Triple IPAs

Have a Devil Dancer that's well over a year old. It's a Barleywine, and it's fantastic.

 

Agreed.

 

Immense Imperial India (III) Pale Ale - Need this descriptor added ASAP!

 

I quoted too much of your prior post. Was specifically referring to:

"Doesn't mean that 120 minute is or is not a DIPA/Barleywine. I happen to think it seriously blurs the line, though, whereas beers like PtE and HT are pretty clearly DIPAs. Age a 120 minute, and the line completely gets obliterated."

The point I'm trying to make is that what they taste like is a side effect of the receipe not the defining characteristic of the style. Individual styles may happen to have unique flavor characteristics but that’s the target of the recipe which defines the style.

The category DIPA is an arbitrary one as is/would be TIPA. So yes there could be a category of Triple IPA, but why bother, are there really a lot of them?. The style lines are fuzzy boundaries (like the topographic lines on a map showing where the tree line begins and ends), and some, like Quad" are simply made up by sites like this one.

Take a look through the post by Bonis, just a couple below one of yours.

 

barley wines are NOT triple ipa's

 

120 min is NOT a barley wine

 

Oh ok thanks for the heads up.

 

Agreed. Didn't say it was, and have been arguing it is not. Two different recipes with more than just additional boil time and an extra helping of the same ingredients as in the 90 or 60 min.

 

The real question is whether my triple-hops brewed pilsener is just a pilsener, or a triple IPA.

 

It was MEH. there becomes a point where it becomes much too muddled, messy, and sweet. 120 pulls it off pretty well though at such a high ABV

 

Maybe they'll bring back a better version, but I always like trying their new stuff.... I thought their Midnight Hoppyness was pretty tasty!

 

Fegley's Hopsolutely is a great brew, considered a triple IPA.

 

Yep. kind of like a kindergarden competition where every kid gets a medal.
IMHO there are far too many "styles" already. I'd like to see some serious weeding out.

 

Anybody who has ever had Younger or Exponential, knows why there needs to be a term like triple IPA, just to discuss beers like this, but I don't see any compelling reason for anybody to create a pseudo legitimate "category" for them. If anything, I might make the case that they have distanced themselves so far from anybody's understanding of an original IPA, that they may best be listed under American Strong.

 

I'm personally waiting in eager anticipation for the day when Octuple IPAs rule the shelves and these weak little DIPAs are confined to dusty cellars.

 

I think the craft beer scene should go 1 of 2 ways here:
1) go with the Imperial IPA name only. Represents any IPA style (American or English but mostly applies to American) over 7.5% or 8% (pick a threshold).

2) If we want to use double or tripel in the name than make it distinct ABV thresholds that separate them.

IBUs/hops really don't come into play as "bittering unit" doesn't necessarily coorelate to how bitter the beer is.
I've had many 60 IBU beers much more bitter than 100+ IBUs.