Opinion: The IPA Paradox

Yes and if you would have been there a few years ago, you would have really had to search for good beer. I went there in 2014 (my mom has a place there) and there was one bottleshop that had a pretty good selection, but the downtown area was pretty bare. Things really changed there a couple of years ago. My trip there last April, shit you could find good beer everywhere. Most bars had a good selection of taps (KBS on at one) there are 2 taprooms in the downtown area along with Craft Beer Cellar. So they were late to the game, but now have a lot of choices.

 

It is interesting to consider the proposition. From a personal point of view, I have never found a craft beer outlet where I thought there were too many choices available. I have never sworn off any beer style and love a good IPA or IIPA as much as a great stout, sour or quad. There are some styles I tend not to buy as many of, such as Pilsner, Porter and Tripel, but that is personal taste. It seems to me there are several types of successful breweries such as those that brew a high quality group of core beers that appeal to a large proportion of beer lovers, those that respond to market trends and brew interesting beers in newer, more popular styles, those that specialize in certain styles and take them to another level and those that seem to be able to experiment and kick goals regularly. It is a great time to be a beer lover - generally I try not to over think it, but occasionally over drink it!

 

I really don't get the concern over the popularity of IPA's, drink what you want when the mood strikes. I prefer a good IPA but that doesn't stop me from trying other styles when I'm not in the mood for an IPA. In the end it all comes down to personal tastes and preference. IPA's just happen to be my favorite style.

 

To be fair, you had different IPA styles.

You can get similar variety with say, a Pilsner. A pale Czech lager can vary depending on the gravity, as there's many different Czech pale lager styles depending on how strong they are.

A Northern German Pilsner will be far different than a Southern German Pilsner. And while it's not my bag, a Pils hopped with newer hops such as something like Galaxy or Citra will also be wildly different than a more "traditional" Pilsner.

I would argue the difference between Jever and Pilsner Urquell is far greater than the difference between Union Jack and Flower Power.

And this could go on and on with different styles. Even with Helles. There's export Helles which is stronger, or even a pale Oktoberfest which is essentially an "imperial" Helles.

Heck, look at the Oktoberfest style, in which there's a large difference between the amber and pale styles. Even within the amber style there's a big difference between Spaten's and Ayinger's.

Or take Doppelbocks. Drink a Celebrator next to Andech's Doppelbock.

And so on and so forth...

 

I dunno, I've seen quite a few Pilsners that are far from traditional from craft breweries.

And I would say in the New England IPA category, I wouldn't be surprised if many people couldn't pick out their favorite New England IPA in a tasting panel of this style.

They can easily taste very similar.

I'm in Boston and here's what I purchased this past weekend:

-Paulaner Original Munich Lager and Hefeweizen in cans (canned in January)
-Fonta Flora's Irish Table (a dry Irish stout)
-Guinness Draught cans
-Von Trapp's Helles in cans (canned in February)
-Abandoned Building's Irish Farewell (an Irish Red Ale)
-Samuel Smith's Nut Brown and Organic Pale Lager cans (not as fresh, but still canned in October)
-Jack's Abby Heavy Trommel (a Kellerbier styled German-style Porter)
-And a friend left some Jack's Abby Post Shift Pilsner in the fridge too
-Finally, Battery Steele's Avalon...the only IPA during this haul

With the exception of Guinness, these are all new offerings at my local store (the imports are new in the canned format).

I had to stop myself form purchasing more of Notch's "The Standard" (a wonderful 12°P Czech pale lager), Schilling's "Georg" (a Munich-style Dark Lager), and Allagash's "River Trip" (a Belgian style session ale).

 

And you were doing so well. Can't have an Islay thread without getting into a bunch of unsupported yammering about what the rest of the world looks like from the comfort of your couch.

 

I can get a lot of variety from the comfort of my couch.

Ok, that's a lie. I have to "search around" my apartment by getting up, going to the fridge, and cracking a beer.

 

You sir, are going to have to refrain from clouding this issue with facts and observations.

 

Interesting you mention this. I live in the suburbs of Philly and just this morning I stopped into my nearby bottle shop (which also has food to go) to buy a container of their fresh salsa. Naturally, I went over to the beer cold cases for a look (they have about 6 cases).

I wound up leaving with both the salsa and three new beers I've not tried.

The Crooked Stave Von Pilsner (which is a Kellerbier), the Sterling Pig Shoat (which is their house Pilsner just recently canned for distribution) and the Cape May Brewing Lager which was just released for the first time late last month and is intended to serve as a cross over beer, i.e., somthing easy drinking that will attract us craft beer fans but something that will not turn off those used to AALs.

As I added them to my fridge stock I realized that out of the 10 or so different styles there isn't a single IPA in my fridge.

 

There are a ton of IPAs out there, but every time I go to the liquor store and waste time staring at them all and reading and trying to figure out which one(s) to get, there might be 3 or 4 others doing the same, meanwhile 25-30 folks quickly popped in & out picking up mostly lagers, blonde ales, sours, and Euro beers.

 

I'm sorry... it was a weak moment... I'll try to do better...

 

In my area, the dominant styles are NEIPA's and the "modern" fruit sours.

There are other styles available of course, but those two seem to take up the majority of shelf space and taps.

I like lambics, but modern sours aren't my cup of tea, so...

 

Hmmm, where have we heard that before?

 

I tend to stick with the IPAs that I know and love. I’ve had enough different ones to know that one that one of my favorites will be better than something new. If I’m have a beer from a new brewery I normally pick another style.