Does anyone feel like stepping back from IPAs sometimes?

Naw, I'm good.

 

I get style fatigue from every style, which is why my beer fridge currently has at least 9 different styles of beer in it. Variety is the spice of life.

I actually find the opposite.

For me, standard IPAs tend to taste very similar, particularly among the ones trying to prioritize IBUs. There are exceptions, certainly, that come with different hops (and SMaSH beers can really illustrate that difference), but a lot taste very similar. As soon as I see "West coast style IPA" on the label, I have a pretty good idea of how its going to taste.

NEIPAs, on the other hand, can taste very different. Take Bolero Snort, for example. That one brewery has made about a dozen NEIPAs, and each one tastes distinct. I've had at least three or four NEIPAs that were all made solely with Citra and Mosaic, and they taste completely different from one another. There are again exceptions, certainly, and I've come across breweries with half a dozen NEIPAs that all taste very similar. But for me, part of the excitement of NEIPAs is that each one is a mystery, and I'm never sure what I'm going to get.

 

I’m only just re-entering the IPA fold after swearing them off years ago when they were a race-to-the-bitterest. But nowadays when even self proclaimed “West Coast” IPAs are balancing bitterness with ultra-fresh aroma-hop characteristics like tropical, melon and citrus profiles, I’m definitely back in. Only over the past 6 months have IPAs come to dominate my beer intake.

I do regularly invite variety into my rotation, namely wild/sours (wood-aged or kettle), stouts and pilsners primarily. Basically the beers that dominated before my personal IPA Renaissance.

While there is definitely some samey-ness happening in the NEIPA market, I’ve found that living near a world-class maker of them (Fieldwork in Berkeley) is a good antidote. Weekly, they are producing new varieties that focus on any number of aroma-hop flavors and combinations. And because they are so fresh, the flavors are really rich and complex.

I’m pretty grateful to be enjoying hops again in addition to the styles I normally enjoy.

 

YOU need to try a "flight"..5 different pours at the same price as a pint! My local growler fill has 44 different taps that change all the time. And the staff are knowledgeable to guide me to try many different IPA or other types of brews...I AM NOT BORED AND I FOUND THAT I LIKE A MORE "WEST COAST STYLE".I feel it is a great time to enjoy crsft beers,if ypu find a large choice ti try...CHEERS FRON NC

 

can't stand most IPAs. all the same. Porters, Belgians, browns, reds, saison are my prefs

 

I step back from ipas every night to drink a dark beer. Then it's back to ipas (I like to drink hoppy and malty back to back, like chocolate and salty snacks. They just go together)

 

IPA is a great style, 17 bizzilion fans can't be wrong.
I find myself drinking IPAs because of the availability and freshness of what's on the shelf.
In my perfect world American IPAs would not be so hopped out of it, and other styles such as browns and reds would be more available.
I step away from IPAs all the time but keep getting dragged back in. I love ale so it's not a bad thing.

 

On a related note just a few IPAs can knock me right out so it's been nice drinking a few beers and then not going right to sleep.

 

I see what you're saying. But, I never get tired of hoppy beers. Just love them.

 

I love a good IPA! Seems I go through phases with a style. Exclusively stouts for a while but I was drift back to the IPA. Currently obsessed with Saisons and Belgian Styles. IPA seems to be the broadest and most common found in the mainstream venues. I say drink what you love with reckless abandon - no guilt!

 

I've been drinking IPAs for 20+ years, and everytime I think I'll switch styles, nothing else seems to work. I have been switching off to quads, saisons, farmhouse, tripels, etc....and really enjoy switching out occasionally, but always go back to the IPA, DIPA.
One thing that is really disappointing, though, is trying a new IPA I've never heard of, and it is just super bitter with nothing else to offer. I have seen that over the last 10 years or so as brewers attempt to out IBU each other.
But, it's worth the risk!

 

As an avid IPA fan, I'm curious what do you prefer, Since you're reading o this site, I'll assume it's not mass produced pilsner or lager, but that's fine if that's your choice.

 

Yes, I can recall not too long ago when you could not find an IPA on tap in most bars..now, they can be half the taps/ I'm generally fine with that, but understand if IPAs aren't your thing, it's not good.

 

I've been off the IPA kick a while now and been loving the time away from them. Still drink them, but honestly, at a brewery it is now one of the beers I tend to avoid. Only 1 out of my 4 taps will have a IPA on, as well. The other three tend to be German styles like Hefe, Festbier, Pils, Rauchbier, Dunkel... Yum!

Didn't get burned out by them, but there is so much amazing beer out there that isn't an IPA.

I do have a case or so worth of Trillium and Alchemist on its way to me with a friend who was there yesterday... So soon enough I'll be hammering away at those incredible IPA's soon enough. My favorite.

 

Well, I guess it depends on just how shitty it is No beer on vacation could be tough.

 

i would really disagree...there is tremendous diversity in IPAs. If you don;t like them, that's cool, but they are definitely not all the same.

 

I pretty much boycotted IPA for the last 10 years out of general principle. The whole craft beer industry put almost all their eggs in one basket. We went from a country producing a monolithic array of similar tasting beer right back to a country producing a monothic array of similar tasting beers. This time with a machismo marketed arms race to make to bitterest and/or highest ABV IPAs.

Sorry folks but the golden age for the modern American craft beer scene was the 1990’s when Brewers actually wanted to show off their skills by producing a diverse variety of styles and beer over 5% was the exception rather than the rule...as it was for 1000 years in Europe.

I am seeing some progress back to that mentality but I’m skeptical as it seems like the craft brewing industry gets fixated on a particular style and takes it to absurd extremes rather than simply producing an excellent product.

 

Olstate, I couldn’t agree more. Everything is loaded with citrusy and piney American hops. Boring and overdone. Many so called traditional styles are now being passed off as authentic but aren’t because of the prominence of American hops. I recently had a Kölsch made with citrusy hops that are anything but Noble. It’s actually offensive. We (home and craft brewers in the US) used to brew the world’s beer styles. We were the savior of several dying styles. Now it’s getting hard to find anything but APAs and IPAs. So, yes, step away from the overused American hops and let us taste some variety again. Please!

 

I love IPAs, and I don't feel like I'll get tired of them, but I'm just bothered by the sheer amount of them on the market. Last time I made a six-pack flight, I had to spend ten minutes looking at the wall to find something interesting that wasn't an IPA. It's good to see breweries experimenting with the style, but sometimes I just want a good porter.

 

Stepping back is good. Summer is a good time to explore other styles—maybe sours or other stuff on the lighter side. There's such a range of flavors among IPAs, I have to admit that I don't always like them—or at least, some are too heavy for summer.