Ive tried a handful of IPA ales and haven’t liked any of them, so bitter and not great taste. Ive tried Red Hook IPA, Sam Adams IPA, and even New Belgium Ranger and haven’t liked any of them. Then I was out and tried a Double IPA from Odell called Myrcenary DPA, and it was fantastic! Its a type of Imperial IPA, whats the difference here?
You probably have more sweetness in the IIPA, it balances the bitterness. That or its just not as bitter, there quite a variation within the commercial styles. And bitterness gets a little lower with age so it might be how old the beer is.
I’d say the examples you listedthat you didn’t like aren’t real great IPAs IMO. KepP trying different onesand I betou’ll run across some you like.
Get your hands on a dogfish 60 min or an Ithaca flower power… those are my favorites thus far. But i did just start getting into IPA
i agree with denny and the fact that DIPA’s tend to have more body and “sweetness”
but yeah those arnt very good IPAs IMHO …and i love IPAs
It could also be the hops used and you may just not like certain examples that use one certain hop.
You’ve run into a situation we’ve all found ourselves challenged with in the past: not all styles taste the same. One IPA can be drastically different from another IPA just as one brown ale can taste so different than another. So many different things can factor into our own individual tastes.
For me, many times it’s the yeast strain. For example, I can talk to a brewer or look at a label and love the different ingredients that were used in a brew…and hate the beer. In all likelihood, there’s something in that yeast strain I’m not digging.
Other times, it could simply be the use or addition of the ingredients. Maybe you love Amarillo hops as a late addition but not as an early addition. Late will give you the aroma; early the bitterness.
Still other times, you may loathe a beer on forced carbonation but love it on cask. Again, same style, different maturation, different delivery.
Bottom line, as others have said, keep enjoyin the ride…even when you can’t stand the beer. God this stuff is good.
I’ve always been under the impression that Double IPAs are actually dry and not sweet. It’s more about the hop flavor in DIPAs. Imperial (Triple) IPAs are have a much bigger malt backbone and are sweeter.
A good example would be Pliny the Elder vs Pliny the Younger. You need the sweetness in the later to balance the higher ABV.
All the famous DIPAs are dry in my opinion:
Pliny the Elder,
HopSlam
Flower Power
Maharaja
Double Jack
Vinnie’s recipe for Elder uses sugar to dry it out towards 1.010.
I think a double IPA is an Imperial IPA. The “double” means Imperial India Pale Pale or IIPA, hence the “double I”. There is no Triple IPA. The commercial brewers have screwed up style designations with their need to make ever-bigger beers and to set themselves apart.
Even an IPA is sweeter than an APA, and an Imperial IPA is sweeter just to balance the extra bitterness and hop character. IT might still be weighted towards hoppiness so you don’t notice the sweetness, and some are more dry than others.
Myrcenary is defintely a sweet beer - too sweet for my taste. If they have it we’re you live, try Firestone/Walker Union Jack - IMO, it’s the best IPA on the shelf.
There is if someone makes one, and calls it that.
And who’s to say one can’t??? :mrgreen:
True. I guess I hate “new and improved” and using “triple” for something other than a tripel. Next we’ll have quad IPA, then deca-IPA.
I think I’ll go brew a Giga-IPA. I’ll use a sack of grain and a cup of water. You’ll eat it with a fork. Exract version, you open a can of hopped LME and drink it with a straw.
I’m always happy when I find an IPA that does not use Simcoe. So maybe it’s got some hops you don’t favor. That and Sam Adams beers pretty much suck, IMO.
