I think these are pretty solid points that cover all the bases well. I always thought it was a way to go against the mainstream so to speak, but the creation of new hop varieties makes a ton of sense.
I find that things are usually best explained when you look at their historical evolution, so I think you're hitting the nail on the head when you talk about hop varietals. We have to remember that, in the U.S., homebrewers were brewing English-style pale ales but had to use American hops due to the lack of English hop availability. From there it's a short leap from American-style pale ale to American-style IPA and another short leap to the West Coast IPA. I think that is the teleological explanation for the preponderance of IPA. As far as why the demand is so high, I think that has so many factors it would be overwhelming to type them all into a RUclips comment. For one, I think "IPA" took on so much baggage and meaning that it came to be overused as a style name, leading to things like Brut IPAs, Farmhouse IPAs, Black IPAs, and the ever-popular East Coast IPA, which all have very little in common with the original English-style Pale Ale (they aren't even pale...).
What a great point that is Nate, about homebrewers. So far taking in everyone's opinions here, the availability or lack thereof of certain hop varieties seems to be the biggest driving force.
love my IPAs but there are definitely too many diluting the market right now. it's getting a little ridiculous how many there are, every company makes 8 IPAs that are all so similar. with autumn here I'm switching over to stouts and dark ales.
So true! it's tough going to the store and seeing 20 different ipas and not too many other interesting options. So you want to choose one but don't know if what you're going to get will be good. I've had so many average-below average craft ipas. Seems like they all sell though if the stores are carrying them.
@@jakeperillo8046 Same, I've had some pretty brutal ipa's before and wondered how they got shelf space with all the higher quality ones available. Seems like anything with "IPA" or "Double-IPA" or "Hazy" plastered on it will sell regardless.
I agree with people wanting to experiment with different flavors of beer. creating something different than the norm that has been around for decades. Honestly I don't think IPA lovers actually love IPAs. They hold back that hoppy IPA face they make just to look cool. 😄 🤣 A good IPA will give you a dry hoppy flavor at the tail end, that's not to strong but it keeps you wanting another sip.
I believe that everything is explained by economics. Hops are the cheapest ingredient to acquire...thus fewer craft ales, stouts, lagers or hefes. Add the incredible can art and hipster branding culture and it was a revolution waiting to happen. Considering how abysmal mainstream beers are...they were pushing an open door. At the end of the day I personally opt for Belgian and German classics...not much more expensive than these well meaning but ultimately transient IPAs...hops can never be the start and finish of beer...thus they are destined to fail. For example, Guinness still holds the beer brackets crown...for a reason!!!
I like that line "hops can never be the start and finish of beer" That kind of explains why I've always been take it or leave it with IPAs. could never put my finger on it
IPAs are popular in the USA because they're high in alcohol, they're intense in flavor (which nearly makes them the opposite of mass produced beers), and they actually pair well with popular American foods--especially spicy foods like Buffalo wings
1. I like how you called the corporate beer's "Lager like," because I have drunk some very good lagers that are way more flavorful than what corporate breweries produce. 2. I think that IPA's are popular because a lot of those craft brewers you described are terrible brewers, and can cover up their mistakes with something incredibly bitter. 3. I could not disagree more with your assessment of different hop varieties leading to an IPA renaissance. I love hops. I love hoppy beers. I love all of the flavors that hops have to offer, but I can't taste any of that when the bitterness is just so overpowering. The problem with IPA's is that the bitter flavor completely masks not only brewers mistakes, but all of the other flavors that make beer tasty. The bitterness overpowers the sweetness from the malt, the flavors of the grain, and indeed it overpowers the flavor of the hops! 4. IPA's are made by terrible brewers to cover up their lack of skill and enjoyed by a brainwashed group of people taken in by a compelling story and history (Both originally being shipped to India and the American "craft brewers" revolution) who have an unrefined pallet as all IPA's taste the same... Bitter. 5. In regards to the American side of things, I think American's love IPA's because they have this false perception that we don't have any real local original style of beer that we came up with, so we took one of the worst, claimed it as our own and hold on to it for dear life. In reality, Americans have been brewing great beer since our inception and have our own styles as locally sourced ingredients, grains and hops, grown and acclimatized to this continent have developed their own flavors and own styles leading to the American pale ale, different from say, the English pale ale. Furthermore, there are actually two types of beers that were invented right here in the good ol' US of A. The California Common, and the Cream Ale. So we do have two original styles of beer, though so many people I talk to have no idea and are convinced that we don't. 6. There are plenty of styles of beers that feature the hops as a main selling point without overpowering all of the flavor with bitterness. A lot of English and American Pale Ales as well as Belgian Ales and styles come to mind. 7. I'm a homebrewer and can lager just fine. Edit: grammar
It's funny how you say some time ago you went to the store and you saw one IPA in the sea of beers section. Yet now days I'm at the store looking for a stout and I see one or two stouts in a sea of IPAs and it just makes me sigh in disappointment.
I know right? Whenever I’m looking through the craft beers in my local liquor store here, there’s such an over saturation. You have to skim through every breweries 5 different IPA varieties before you find a lager, stout or ale. Good news is that it seems like things are swinging back the other way and non-IPAs have become the way to go against the trends. Seems like they’re popping up more and more.
We had the exact same beer journey! Our favourite beers are lagers, Pilsners and ales now. I’ve heard from quite a few people over the years here who’ve had the same experience.
I for one despise ipa's and think they taste like toxic urine water and at this point i think there are too many nowadays. I'll go into a brewery nowadays and see at least a third of the menu just be ipa's. While the historical context makes sense as a reaction to macro Brewers i thought they'd be a much smaller percentage of the beer market then they are
The market is so over saturated. We’re starting to see a trend towards pilsners and lagers now in microbreweries which we couldn’t be happier about. It’s about time. Nothing wrong with having one or two good IPAs on a menu, but hopefully the days of it monopolizing shelves are done.
I think IPA's are over done.The fad has lasted over 15 years.Belgians were the first fad. You had Blue Moon, followed by Shock Top. A few years later, Everyone else latched on to IPA's, after that. Where I was, it was 2 Hearted. I hated that beer. It wasn't balanced. It tasted like bitter plant matter. I believe that they balanced it since, with more malt and a softer hand. I've worked as a cellar man in a brewery. I feel as though there were to many IPA's. I currently work in a liquor store. I saw that brewery rein in their offering of IPA's. I think their IPA's were self cannibalizing. There are so many that rely on Mosaic and Citra. Nothing is really that new to me. There was one that came out during 2020 that I'll miss. Classic Future by Half Acre blew my mind. They used an experimental hop, which may be lost to time and circumstance. It had deep coconut and other tropical flavors that really took me somewhere other than my Chicago mentally. It is possible to make a delightful, unique' and accessible IPA. They are hard to find. If you're not making something new or in your wheelhouse, calm the fuck down. Make something no one else is doing well. A porter would be a start. Fuller's London porter is an amazing example of something no one has tried to replicate
Could not agree more with your comment my friend. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us. It sounds like you are an experienced beer explorer and we love good stories and legends. You mentioned that you were a cellar man in a brewery. We would love to hear more about it. I'm so curious now. What brewery was it?
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Thanks everyone for contributing with your opinions here! We knew this would be a fascinating topic to dive into. Keep the opinions coming!
I think these are pretty solid points that cover all the bases well. I always thought it was a way to go against the mainstream so to speak, but the creation of new hop varieties makes a ton of sense.
It's a super interesting topic for sure. Definitely seems as though at least part of it was being born out of a beer counter-culture.
I find that things are usually best explained when you look at their historical evolution, so I think you're hitting the nail on the head when you talk about hop varietals. We have to remember that, in the U.S., homebrewers were brewing English-style pale ales but had to use American hops due to the lack of English hop availability. From there it's a short leap from American-style pale ale to American-style IPA and another short leap to the West Coast IPA. I think that is the teleological explanation for the preponderance of IPA. As far as why the demand is so high, I think that has so many factors it would be overwhelming to type them all into a RUclips comment. For one, I think "IPA" took on so much baggage and meaning that it came to be overused as a style name, leading to things like Brut IPAs, Farmhouse IPAs, Black IPAs, and the ever-popular East Coast IPA, which all have very little in common with the original English-style Pale Ale (they aren't even pale...).
What a great point that is Nate, about homebrewers. So far taking in everyone's opinions here, the availability or lack thereof of certain hop varieties seems to be the biggest driving force.
love my IPAs but there are definitely too many diluting the market right now. it's getting a little ridiculous how many there are, every company makes 8 IPAs that are all so similar. with autumn here I'm switching over to stouts and dark ales.
Can't go wrong with a good stout or ale!
PREACH ON!
I guess that now, IPAs are suffering from a flooded market, with many mediocre offerings.
So true! it's tough going to the store and seeing 20 different ipas and not too many other interesting options. So you want to choose one but don't know if what you're going to get will be good. I've had so many average-below average craft ipas. Seems like they all sell though if the stores are carrying them.
@@jakeperillo8046 Same, I've had some pretty brutal ipa's before and wondered how they got shelf space with all the higher quality ones available. Seems like anything with "IPA" or "Double-IPA" or "Hazy" plastered on it will sell regardless.
I agree Jay. With the popularity of the style, it seems like a lot of breweries can get away with putting out subpar offerings.
I agree with people wanting to experiment with different flavors of beer. creating something different than the norm that has been around for decades.
Honestly I don't think IPA lovers actually love IPAs. They hold back that hoppy IPA face they make just to look cool. 😄 🤣
A good IPA will give you a dry hoppy flavor at the tail end, that's not to strong but it keeps you wanting another sip.
🤣 The hoppy IPA face.
I believe that everything is explained by economics. Hops are the cheapest ingredient to acquire...thus fewer craft ales, stouts, lagers or hefes. Add the incredible can art and hipster branding culture and it was a revolution waiting to happen. Considering how abysmal mainstream beers are...they were pushing an open door.
At the end of the day I personally opt for Belgian and German classics...not much more expensive than these well meaning but ultimately transient IPAs...hops can never be the start and finish of beer...thus they are destined to fail.
For example, Guinness still holds the beer brackets crown...for a reason!!!
I like that line "hops can never be the start and finish of beer" That kind of explains why I've always been take it or leave it with IPAs. could never put my finger on it
Such a great point Niall! We hadn't even thought about the cost side of things when it comes to ingredients.
I agree with a lot of what you said, but with the saturation of IPA's on the market and this "Hipster culture" it has become mainstream now.
IPAs are popular in the USA because they're high in alcohol, they're intense in flavor (which nearly makes them the opposite of mass produced beers), and they actually pair well with popular American foods--especially spicy foods like Buffalo wings
1. I like how you called the corporate beer's "Lager like," because I have drunk some very good lagers that are way more flavorful than what corporate breweries produce.
2. I think that IPA's are popular because a lot of those craft brewers you described are terrible brewers, and can cover up their mistakes with something incredibly bitter.
3. I could not disagree more with your assessment of different hop varieties leading to an IPA renaissance. I love hops. I love hoppy beers. I love all of the flavors that hops have to offer, but I can't taste any of that when the bitterness is just so overpowering. The problem with IPA's is that the bitter flavor completely masks not only brewers mistakes, but all of the other flavors that make beer tasty. The bitterness overpowers the sweetness from the malt, the flavors of the grain, and indeed it overpowers the flavor of the hops!
4. IPA's are made by terrible brewers to cover up their lack of skill and enjoyed by a brainwashed group of people taken in by a compelling story and history (Both originally being shipped to India and the American "craft brewers" revolution) who have an unrefined pallet as all IPA's taste the same... Bitter.
5. In regards to the American side of things, I think American's love IPA's because they have this false perception that we don't have any real local original style of beer that we came up with, so we took one of the worst, claimed it as our own and hold on to it for dear life. In reality, Americans have been brewing great beer since our inception and have our own styles as locally sourced ingredients, grains and hops, grown and acclimatized to this continent have developed their own flavors and own styles leading to the American pale ale, different from say, the English pale ale. Furthermore, there are actually two types of beers that were invented right here in the good ol' US of A. The California Common, and the Cream Ale. So we do have two original styles of beer, though so many people I talk to have no idea and are convinced that we don't.
6. There are plenty of styles of beers that feature the hops as a main selling point without overpowering all of the flavor with bitterness. A lot of English and American Pale Ales as well as Belgian Ales and styles come to mind.
7. I'm a homebrewer and can lager just fine.
Edit: grammar
I just can't get into most ipa's. A little bummed that they seem to dominate the shelves so much after the buds and coors.
We feel the same way!
It's funny how you say some time ago you went to the store and you saw one IPA in the sea of beers section. Yet now days I'm at the store looking for a stout and I see one or two stouts in a sea of IPAs and it just makes me sigh in disappointment.
I know right? Whenever I’m looking through the craft beers in my local liquor store here, there’s such an over saturation. You have to skim through every breweries 5 different IPA varieties before you find a lager, stout or ale. Good news is that it seems like things are swinging back the other way and non-IPAs have become the way to go against the trends. Seems like they’re popping up more and more.
I've got sick and tired of IPAs over the years tbh. Bitterness and IPAs are boring for me now, so went back to lagers and regular ales.
We had the exact same beer journey! Our favourite beers are lagers, Pilsners and ales now. I’ve heard from quite a few people over the years here who’ve had the same experience.
I for one despise ipa's and think they taste like toxic urine water and at this point i think there are too many nowadays. I'll go into a brewery nowadays and see at least a third of the menu just be ipa's. While the historical context makes sense as a reaction to macro Brewers i thought they'd be a much smaller percentage of the beer market then they are
The market is so over saturated. We’re starting to see a trend towards pilsners and lagers now in microbreweries which we couldn’t be happier about. It’s about time. Nothing wrong with having one or two good IPAs on a menu, but hopefully the days of it monopolizing shelves are done.
I think IPA's are over done.The fad has lasted over 15 years.Belgians were the first fad. You had Blue Moon, followed by Shock Top. A few years later, Everyone else latched on to IPA's, after that. Where I was, it was 2 Hearted. I hated that beer. It wasn't balanced. It tasted like bitter plant matter. I believe that they balanced it since, with more malt and a softer hand.
I've worked as a cellar man in a brewery. I feel as though there were to many IPA's. I currently work in a liquor store. I saw that brewery rein in their offering of IPA's. I think their IPA's were self cannibalizing. There are so many that rely on Mosaic and Citra. Nothing is really that new to me.
There was one that came out during 2020 that I'll miss. Classic Future by Half Acre blew my mind. They used an experimental hop, which may be lost to time and circumstance.
It had deep coconut and other tropical flavors that really took me somewhere other than my Chicago mentally.
It is possible to make a delightful, unique' and accessible IPA. They are hard to find.
If you're not making something new or in your wheelhouse, calm the fuck down.
Make something no one else is doing well. A porter would be a start. Fuller's London porter is an amazing example of something no one has tried to replicate
Could not agree more with your comment my friend. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us. It sounds like you are an experienced beer explorer and we love good stories and legends. You mentioned that you were a cellar man in a brewery. We would love to hear more about it. I'm so curious now. What brewery was it?
IPAs are horrible 😂