IPAs too different

I suppose all we can really do is go by the information on the can or label. Frankly, that usually says as much or more as what I get from the brewer's website.

 

-Session (light IPA)
-West Coast (hoppy, bitter, crisp IPA)
-New England (creamy, smooth, hazy, fruity IPA)
-English (malty yet bitter)
of course there isn't a perfect way to cut it

a lot of beers have a simple info/detail paragraph on their can/bottle stock that says what hops are used and what kind of flavor to expect.

when i first started drinking IPAs i used the BA ratings to find the "good ones". some of the first I tried were Stone IPA, Centennial IPA, Finest Kind IPA and Commodore Perry. descriptions only help so much, you need to try a beer to see what you like

 

I totally get what your saying.

Some breweries use to have little meters on their bottles with Malty, Hoppy, ect.. Actually I think flying dog is one but I am not certain if they still do this.

Anyhow an approach like that sounds like the remedy that your looking for.

Furthermore, the HopButhcer out of Chicago uses descriptors such as "pine", "Tropical", "Dank" ect.. with their IPAs on the can so that may be another approach to consider.

BUT I do not think that having sub categories for the IPA style is an an "appropriate" approach. Because then I shall be able to justify in argument that the Marsh-mellow and Oatmeal DIPA sitting in my basement should have it's own style.

And what style whould that be?

Adjunct IPA?

It just not academic.

 

Speaking only for myself I don't think I would find more categories helpful. Even if that were to happen variations in malt presence and IBU within the style could change the perceived flavor dramatically for me.

 

Craft beer is trial and error. It's the beauty and curse of it. I'd recommend going to a store where you can buy singles until you've tried enough to get an idea of what you'll like. I recently bought 4 bottles of slurm lord form Short's and quickly realized the style (new england dipa) may not be to my taste. Should have just bought one...

 

Sound advice, when traveling now I seek out stores that are generous with their pick a six selections.

 

I've seen quite a few breweries that have colored "scales" on the can that depict hoppyness and maltiness. But understand if that isn't very common, especially for brewers that are a bit more old school. These days a lot local breweries are printing everything from SRM to gravities to hop strains on their cans. SRM might be another way for OP to gauge how malty their beer is gonna be before trying it, although it doesn't always mean a whole lot. You can have two IPAs that are pretty much the same colour where one has a much bigger malt bill. Maybe a higher original gravity would be a better indicator?

 

If they want more of that flavor profile buy a different IPA and don't get it they should ::gasp:: buy the first IPA they drank again.

Predicting future enjoyment from past purchases is amazingly easy. You turned that poor BMC drinker into a ticker. I know ex-BMC drinkers who were lured away by Lagunitas IPA. Now they drink Lagunitas IPA. Much more satisfied people than people I've met that are in constant search of profiles they have had in previous beers but searching for them in new beers.

 

SInce you mention specifics. Magic Hat typically lists what they are doing with their IPA's. Same as with Sierra Nevada. People aren't exactly beating down the doors for Magic Hat IPAs the way they would for Sierra Nevada.
A bit of knowledge about the regional differences in American IPA's would probably go a long way here as well. East Coast IPA's, prior to the NEIPA era, worked the malt into the flavor profile more than their west coast counter parts.
Also. You didn't mention dates. If you know what the dob or the drink by dates are on them. You have a world of difference coming to you. Hold old were they?
Outside of all of that. SInce the BA is getting into graphics for breweries to adopt. I strongly suggest that the Brewers Association work with the Cyclops Beer Board and institute a graphic standard for sight, smell and taste identifiers.

 

Well, at least they don't "...all taste the same" anymore...

 

Do you know how old that beer was? The aspect of "intensely malty" reads like an old IPA to me.

Cheers!

 

I like that but my casual craft drinking friends are still wrestling with the concept of freshness codes.

 

If the op said this about Saison as a style I would be on board.

 

IPA is no longer a style. It is a marketing buzz word.

 

Beers humming on the shelves, now there's an image.

 

An IPA is an IPA as long as it's yeast, malt, water, hops and the Brewer calls it such. Calling it a Pale Ale would be correct too, but it would hurt the marketing. The Brewers skills and execution will make them different, some great, some mediocre. You'd only need sub divisions for adjuncts like coffee, bourbon aged, fruit etc. if not you'd have 50 subdivisions based on different hops, rye, wheat whatever.

 

ugh, me too. Reading that I made a funny face, I hate malty ipas .

 

Even fewer categories overall would suit me. Just disclosing what's in it and how you made it would suffice. My friends who don't make craft beer a hobby are as likely to be influenced by the art design as by what it's called.