Current Events > How did IPAs become such a meme beer anyway?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I grant you the occasional one is terrific, but most of them just taste like acrid grass.

Get me a good banana-y hefeweizen or a chocolate stout over a beer that smells like pot and tastes like you steeped lawnmower clippings in hot water and baking soda any day.
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mmm stouts
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they're so bad lol
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Most of them are bad I agree
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pinky0926 posted...

Get me a good banana-y hefeweizen or a chocolate stout

Aka give me sweet manchild drinks
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You should know pinky it's all the hipsters' fault. ;-)

Actually I dunno wtf made IPA blow up because they're never been my go to. I usually prefer stouts.
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it's just alcoholic drinking dick measuring, similar to how everyone says how much they love to drink whiskey straight instead of having a mixed drink or putting in ice/water because they want to appear rugged and manly
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SK8T3R215 posted...

Aka give me sweet manchild drinks

chocolate stouts/porters are more bitter than sweet usually imho
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Hops with strong flavors grow easily in the USA.

pinky0926 posted...

Get me a good banana-y hefeweizen or a chocolate stout

Strong flavor yeast cultures and quality barley is typically a european product, and thus more expensive.

You want to make a beer with a strong, unique flavor, and do it affordably as a craft brewer? You make an IPA.
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I like IPA's the hoppier the better :)

Yum!!!

That and it's nice to get those 7-8% IPAs after a while other beers taste like water.

But I love all beer it just depends on the occasion.
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SK8T3R215 posted...

pinky0926 posted...

Get me a good banana-y hefeweizen or a chocolate stout

Aka give me sweet manchild drinks

What does this even mean.

thanosibe posted...

You should know pinky it's all the hipsters' fault. ;-)

Actually I dunno wtf made IPA blow up because they're never been my go to. I usually prefer stouts.

Part of me wonders if it's because IPAs are relatively easy to make and good for all environments. Stouts aren't great on hot days.
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Because it's easy to "game" making IPA, whereas it's harder to quantify what makes beer actually good.
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Darkman124 posted...

Hops with strong flavors grow easily in the USA.

pinky0926 posted...

Get me a good banana-y hefeweizen or a chocolate stout

Strong yeast cultures and quality barley is typically a european product, and thus more expensive.

You want to make a beer with a strong, unique flavor, and do it affordably as a craft brewer? You make an IPA.

This probably explains why most of the good IPAs I've had were American and the rest were forgettable.

With the exception of a few: Punk IPA, Feral Hop Hog (one of the greatest beers ever I think)
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pinky0926 posted...

This probably explains why most of the good IPAs I've had were American and the rest were forgettable

it is. IPA made with noble hops is basically just bitter.
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I like IPAs but they irritate the fuck out of my bowels. These days I pretty much stick to pale ales and hefs.
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Romulox28 posted...

it's just alcoholic drinking dick measuring, similar to how everyone says how much they love to drink whiskey straight instead of having a mixed drink or putting in ice/water because they want to appear rugged and manly

Which is weird though because when IPAs started becoming a thing you'd have to convince the old guys at the bar that it was a beer and not some pansy drink
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I feel like it was the original tryhard beer. "Look at all their posers drinking generic piss-water. I'm a real man and drink the 'strongest' stuff."
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Teen Girl Squad posted...

I feel like it was the original tryhard beer. "Look at all their posers drinking generic piss-water. I'm a real man and drink the 'strongest' stuff."

I find that attitude funny as hell because if you look at what the old hands in any trade profession drink its piss water (or maybe a standard bitter ale or something) and not IPA. These guys just want to have a cold one and talk about women and cars, not discuss fragrant aromas in their fucking drink
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My first legal beer was a Lagunitas IPA <_<
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pinky0926 posted...

Teen Girl Squad posted...

I feel like it was the original tryhard beer. "Look at all their posers drinking generic piss-water. I'm a real man and drink the 'strongest' stuff."

I find that attitude funny as hell because if you look at what the old hands in any trade profession drink its piss water (or maybe a standard bitter ale or something) and not IPA. These guys just want to have a cold one and talk about women and cars, not discuss fragrant aromas in their fucking drink

IPA became a 'bro' drink mostly because it's necessarilly strong to balance out the bitterness, whereas other styles can be ~5% abv

but the reason they're made at all is despite this they're still cheaper to make than those since their signature ingredient is cheap and the extra abv can come from the cheapest form of malt, pale malt. to make stouts you need a lot of extra kilned malts which are much pricier and you have to order it in bulk despite it being a small portion of the grain bill. to make a hefe or abbey ale you need specialized yeasts which you often can't maintain cultures of easily.
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I don't like them. Too bitter.
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HypnoCoosh posted...

I love all beer it just depends on the occasion.

This.
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Freddie_Mercury posted...

My first legal beer was a Lagunitas IPA <_<

Probably the only IPA I would ever drink anymore.
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pinky0926 posted...

thanosibe posted...

You should know pinky it's all the hipsters' fault. ;-)

Actually I dunno wtf made IPA blow up because they're never been my go to. I usually prefer stouts.

Part of me wonders if it's because IPAs are relatively easy to make and good for all environments. Stouts aren't great on hot days.

And they are fairly bland to me. At least the few brands I've tried. I hear a lot of people say they don't like them, but to me they're just kind of meh. But I get a lighter and easy to drink beer would be better than a stout after mowing the lawn on a hot day.
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Darkman124 posted...

pinky0926 posted...

Teen Girl Squad posted...

I feel like it was the original tryhard beer. "Look at all their posers drinking generic piss-water. I'm a real man and drink the 'strongest' stuff."

I find that attitude funny as hell because if you look at what the old hands in any trade profession drink its piss water (or maybe a standard bitter ale or something) and not IPA. These guys just want to have a cold one and talk about women and cars, not discuss fragrant aromas in their fucking drink

IPA became a 'bro' drink mostly because it's necessarilly strong to balance out the bitterness, whereas other styles can be ~5% abv

but the reason they're made at all is despite this they're still cheaper to make than those since their signature ingredient is cheap and the extra abv can come from the cheapest form of malt, pale malt. to make stouts you need a lot of extra kilned malts which are much pricier and you have to order it in bulk despite it being a small portion of the grain bill. to make a hefe or abbey ale you need specialized yeasts which you often can't maintain cultures of easily.

So how did IPAs become a hipster's wetdream luxury drink? I smell a marketing conspiracy.
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Why would you want to ingest something as bitter as an IPA?
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pinky0926 posted...

Teen Girl Squad posted...

I feel like it was the original tryhard beer. "Look at all their posers drinking generic piss-water. I'm a real man and drink the 'strongest' stuff."

I find that attitude funny as hell because if you look at what the old hands in any trade profession drink its piss water (or maybe a standard bitter ale or something) and not IPA. These guys just want to have a cold one and talk about women and cars, not discuss fragrant aromas in their fucking drink

the difference between a bud light and an IPA is that the bud light is actually drinkable, whereas the IPA you have to take in sips and then it fills you up like you just had a full fucking meal. meanwhile you can just pound 3 bud lights and you're good to go, plus maybe you'll even get a buzz
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They taste the worst
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I like IPAs. They're just expensive and I can't afford too drink them. Ill take a bud heavy or pbr any day.
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thanosibe posted...

And they are fairly bland to me. At least the few brands I've tried. I hear a lot of people say they don't like them, but to me they're just kind of meh. But I get a lighter and easy to drink beer would be better than a stout after mowing the lawn on a hot day.

I wouldn't even say an IPA is light. It's a lot of flavour right in your face. After a hot day and a day's physical work I just want a crisp lager or a pale ale, nothing too strong.
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NurseRedHeart posted...

They taste the worst

they usually have the highest alcohol content, so most of the time you don't drink it for the taste. I actually have grown to enjoy the bitterness of a solid IPA though. I used to hate them lol.
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I love them, the more bitter the better. They're easy to down and usually have decent ABV. Great to pair with a meal.

I prefer wheat beer, though
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pinky0926 posted...

So how did IPAs become a hipster's wetdream luxury drink? I smell a marketing conspiracy.

because hipster is a vague term whose definition is in the eye of the beholder

if you ask me the 'hipster beer' right now is sours, not IPAs

i guess session IPAs are also part of it
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Darkman124 posted...

if you ask me the 'hipster beer' right now is sours, not IPAs

well yeah, http://www.bevindustry.com/2017-beer-market-report

I can't actually read the article because I'm not signing up but

After many years of double-digit gains in volume and dollar sales in the United States, the craft beer market could be approaching a status of maturation, according to analysts. This deceleration of growth for craft beer is being attributed to a variety of factors, including SKU proliferation and quality issues. However, bright spots for the segment include sour beers as well as international growth. Continue Reading

this is what I see at my local breweries, too
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I wonder if its because I've become more bitter as a person that I like bitter beer now? hmmm
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Darkman124 posted...

if you ask me the 'hipster beer' right now is sours, not IPAs

And saisons
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Balrog0 posted...

this is what I see at my local breweries, too

yep, ever since michael tomslinere released american sour beers a lot of brewers are using it to perfect kettle sour techniques so they don't destroy their brewery aging a barrel sour

and it's working. people pay big $ for sours even though kettle sours are no harder than regular ones to make.

i'm making a berliner for an octoberfest myself
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I wasn't a fan until I started getting into local beers, now they're probably my favorite. Not all IPAs are equally.
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ShotOJameson posted...

I wonder if its because I've become more bitter as a person that I like bitter beer now? hmmm

I think part of getting older is enjoying alcohol that is less pleasant and more a confirmation that you are indeed alive. E.g. whisky.
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pinky0926 posted...

ShotOJameson posted...

I wonder if its because I've become more bitter as a person that I like bitter beer now? hmmm

I think part of getting older is enjoying alcohol that is less pleasant and more a confirmation that you are indeed alive. E.g. whisky.

indeed

cheers to that mate!
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pinky0926 posted...

ShotOJameson posted...

I wonder if its because I've become more bitter as a person that I like bitter beer now? hmmm

I think part of getting older is enjoying alcohol that is less pleasant and more a confirmation that you are indeed alive. E.g. whisky.

Warm sake....is what I drink for that conformation from time to time. Just had some the last two nights.
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thanosibe posted...

pinky0926 posted...

ShotOJameson posted...

I wonder if its because I've become more bitter as a person that I like bitter beer now? hmmm

I think part of getting older is enjoying alcohol that is less pleasant and more a confirmation that you are indeed alive. E.g. whisky.

Warm sake....is what I drink for that conformation from time to time. Just had some the last two nights.

Kampai!
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weirdos

lawnmower clippings are delicious
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I love them in an unironic way. It's got a really bitter, soapy taste and it's great
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pauIie posted...

weirdos

lawnmower clippings are delicious

agreed
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