Same. I don’t make many of them so I’ll drink them when I’m out somewhere. But then I have to be careful because I might be drinking a 7% beer at the same pace I would drink a 4.5% to 5% beer at home and… WHOO BOY!
I’m still a big fan of IPAs. Although not any of the more modern renditions. I just can’t get a taste for hazies or milkshake IPAs. But bring on the hop-bombs, citrus (so long as it doesn’t taste like a glass of juice), pine, dank, whatever.
Wine I use picnic taps, I have as many beers on tap as I do full kegs. Currently the total is 6, with 4 being IPA. Also have several commercial IPAs in bottles in the fridge.
I had a brewing bud that I know send me some Hazy NE IPAs. Some of the ones he sent me were quite good but really unusual. Hazy does not begin to describe them. Not very bitter. Super, super juicy. Almost like a fruit smoothie. One was called Julius. They were tasty but I just don’t know how much of that I could drink.
I’ve been to two breweries so far that have absolutely blown my mind, I even had an IPA I like. I take back half the bad things I’ve said about IPAs cheers!!! 7 breweries in two days!!! Gonna have to dry out next week
That’s Treehouse, they make some great stuff and have gotten huge. Rightfully so, they are the gold standard.
I like both west coast and the hazy juicy ones. I think a lot of people who don’t like the neipas have not had some good ones. The style got so big so fast that a lot of breweries needed to have one and didn’t know what they are doing. The good ones are bursting with flavor, well balanced, and go down so easy you want more. The bad ones are flaccid.
Our closest brewery, Claremont Craft Ales, has an IPA called Pepper & Peaches that is absolutely fantastic (it has both of those as ingredients, within a fairly modern-ish West Coast IPA). When I make an IPA at home, it’s almost always a “traditional” West Coast IPA, with one or some combination of Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, Chinook, or other classic “C” hop. Once or twice a year I’ll do one with the newer fruity hops, but typically I’ll just buy that stuff commercially, because there are plenty of great examples already. I do like making a white IPA (I wish that style had lived, instead of hazies!)…basically, I brew the IPAs that just aren’t made as much anymore by the local craft breweries.
Overall, I drink way less IPA than I did 10 years ago. That’s not to say I’ve gotten away from hops – I’m brewing a lot of German lagers and such, often with a fairly robust hop presence.
Speaking of IPA’s that didn’t survive, I wouldn’t mind a Cascadian Dark Ale. Originated not far from my home. Also, let’s brew some Brut IPA [emoji1787][emoji1787]
We did 8 breweries In 2 days. If anyone lives in Pennsylvania I highly suggest Moo-Duck brewing in elizabethtown. Nice selection of very tasty on point brews and super cool staff. I had a blast