Hey guys, I am new so if I have placed this post in the wrong location I apologize.. I am new to the world of beer.. My brain has been on nerd overdrive this past week as I have been reading and watching videos on all the different styles of beer. The whole thing,everything in it,is incredibly interesting.. I am sure that there will be styles I like more than others but I respect them all. If that makes sense. One of the first things I noticed when I started observing the community is an apparent divide between IPA consumers and everybody else.. am I imagining this? If I am, disregard.. if I am not,what is the sorce of the divide?
Updated the thread title (was: A divide in the beer community?). Seems like something you should ask that community, but welcome to the BeerAdvocate community!
I'm confused as well. Not that I'm much of a Reddit guy, but my impression is that the community is topic driven. Community members periodically ask questions related to various beer topics, but this is the first I've heard of a Reddit beer Community. But as I alluded to, Reddit isn't a social media platform I have much involvement with.
Can you share more on what the divide (perceived or actual) is between IPA consumers and others on reddit? Is it about IPA substyles? IPAs vs non-IPAs? Favorite ball teams? Just some more background would help, thanks.
My guess is that the word "divide" in that statement may create some angst here but... The IPA beer style (e.g., 'regular' IPA, Juicy/Hazy IPA, etc.) is a very popular craft beer style with it being the most popular (best selling) craft beer style. When I visit my local beer retailers the shelves are 'clogged' with many IPA brands and all too often those products are old (too old), and this is an issue for IPAs since these beers tend to have short(er) shelf-lives. The suffer from hop aroma/flavor fade with time in the package (typically cans). There have been numerous posts by BAs where they complain that all of these brands of IPA 'crowd out' other beer styles. I am of the opinion that if there were a lesser number of IPA brands this might help in alleviating so many old products on the shelves; a smaller number of brands may foster quicker turnover. FWIW I am a fan of IPAs (e.g., I will be homebrewing an IPA that features Motueka hops next week) but I am also a fan of non-IPAs as well and in my perfect world there would be a more even balance of IPAs and non-IPAs on the shelves of my local beer retailers. And as regards drinking draft beer at craft brewery taprooms I am not a fan of viewing a draft list that is predominantly different brands of IPAs. I have been to craft brewery taprooms where the draft list is 75-80% IPAs of varying brands. How about some better choices here? Yeah, I know that folks will say that craft beer consumers demand IPAs and those breweries are serving that demand. Cheers!
Welcome to beer Just drink what you like, and enjoy the ride. You'll find out lot about the opinions of young money with their IPA like substances. Mostly, without asking.
I am brand new to reddit.. I now think what I was witnessing was just general Reddit assholeness(I don't think that's a word,lol).. couple of folks ranting about the beer section 'being filled with fruity ipa's? It just seemed as I was reading that there were 2 camps,so to speak.. But yeah,now I think,that's just reddit.
I think a lot of people that really enjoy traditional styles of beer aren’t thrilled with the ubiquity of IPAs. I probably fall in the camp myself. It’s not that I don’t like IPAs, I just like other styles better that seem to lose shelf space to IPAs.. Also, IPAs used to be known for their bitterness, now it’s kind of the opposite, they are known for their fruitiness from late hop auditions. Some bitter IPAs are still on the shelf, though.
Don't disagree with this, but on the other hand, North Park is currently making some of the best WC IPA's I've ever tasted. And they are definitely not fruity. Maybe they're the exception to the general rule, but as you noted, there definitely are exceptions.
I agree with these comments. I like IPAs and drink them all the time. But I also like other types of beer and think IPAs are crowding them out.
I use Reddit daily, almost hourly - only to keep up to date on what is happening in Ukraine. (r/Ukraine) They have subs for darn near everything (r/DIWhy is often hilarious if things get to heavy in real life) and the civility is dependent on the moderator, if any exist. Otherwise it's largely random people stating their opinions to other random people. Thus it surprises me not in the least that there is a disagreement on a thread. Welcome to what is arguable the best site in the world to discuss and learn about beer.
