IPA with training wheels?

i believe they are called pale ales

 

Honestly Three Floyds Gumballhead got me into the wheat to IPA's. It is considered a wheat beer but it is higher in the IBU's. After drinking that for a while my taste buds were ready for more hoppy pleasure.

 

Pale Ales, or as the kids are calling them these days, Session IPA's.

 

If you've had all those and don't like them you never will.

I find it pretty funny that someone who doesn't like IPAs has had so many world class ones. Mind = boggled

 

Drink what you like. There is no rule saying you have to like IPAs to like craft beer. I hate most IPAs; such is life.

 

Deschutes mirror pond. Its a mellow American pale. If its too hoppy, give up.

 

It sounds like a lot of the IPAs you have had are the extreme end of the spectrum in bitterness/IBUs/hoppiness (whatever you wanna call it). Maybe try some that are more balanced.

 

60 min IPA and SNPA got me started into IPAs

 

Palates and preferences can change. You've had many great beers, but sometimes knowing and appreciating something great requires perspective.
I'd suggest going with some classic american pales and IPA's. 60/90 Minute, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Odell 5 Barrel or IPA, Dechutes Mirror Pond, Stone IPA, Bell's Two Hearted, Victory HopDevil, Goose Island IPA, Schlafly AIPA, Anchor Liberty, etc.
If those don't do the trick, you might just not like American-style "C" hops. At that point I'd look to beers from the UK and central Europe. Plus, give it a few years and revisit things. You'd be shocked what can happen with your tastes in 4-5 years.

 

Sure seems like you like them to me. You wouldn't go out of your way to find and overpay for those beers if you didn't.

 

I would have agreed with you completely if I hadn't been in the same place as the OP at one time and overcame the disdain for bitterness.

I started in the "guinness is too thick" and "Boston lager" is too bitter boat. I disliked the hoppy styles for over a year until one day I flipped the switch (over the top reference) and just started to enjoy em. I can't explain the reason why, but nugget nectar was the beer that changed it all for me. Now there isn't an ipa too bitter or an imperial stout too viscus for my taste buds.

 

One of my gateway IPAs was Longhammer IPA. I haven't had it in awhile but I remember it being pretty mild.

 

Try Chainbreaker IPA by deschutes. Very easy drinking, nice hop aroma, but not bitter at all really. Id bet you like it a lot.

 

Ignore IPAs for the time being. Instead focus on trying a few more APAs. Especially ones on the maltier end. While not an IPA, I know lots of people where Lagunitas A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' was their gateway beer.

Where in MO are you? If St. Louis that Schafly Tasmanian IPA is something else. How do you feel about Boulevard Pale Ale?

 

JESUS!!

Um, try Goose Island India Pale Ale and Summit Saga - they're mellower than the Double IPAs that you seem to have been exceptionally aquainted with. Goose Island in particular is an English Style IPA.

Otherwise, as stated above, work on devoloping a fondness for American Pale Ales. Once you find yourself wanting a more flavorful Pale Ale, dip a toe into the IPA pool, which overfloweth with delicious tasty good times.

 

If you can't stand something as simple as a Two Hearted Ale, I'd stick to what floats your boat and forget IPA's. If PA's do it for you stick with that. It's available most everywhere even Wal Mart, and it's usually 2-3 weeks old always.

 

Get some Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and taste it. If you think it's bitter you posses the gene TAS2R38 and that means you will never like IPA's because the gene enhances the bitter receptors on your tongue making it unbearable. Most bitter things are poisonous to humans it is a survival trait some inherit.

 

I didn't like IPAs for the first 3-4 years of drinking real beer.

No big deal, just come back to it later. Maybe try New Belgium Accumulation, Deschutes Chainbreaker or Fresh Squeezed. Or, just don't worry about it. That's probably what I would do.

 

I that's the problem - he started at the deep end.