I don’t drink much these days, but I like a good beer every once in a while, so I decided to try something new Sunday evening. I’d never had an India Pale Ale (IPA), so I randomly selected a 6-pack of Double Take IPA. I got through two bottles but, bleh. The taste started pleasantly enough, but the aftertaste … the description on that page says it all:
“Hops dominate throughout the palate, starting with a slight sweetness on the front of the tongue, and leaving a lingering hop bitterness that sticks to the sides of your mouth.”
For me it was more like “pastes onto the sides of your mouth”, and stayed there for hours after I finished the second bottle. I could still taste it after rinsing my mouth with Listerine before bed. It was incredibly bitter.
Granted, I’m one of those “supertasters” who are naturally more sensitive to bitterness, but I’ve been able enjoy Guinness and other “stout” beers that have a certain bitterness. But this Double Take stuff was just way over the top for me. Now I’m hesitant to try another IPA for fear that they’re all like that.
I haven’t tried Double Take, but hoppiness and bitterness are more or less the defining characteristics of an IPA. Some makers go overboard in competing for the hoppiest possible beer, others aim for a more balanced approach, but if it isn’t hoppy it isn’t an IPA.
No. Bitterness is only one hop characteristic. Floral is another as is piney and and grapefruit. Some IPAs tend toward the floral end of the spectrum while others are an enticing combination of characteristics. One of the most hop forward craft beers in the world, Bell’s Hopslam, is actually not very bitter at all but still amazingly hoppy. The malt bill also can reign in or accentuate the character of the hops as can the hop schedule - which is schedule of both times and amounts of hops that are to be added to the wort during the boil. For example, aroma hops are typically added at the end of the boil and also referred to as finishing hops.
IPA’s were supposedly made for the troops serving out in India–back in the days of Empire. Hops & extra alcohol were added to keep the ale fresh on the long sea voyage. Is this the true history? We have some real experts here…
Houston’s own Saint Arnold Brewing Company makesElissa IPA–with an IBU of 60. Plenty hoppy but well-balanced.
This is one of the reasons I’m not a big fan of IPAs - most of the ones I’ve tired tend to be much too hoppy and bitter for my liking. With so many non-IPA beers available in the UK, I’ve not tried one in a long time.
No. It makes for a nice story, but porter shipped by the same brewer made the voyage just fine, without the additional hops and alcohol. IPA was a style that was meant to be cellared 2 years anyway, so shipping it to India didn’t hurt it any. The fact that the brewer offered very liberal credit terms also played a part, methinks.
West Coast IPAs really push the boundaries of hopping. Double Take is right up there, although not as much as say Stone IPA.
For a much milder version of an IPA, try Greene King.
American IPAs do tend to be quite bitter. If you drink more then you will get somewhat used to the bitterness. My first IPA was a Victory HopDevil, and while I enjoyed it I was practically puckering after every sip. Now I could just sit down and enjoy one like any other tasty beverage. Guinness tastes just barely bitter to me, if at all, and I can pick out all the roasty flavors in it.
If you don’t really feel like going down this road further, try some English IPAs. They are less bitter than their American counterparts and go for more of a floral hop flavor and bigger malt presence.
Where did you find that number? I couldn’t find a list or a link to one on the Wikipedia page.
Yeah, I’ll probably go a different direction. As I said, I’m only an every-now-and-then drinker these days, so I’m not really going to have the chance to get used to the bitterness. Back when I did still drink regularly (I used to drink way too much, and stopped altogether in 1994 and didn’t touch alcohol at all for the next 13 years), I tried all sorts of different beers from many different microbreweries and found quite a few that I enjoyed. Alas, I can’t remember the names of most of them.
On the “bitter” side of beers I’ve enjoyed, I’ve had good luck with some of the Red Hook Brewery’s offerings, including their Red Hook Ale and their Black Hook Porter. OTOH, they had (still have?) a pale ale called Ballard Bitter than I just couldn’t get down because it was so bitter. It was like licking a sheet of thermal printer paper (yeah, I did that once or twice when I was a kid).
Generally, I like a good, robust flavor (and the word “creamy” comes to mind) without the excessive bitterness. When I drank a lot and stuck mostly to the cheaper, “basic” American beers, I honestly liked lagers like PBR and Olympia, so maybe I should look at some craft brewed lagers, if such exist.
You might try Session Dark Lager (black label) or their “regular” lager (red label) by Full Sail. I think they are both very good, and not bitter at all.
IPA is my beer of choice, I’m always on the lookout for a new flavor. My favorite at the moment is Mammoth Brewery’s IPA 395–IBU of 50 with hints of sage and juniper.
Shiner’s Wild Hare Pale Ale has an IBU of 32. Quite mild–the call it an American Pale Ale. Shiner beers are less rarified than true craft beers but a cut above Bud, etc. And available everywhere down here…
Places like The Hay Merchant include IBU on the menu.
(Oh, thanks to Silenus for the information on “India” Pale Ale; I thought the ocean voyage bit might be folklore.)
Just to clear up potential confusion, the IBU only provides a rough estimate. A beer with a higher IBU may taste less bitter, depending on how much malt is involved.
But, in general, the higher the IBU, the more bitter the beer. Dogfish does one that is supposedly 120 IBU. It’s got an aftertaste like your dog dragged its rear end across the inside of your mouth.
Anything “above” 100 IBU is just puffery. 100 is the theoretical upper limit.
But it does indeed depend on the malt content. I once made a barleywine that hit 100 IBU easily, but tasted not that bitter due to the absolute shit-tonne of fermentables I used. The OG was so high my hydrometer wouldn’t register, and it finished somewhere around 1.2!
Haven’t been able to try that one, but their 90 Minute IPA is excellent. It’s got a lot of malt, so it’s actually very well balanced despite a TON of hops flavor.