When I look back to my first year of brewing (1993), It is amazing what passes for bitter these days. Back then, a beer with 40 IBUs was considered to be bitter. Personally, I believe the difference between now and then is that the IBUs were real instead of being pseuodo-IBUs like one finds in most of the high IBU beers today. If one looks at the recipes for most modern IPAs, most of the hop charge comes at the end of the boil or post-fermentation. I find these beers to be intensely front of the mouth bitter, but many have an almost cloyingly sweet back of the mouth finish. It does appear that this style has peaked and we are headed to the next fad beer. Me, personally, I am engaging the wayback machine. :) All of the beers I brewed in the nineties were not great (there are a few that I would rather forget), but they were honest. I was brewing with the same soft water supply that I have with my new brewery, so I know the score. This water supply shines with pale lagers with untreated filtered watered and very pale ales with the aid of a little CaSO4.
IPA, a fad beer? No way. Never. Can’t be. Say it ain’t so. Unbelievable.
Just curious…So how long does a style have to be incredibly popular before it’s no longer a “fad”? I mean are you equating IPA’s to Clean Eating?
I don’t know, I just found out the American Lager I brewed claimed me as a dependent on my taxes. Now I’m getting audited. How’s that for honest beer?
It’s funny because when i started brewing, every IPA was a 120+ IBU monster (calculated in software only, of course) and relying mostly on enormous, high alpha charges at 90, 60, and 30 minutes, with some dry hopping thrown in. And that was probably just as deceptive a description of the hops as the modern hazy IPA is when reduced to IBUs. I personally prefer a middle ground, but I’m happy we did discover the benefits of late hops.
i used to think Sierra Nevada was bitter. When I bought my first 12 pack I wasn’t sure I could finish the case. I started brewing in '95 and at that time I had never had a true West coast IPA. I had to start beer traveling in the late 90’s to get beers I had only read about.
The first IIPA I ever had one one I made myself since i couldn’t get it locally. In fact that’s how I ended up trying lots of styles for the first time.
I live in the same region as I did in '96 and we can get just about anything now.
I’m with Saccharomyces. I can honestly say I have never joined a bandwagon or followed a fad when it comes to the beer I brew. The closest thing to a modern IPA I have brewed is Denny’s Rye IPA. Otherwise I make traditional English IPA, Porters and Stouts with the occasional Amber Ale, Scottish Ale or Barleywine.
Not even close to a late hopped modern IPA. Patterned on WCIPA.
Sorry to side track, but do you have a go to recipe for an English IPA? I have had in mind for a little while now, I’m in the same boat I brew a lot of English Ales, Porters, Stouts.
This one is the only session IPA I ever brew:
Incredible.
I’m brewing that next Sunday! I even made the golden syrup last weekend. Will be using WY1469, another yeast I am not at all familiar with.
It works great in that recipe. I’ve used WLP002, WLP013, and Windsor/Notty in this as well, and they all make a great beer. It’s pretty much a bulletproof recipe with any flavorful English yeast.
I was actually planning the same brew this weekend to break in my anvil foundry system, also with 1469
Excellent. Keep us posted. Eric says this recipe is “bulletproof”…I’ll be out to prove him wrong. ;D
From what I have been seeing in local package goods stores (a.k.a. liquor stores), it does appear that hard seltzer may be the next IPA. I do not know if it is cutting into craft or NAIL beer sales, but it is selling amazingly well.