IPA tasting advice?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by BEERschlitz, Mar 14, 2015.

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  1. BEERschlitz

    BEERschlitz Initiate (0) Oct 13, 2013 Michigan

    A few of my buddies and I are doing an IPA tasting next Friday, and I was wondering if any of you have any advice to avoid palate fatigue due to all the hops. I'm thinking small pours with water and non salted crackers between, or maybe sip a big roasty/malty stout in between with water? Any advice from those of you who have done strictly IPA tastings with 10 or so different IPA's would be very much appreciated.
    Cheers!
     
    #1 BEERschlitz, Mar 14, 2015
    Shroud0fdoom likes this.
  2. pthread1981

    pthread1981 Initiate (0) Mar 23, 2007 Germany

    Bread can help too.
     
    #2 pthread1981, Mar 14, 2015
  3. BEERschlitz

    BEERschlitz Initiate (0) Oct 13, 2013 Michigan

    Noted, thanks!
     
    #3 BEERschlitz, Mar 14, 2015
  4. Hopportunistic

    Hopportunistic Initiate (0) Jan 24, 2013 North Carolina

    Seltzer water or club soda has worked a little better than regular water for me, but multiple IPAs can be really difficult to accurately judge just due to their hoppy nature. Fun to try, though ! Good luck, and enjoy !
     
    #4 Hopportunistic, Mar 14, 2015
  5. Smakawhat

    Smakawhat Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,191) Mar 18, 2008 Maryland
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Take your time between each one... there's no rush
     
    #5 Smakawhat, Mar 14, 2015
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  6. suttonssuds

    suttonssuds Initiate (0) Feb 1, 2012 Massachusetts

    I have not done an IPA tasting with that many samples but I think you might try a sorbet like some restaurants use between courses. Lemon sorbet is popular.
     
    #6 suttonssuds, Mar 14, 2015
    HighWine likes this.
  7. MikeP64

    MikeP64 Zealot (661) Jan 24, 2015 South Carolina

    I always like to separate them by something different but sometimes its cool to have TWO of them back to back for that immediate POW taste difference....When should I show up?
     
    #7 MikeP64, Mar 14, 2015
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  8. 31Sam13

    31Sam13 Initiate (0) Sep 29, 2014 New Hampshire

    Try ginger like sushi...
     
    #8 31Sam13, Mar 14, 2015
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  9. BEERschlitz

    BEERschlitz Initiate (0) Oct 13, 2013 Michigan

    Throwing something else out there I'm having a hard time figuring out is what order to drink them in, because I don't want my friends to miss out on the absolutely incredible IPA's they haven't tried yet (they haven't had any of these). I'll give a # to each so you can just put a # instead of a name.
    1.Heady
    2. Sip of Sunshine
    3. Carton Boat
    4. Carton 0077xx
    5. Pliny the Elder
    6. Blind Pig
    7. Green diamonds
    8. Grapefruit Sculpin
    9. Neshaminy Creek- Shape of Hops to Come
    10. Abrasive
    11. Zombie Dust
    12. Hop Ju Ju
    13. Fat Head's Head Hunter
    14. Hop Drop n Roll
    15. Foley Brother's- Fair Maiden
    In what order would YOU go?
     
    #9 BEERschlitz, Mar 14, 2015
  10. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Wow! That is a lot of hoppy beers on that list!

    I would recommend that you turn this into several events over multiple days. Drinking 15 hoppy beers like this in one sitting is too much; at least it would be too much for me.

    Cheers!
     
    #10 JackHorzempa, Mar 14, 2015
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  11. BEERschlitz

    BEERschlitz Initiate (0) Oct 13, 2013 Michigan

    I kinda thought that as I was writing it out. Wasn't planning on all of them, but splitting down the middle may be the way to go
     
    #11 BEERschlitz, Mar 14, 2015
  12. tjumfrid

    tjumfrid Initiate (0) Jun 15, 2013 Arizona

    I'm more interested in learning about how you were able to pull all those amazing IPAs. Really jealous.
     
    #12 tjumfrid, Mar 14, 2015
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  13. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    At a minimum a split. I was thinking that maybe three events of 5 beers each would be about right?

    Cheers!
     
    #13 JackHorzempa, Mar 14, 2015
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  14. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    How old is that Neshaminy Creek beer?

    Cheers!
     
    #14 JackHorzempa, Mar 14, 2015
  15. BEERschlitz

    BEERschlitz Initiate (0) Oct 13, 2013 Michigan

    Doesn't say on the can, hasn't there been any made recently? The guy said he just drove all over Vermont and picked them all up the week previous to coming here, I believe him cuz all the other bottle dates are within a month.
     
    #15 BEERschlitz, Mar 14, 2015
  16. suttonssuds

    suttonssuds Initiate (0) Feb 1, 2012 Massachusetts

    Agree. Make a long NCAA Basketball weekend out of it. Make an IPA bracket.
     
    #16 suttonssuds, Mar 14, 2015
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  17. SensorySupernova

    SensorySupernova Initiate (0) Mar 21, 2014 California

    It is probably better not to have a set order for everyone. If the order is set, then whichever one gets put last in line is screwed. Instead, you could cluster them into light, medium, and heavy hoppiness groups. Everyone can go through each cluster (light to heavy), but the order within each cluster can vary from person to person.
     
    #17 SensorySupernova, Mar 14, 2015
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  18. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    The Shape of Hops to Come was produced in 2014:

    “SHC should be available in stores and here at the brewery up until Christmas….we hope. We’ve shipped a total of 560 cases to our distributors in Pennsylvania, the bulk having gone to our SEPA distributor Bella Vista. We’ll also end up shipping at least 400 cases to our New Jersey distributor, Hunterdon, when all is said and done for 2014. A good amount of draft has also been shipped to both states. That’s not a whole lot, but it’s as much as we could make in 2014 and are excited to bring it back again in 2015.”

    http://neshaminycreekbrewing.com/2014/11/11/shape-of-hops-to-come-blitzkrieg-hops/

    Cheers!
     
    #18 JackHorzempa, Mar 14, 2015
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  19. BEERschlitz

    BEERschlitz Initiate (0) Oct 13, 2013 Michigan

    Cool, so there was a new batch in January. I was worried the can was going to be a year old... Ha.
     
    #19 BEERschlitz, Mar 14, 2015
  20. HopBackGorilla

    HopBackGorilla Initiate (0) Feb 13, 2015 New York

    In my opinion and trials, a IPA bracket works good and it's a bit of fun. I can't stress taking your time!! You may have some palate fatigue or palate being muted down because of intoxication but it's minimal.

    Enjoy!
     
    #20 HopBackGorilla, Mar 14, 2015
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