Can an IPA be TOO balanced?

I know. There is plenty room for US style beers, but the regular ales and not necessarily IPAs, hopefully, will continue to thrive and survive. Euro lagers (big business in Great Britain) and even Budweiser have their followings.

 

My short answer is never. I am old school. I prefer my IPA's to have a strong hop presence as well a noticeable malt presence. Nowadays many people want the hops to become the beer.

 

I hope so as well!! I started homebrewing over 20 years ago because I fell in love with cask Bitter Ales that I drank in the UK during numerous business trips. I came to the conclusion that the only way for me to obtain a proper Real Ale at home was to homebrew one; my first batch was a kit beer from Munton's labeled as "Traditional Bitter Ale". I kicked it up a notch by adding some East Kent Goldings hops for flavor and aroma. I have been homebrewing an English Bitter Ale every year since; I will be brewing another batch in a couple of months.

Yup, the number one selling beer in the UK today is Carling Lager which is an AAL. I remember on my trips to the UK in the 1990s that whilst I was drinking cask Bitter Ales delivered via a beer engine the young British patrons in the Pub were drinking beers like Rolling Rock from the bottle. As a long time resident of Pennsylvania I watched this with ambivalence since at that time I was not a 'full-time' craft beer drinker and I drank more than my fair share of Rolling Rock during that timeframe but the dominant thought in my mind was: why are they drinking AAL beers from the bottle when they have the option to drink cask Bitter Ale? Oh well?

Cheers!

 

I'm honoured to be included in your list sir.

It's true though that we are acquiring a taste for your hops. Sometimes they're used rubbishly in session IPAs, with no malt presence and as a result just some weak hoppiness, at 4% or so to try and tune into our session beer culture. There's also some really good US styles which we of course get fresh and untravelled so are superb when well made.

But there's also so many "traditional" breweries we'll never run out of bitter etc. Some is really good but alot of it can be boring and one dimensional.

 

I think it depends how philosophical one wants to be about it. Was the beer too balanced? Or was it out of balance in that one element wasn't sufficient to create a pleasing interplay? Where the balancing point should be varies per style and personal preference. I know I've had IPAs where the hops where a masterpiece but it felt like the malt was an afterthought, something included simply because it's not beer otherwise. I wouldn't describe such an IPA as balanced but I know others would sing it's praises.

 

Lots of boring beers...but I can't imagine ever complaining that a beer is too balanced. What's next? I don't like this beer because it is too delicious?

 

Don't forget cheap. I never turn down a beer just because it's cheap which balances my checking account.

 

The answer is NO

 

To me, Pliny is a perfect example of a balanced IPA.

I think it's easy to make a good unbalanced IPA, but it requires true craftsmanship to make a good balanced IPA.

 

No. I think it's harder to find a good balanced ipa then it is a hop bomb.

 

An IPA is by definition "unbalanced". So is a doppelbock, just on the opposite end of the spectrum. Within expectations for the style, however, I normally prefer balanced IPAs over hop bombs.

 

I quite enjoy beers brewed with American hops but find I enjoy European hops rather more. That's just a matter of palate of course, but if I want grapefruit or mango tastes then I'll buy a grapefruit or-guess what- a mango!

It's all extra choice though and the more choice there is the more happy drinkers there will be.

 

Jack, every time that I see a rort on the acres under the trellis in England I am saddened as to how few acres there are today. It has been in a steady decline. The last I saw was just over 2000 acres. Do you think that has any impact on the supply?

 

Jeff, that is an interesting thought. I was guessing that the British brewers were choosing to brew beers using American aroma hops to serve the market - provide American style hoppy beers to the British beer consumers that want to drink 'craft' beer. The fact that the acreage of British grown hops (e.g., East Kent Goldings, Fuggles, Challenger, Target,...) is diminishing is indeed a concern (for me anyway since I really like East Kent Goldings hops). I wonder if there are any efforts in Great Britain to address this topic? Maybe they can plant British hops that can be more productive on a per acre basis? Maybe the long term 'prognosis' is that British brewers will just have to brew increasing utilizing imported hops?

Maybe @marquis @patto1ro have some insight here?

Cheers!

 

Can a beer be too good?

 

With the same logic you can argue against pretty much any beer. Just mix together what you think it tastes like and drink that instead. Or stop being half-arsed conservative and go back to mixing wild barley with water and heating it up with rocks from a fire. Or third option, you could not denigrate entire styles of beers you don't like.

 

Balance, like beauty, is in the mind of the beholder. Or in the case of balance, in the taste buds of the beholder as well. What is balanced to one person could be hoppy or malty to others. Personally, the answer is yes because I have never had a beer that is too hoppy. But as others have stated, a balanced IPA has more in common with non-hoppy pale ales than with IPAs.

 

I don't know , of course Goldings is a premium hop and will also be in demand. A lot of work has gone into introducing new strains such as dwarf plants (eg First Gold) which are easier to harvest , improved disease resistance and of course high alpha acid.But Goldings is my favourite by a mile.

 

To me an IPA is an unbalanced style which has exploited our apparent love of hops and I for one love it.
To me a balanced IPA has a boatload of Hop aroma, taste and bitterness and oh yeah, some malt and grain mix in there because they're needed and they started this party any way