Double/Triple IPA - Balanced or definitively unbalanced?

Green Flash Bullet

 

Huh? Pretty confused.. Long ago, the most extreme hop-bombs sharpened your palate(???), but now you're gravitating towards what you feel are "balanced" IIPAs?

As for the title question, I think that by definition IIPA's are supposed to be unbalanced towards the hop side, just as a traditional wee heavy should be unbalanced towards the malt side.

For the post question "Find (list) balanced IIPA's", IMO- DFH 90 Minute, Founders Double Trouble, Victory Dirt Wolf, Lagunitas Maximus and Hop Stoopid (I'd add Sucks if I considered it an IPA), Southern Tier Unearthly, New Belgium Rampant, Sierra Nevada Hoptimum and Founders Devil Dancer. Hoptimum and Devil Dancer, though IMO some of the most bitter IPA's, are included because I enjoy them for months after release.

 

I went through almost the same transition of the OP. I used to drink a ton of IPA's and gravitated towards the hop bombs. Then I got burned out on the hops. Now, I find the DIPA's to be more balanced with a better malt backbone and more pleasing to me.

 

The use of 'definitively' in the thread title is quite confusing...

 

One of the first beers I picked up when I started getting into craft was palate wrecker. loved it then, love it now.

Had Hopslam last month for the first time. Thought it was okay. Never paying $3 a bottle for it again.

 

DIPAs are usually more balanced than standard American IPAs. The larger grain bill along with the bigger alcohol presence makes for a more balanced beer. People just assume DIPAs should be hoppier and more bitter because they are "imperial", but that is quite often not the case.

 

I think that IPAs and IIPAs are both by definition a little unbalanced. That said, I usually think of the difference between IIPAs and IPAs in terms of complexity, and a derivative component of complexity, I think, is balance. I tend to find more complexity, and therefore more balance, in IIPAs, though there are certainly hop bomb knock-your-tits-off IIPAs that are not as complex as some of the more balanced offerings in the style. I think IIPAs like Majaraja and some of the Knee Deep IIPAs are more balanced and complex than some of the other contenders in the field, but I know that shit like Palate Wrecker exists, so it's kind of a mixed bag.

In short, I think IIPAs tend to be more balanced because they kind of have to be, but there are plenty of beers in the style that are by no means balanced.

 

I would say double jack and sculpin are pretty balanced for the style while hi-res is too sweet and "unbalanced",

Just goes to show opinions and tastes are just like assholes we all got one. If ypu don't then that would be more confusing than this post.

 

I'm sure Marquis will arrive shortly to inject his pales spectrum bitters to triple nonsense

I like balanced. Hopslam is the only 10%+ that does it for me

 

I thought six point's resin was just a bad example of the style.
I think that most high abv. ipa's are just too sweet or just too much in general.
I like my ipa's in the 6-9% range. not cut in stone but, that's what I look for.

 

the style is sorta by definition unbalanced. a syrupy sweetness "malt" background to attempt to compliment the hops isnt balance in my opinion. doesnt make them any less delish tho.

 

I definitely feel dipas to be more balanced and smoother than singles. Personally I like those citrus tropical tones that I usually dont get with a single ipa. Singles are usually just bitter (longtrail limbo being a exception) good example imo is dogfish 60 vs 90. Great lakes chillwave is amazing, fresh ttropical tones with a nice bitterness. I agree with the post above that hi res was too sweet

 

People seem to be using "balanced" here as a substitute word for "malty." Personally I'm finding more and more that I prefer single IPAs that are more dry and clean over their sweeter, maltier imperial counterparts. They are still juicy and resinous but you don't have so much alcohol heat and sweetness, which I find distracting. I think most breweries have better control over the taste profile if they keep the ABV below around 7.5%. Could just be me though.

 

I want them all balanced - regardless of how hop-forward it is. There are so many levels of hoppiness that have nothing to do with bitterness. I used to want nothing but that tooth-enamel peeling IBU bomb. Once I started home-brewing, I paid more attention to hop flavor vs hop bitterness. Some beers manage to do both. I happen to think fresh Palate Wrecker is extremely balanced because that grain bill is exquisite. Plus it's so dependent on the freshness. I loooove Union Jack when it's fresh. But I find it pretty unpleasant if it's a few months old. Way too malty. Whether its 40 IBUs or 100 I would consider any good IPA or DIPA "balanced" if it's drinkable.

 

I have a couple of friends who don't like super bitter beers, but like IPA's if they are balanced and somewhat malty even if hoppy too. Generally they both like alot of IIPA's but not many "single" IPA's.

Personally I like the balanced IIPA's alot more.

 

Myrcenary would be your new favorite.

 

Myrcenary would be your new favorite.

 

Imperial IPAs done well are fantastic. I've yet to have a triple IPA that I like (no, I haven't have PtY yet).