fit for human consumption either but I'll be darned if people don't consume them.
It’s silly isn’t it. Different strokes for different folks. I’m a professional brewer and make a wide variety for consumer preferences. Drink whatever you enjoy to drink. Plenty of palates around the world for different styles.
I love IPAs, but there are way too many on the market. And the reason for that is they're easy to make. Ale yeast ferments great at room temperature. It's easy to add tons of hops.
If you’re American and drinking IPA I can assure you it is nothing like proper IPA. It’s a crude over exaggeration and just a marketing ploy. For IPA one of the best examples is Greene King. Don’t worry we in the UK also have these gross hipster ales too that are sour nettley shite.
In the hands of a good brewer, IPA can be tasty. The Warped Wing in Dayton Ohio has several that I willingly drink, and I generally despise IPAs. 🤷🏻♀️
I love beer. Pilsner, lagger, ale, malt liquor, gruit. I brew a mean ginger "beer" at around 12% ABV. I think a good stout is better than pussy. IPA isn't beer as far as I'm concerned; it tastes like sucking on a dirty armpit.
I'll never understand why people feel any need to openly bash IPA. It's not like doing so is some cool flex or anything. Don't like, don't drink. Easy peasy.
It took generations of Americans to finally understand what beer is and what it isn’t. Not everyone likes the results but we have lived through a glorious revolution in brewing and at least the people have proper choices now. Some American IPAs are among the best in the world. Thank you, brewers!
The original IPA was designed to cope with the voyage from the UK to India, what the US calls IPA is usually quite unlike the original. On my first trip to the US in the late 70's i hated what was called beer (Bud,Coors etc) but you now have some great beers, 1
IPA is awful, too bitter. And I like full bodied food and drink. Blonde Ale, Pilsner, and Lagers are the way to go. Refreshing, drinkable and flavorful.
The reason you see so many IPAs is because they're simple and easy to brew, not like the good stuff.
first, no one's asking you to humor anything. it's literally free to ignore things you don't like.
second, the fact that enjoying IPA is a personality trait that defines you enough that you feel discriminated against is kind of a massive self roast. try a hobby.
It really depends on the IPA, I've had some that were just bitterness condensed into form of liquid bread. I've had others that were crisp, refreshing and more citrus-like somewhere between orange and a grapefruit.
The first time I tried an IPA, a friend brought it to the house. I tried it and said, "You should return this. There's something wrong it".
I was informed that was what it was supposed taste like.
Yeah, but what are the edgy kids who used to eat the burnest trash food they could find to prove they didn't care, but also weren't like everybody else going to drink?
I finally got used to the taste of beer and then they went and added like septuple hops and I was done. (Can still enjoy a good Marzen or amber but these ipas can go)
I suspect the advantage of IPA is that supply chain problems with hops can be ameliorated with substitution of urine without appreciably changing the flavor.
That's... not entirely wrong. IPAs are so prevalent because the strong hop flavors mask other brewing flaws that would cause more subtle beers to have to be thrown out. So they are less risky to brew because the brewer knows that hopheads will buy them regardless.
My designated beer snob... I mean curator... says they taste like potpourri & that hops cover sins. I presume meaning that IPAs are so ubiquitous because brewing mediocre examples is nearly idiot proof. They usually all taste the same to me. I would rather drink a hoppy version of anything else.
I’ve been a homebrewer since 1994. I appreciate many styles. I don’t understand the hate of a good IPA. That said, there are absolute horrible examples out there.
What I don’t get is adding flavors after the brewing process and sours. WTAF is it with these f’ing sours 🤣🤣🤣
Yeah legit. I've had some lovely IPAs, whereas sours… they often smell quite nice and I keep trying 'em but I haven't yet found one that I wanted to finish.
I am not a great fan of sours but I sometimes drank one which was very low on alcohol, about 3%, and designed to drink at the beach, and it was super nice and fresh. Cranberry and hibiscus, I believe
The people who like IPAs are the same people who go to Sichuan restaurants and order the food as hot as it can be made. They’re trying to prove something.
I am not a big beer drinker either, but try porters, I think you might like them.
Im with the slugs,never been able to handle the taste of beer, bitter, cider, wine. Best I can do is the odd cocktail. White Russian, dark'n' stormy or mojito, and that's me done.
I don't like booze at all. Here's the odd bit- in my 20s I drank like a fish. Wrecked every weekend. I can't even understand my own actions all that time ago.
The only beers have had are stout, lager, ale and mead and the first three are hideous. I don't understand why other people like them. I like mead though.
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I don’t like tequilla, and feel bad for the drain pipes when I dump it out.
It’s what makes this life so wonderful - we don’t have to like or eat/drink the same shit!
(Me. You invoked me.)
But jokes aside, as an IPA lover, I understand (and sometimes endorse) every bad thing said about it.
If I want to drink grapefruit juice, I'll drink grapefruit juice. Better, anyway, for what ales you.
My work has a fridge for social events, but all the beers are variations of the same bland tasteless crap. Luckily they have cider too. But ffs guys.
I like Campari. Go figure.
I like craft beer but IPA is like mouth torture
As a fan of bourbon and limoncello, I like to tell myself I am above the plebian tripe of the beer swilling masses.
(Sarcasm, just in case)
Warm.
The former are nice, the latter not so much.
use salt to make them go away maybe but not kill them, poor inoffensive peacefull beasts
(Saw a quadruple hopped IPA on a menu, began crying for humanity)
You're welcome.
I don't know how people eat moldy blue cheese either, but here we are lol
As a proud gastropod, I think it is to die for!
This is pretty much every problem with social media wrapped in one comment. 😀 Thanks...?
(Sorry couldn’t resist)
These are hard times for them. Go east.
Why warm? Bursts with flavor. Even the crap sold as piss water in the US tastes better warm.
Try it. Maybe you'll appreciate it better as I have.
I need me a beer as dark as my humor and as thick as my boyfriend’s ass.
However, that's no reason to call linguists "slugs".
Invented to survive the long journey to India and the high temperatures over there.
Beer is bitter, beer is best.
Two: I'm no hipster, I'm a redneck
Three: IPA is the only drink more hipster-y than a peeber
Four: you better get your subculture lore straight before you come at me sideways
I finally found a beer type that is delicious to my palate. A saison Belgian wheat beer can be light or it can be strong. Delicious either way.
Then tradition sticks?
The reason you see so many IPAs is because they're simple and easy to brew, not like the good stuff.
You want bitter have some broccoli rabe.
second, the fact that enjoying IPA is a personality trait that defines you enough that you feel discriminated against is kind of a massive self roast. try a hobby.
Stick to Lager or Bud.
I was informed that was what it was supposed taste like.
Breweries are aiming it at lager drinkers, as it’s the same colour and often similar taste . What about serving a good porter or amber ale?
I like malted beverages; that stuff is nasty.
What I don’t get is adding flavors after the brewing process and sours. WTAF is it with these f’ing sours 🤣🤣🤣
I love bourbon. Had a few pours of Pappy Van Winkle which is a $500+ bottle. Gave my buddy a taste & he thought it tasted like gasoline
I am not a big beer drinker either, but try porters, I think you might like them.