It's time to be honest about styles

Same reason as well that Oskar Blues Gordon is called an Imperial Red. drrth already hit on the style.

 

Seriously. I had no idea, I may even have more respect for today's "Black IPAs" just because of this.

 

Here we go again…

Right. Ale is top-fermented. Not all top-fermented beers are ales.

As I often point out, Bavarian Hefeweizen is brewed with a top-fermenting yeast, but I defy you to show me a Bavarian Hefeweizen brewmaster who would call his beer an "Ale."

 

Excellent. Thanks!

 

Guys can't we just discuss this in a nice manner over an Imperial black, red, pale stout?

 

Are you buying?

 

Yes Sir!

 

Good, because it sounds expensive!

 

I welcome these alternates styles if you will. Why call a beer A or B, when it clearly shares characteristics of both? Craft beer hasn't blow up by sticking to tradition. Creativity and innovation are why were are all here talking about beer in the first place. Get creative with the beers and if it doesn't end up spot on with a traditional classification, go ahead and get creative with how you want to classify it. If it's an amazing beer, I'm not going to care either way.

 

Personally I appreciate a brewer listing a style just as a general guideline so I can know mostly what I'm getting into. I don't much care if it veers from the style, as long as it's good, but I just want to have an idea of what I'm getting.

While many here are saying styles aren't important, if breweries stopped using them I'm sure the tune would change. You'd be a little more apprehensive about picking up that expensive Founders Backstage series bomber if instead of being called Founders Smoked Porter or Canadian Breakfast Stout it was just listed as Founder's Ale.

 

The naming conventions that are becoming pretty common really are a bit irritating.
Hoppy = IPA.
Pale lager (even if it's laden with fruit, american hops, or extracts) = Pilsner
I won't even get started on the lager vs. ale thing.

It always sounds grumpy when anyone brings it up, but things really are becoming laughable. In the long run it's going to help our cause if we stick to some basic naming conventions and don't abandon them the instant someone makes a beer that doesn't fit perfectly into a neat little grouping.
We should have listened to Garrett Oliver when he wanted to use the term "California Pale Ale" back in the 90's.

 

I don't care if it is called an over the rainbow blue IPA, if its good drink it. Are we here to talk or are we here to drink? Geez. And cheers.

 

There are at least 3 or 4 breweries re-naming ambers in their line-up 'Red IPAs' this year, include Odell and Summit.

 

What, are you my dad? Give it a rest -- if you saw how many times this discussion has been beaten into the ground at "this site" you'd understand just why I, sarcastically or otherwise, say, "Here we go again."

But you've only been around since November, so I guess you deserve a break. Just not from me.

Oh, and thanks for your equally snide comments to the others who responded to you.

 

Obviously NOT a BJCP or CAMRA judge Cheers

 

The Brewers Association calls it American-Style Black Ale, not India Black Ale. [Brewers Association 2013 Beer Style Guidelines February 28, 2013, page 8].

If my memory serves me correctly, they did call it "India-Style Black Ale" for one year, about 2-3 years ago, but then changed it to American-Style Black Ale, which it has ever since been named.

I presume that their initial line of thought was it cannot be called India PALE Ale since it isn't pale, yet by putting "India" in the name it would harken to the history of the IPA which, for most, equals "hoppy". However, it seems they re-thought it and realized that this style is a more modern American craft brewing invention, has nothing to do with India and IPA, and thus should be labeled as American-Style Black Ale.

Note, too, that once the Brewers Association changed the name to American-Style Black Ale, BeerAdvocate adopted this new style to their Beer Styles list, shortening the name a bit to American Black Ale.

I am personally in the camp of wishing breweries wouldn't call it "Black IPA" (same with "Red IPA", "White IPA", etc.). I like the American Black Ale moniker.

 

I don't care if a beer is red. If it tastes and smells like an IPA than it's an IPA.

The color of the beer is way down the list on why a beer is a certain style for me.

 

The classification of beer between ale and lager is based upon patchy knowledge and no appreciation of brewing background.But it's repeated over and over again like the myth that Edison invented the light bulb and eventually it's become "common knowledge". Dr Goebbels would have understood this perfectly.
I see in practically all pubs a sign mentioning "Ales and Stouts" because of course stout did not evolve from the ale family.

 

It seems ironical that brewers are getting the names wrong, but that seems to be the case. Take Flipside IPA from Sierra Nevada for example, they call it an IPA right there on the label, and yet when I poured it, drank it, I called it an American Amber Ale. Guess which website agrees with me. Okay, Sierra calls it a "Red" IPA but IPAs are pale, dammit.

 

Now wait a minute. Are you going to tell us now that John Crapper didn't invent the toilet?