@solidfunk wants the world to that Brut IPAs suck. Discuss.
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Only 3 Brut IPAs in the top 25 are readily accessible to East Coast raters. Brut IPAs suck.
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People on the east cost don’t really know how to make good IPAs
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No category of IPAs sucks. Generalizations are generally not the best way to go. In general.
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I still have not found a reason as to why they exist. They are a step back from NEIPAs if nothing else.
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They exist because brewers like to make money. Getting the latest thing hyped out the door means income. Long gone are the original crafty days.
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Had just over 50 Brut IPA’s so far, overall I am not a massive fan but just seems to be lots in circulation over here so inevitably end up trying them.
Best one i had so far was this one…
https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/mikkeller-nyc-mikkeller-sd-mikkeller-riesling-papi/702058/
I’ve seen brewers advertising them as low carb, and they’re cheaper to make than a NEIPA. Those are the only reasons I know of for them to exist, and neither are acceptable reasons.
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I like them but they are delicate and easy to go very wrong. My two favorite are east coast from Ommegang and J Wakefield.
I’ve only tried a handful and have not liked any very much.
This one though seems to be the one to beat and I still look forward to trying it.
I like ommegang a bunch anyways in fact be back there in 2 weeks.
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I forgot to make my late tasting drunken post. Thanks for giving me a hand, @nimbleprop
But onto the topic, yes for sure. Has anyone ever had one that genuinely good? Seems like you might like them if you don’t like IPAs as a rule…
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I’ve had a couple that were quite good - but they did not at all resemble WC IPAs.
Most IPAs suck. It’s a boring style that emphasizes the least important ingredient in beer. And Brut IPAs are lamer than most - it’s basically saison, except without everything that makes saison good, and using the same old boring “let’s put way too many hops in here” strategy that I find insipid.
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in·sip·id
adjective
- lacking flavor.
You’ve got it entirely backwords. The more hops the less insipid the beer is.
Not at all. IPAs essentially DO lack flavor. There’s no complexity there, nothing you would get from the yeast, the malt is entirely subdued. It’s replacing flavors with a hop assault. It isn’t interesting, and it’s rarely good. Hops are a crutch. A bit to add a little flavor, a bit to balance out the beer, that’s all a brewer should use. Using hops as the backbone of the beer is just lazy brewing - why bother getting the small stuff right when they can just cover it all up with hops? And all these stupid varietals they come out with? Again, lazy brewing. Hops are just a substitute for interesting flavor profiles. And this tunnel vision, this almost exclusive focus on a single style - and a boring one at that - is threatening to turn American brewing back 40 years, back to the point where it was a few huge breweries pumping out identical products that only differentiated themselves through marketing. Next time you go to the bottle shop, look at the selection of IPAs compared to the selection of every other style. Look at the names and artwork on the labels. IPA is killing craft beer. Good luck trying to find a decent saison or brown ale (both exponentially better styles than IPA when done right). It’s all IPAs, then fruited kettle sours (also usually bland and boring) and imperial stouts, which are usually better than the first two styles, but not always appropriate for the occasion. A couple weeks ago, I was craving an English bitter - I had to look in four separate stores before I found one. Hell, half the time I have to brew my own to find the styles I want. Try finding a Grodziskie - a Polish smoked wheat beer - commercially. You can’t. And it’s a wonderful style of beer. The brewing world has finally discovered Norwegian kveik yeast - amazing stuff which gives you an unbelievable flavor profile - and they waste it by using it on IPAs where the hops dominate the flavor. Kveik should be used with minimal hops, or none at all.
IPA is pretty much the worst style of beer. It’s for lazy brewers and unadventurous drinkers. And the IPA trend makes other beers worse - I can’t tell you how many saison and mixed fermentation beers I’ve had that were ruined, their delicate flavors and aromas trampled, because some idiot decided to dry hop them with a metric ton of whatever ridiculous new hop varietal. No, I don’t want a saison that’s basically an IPA made with six pounds of Simcoe or Mosaic or some other nonsense per gallon. I want one where I can taste the yeast notes against a dry malt background, and only a hint of hop flavor should be present.
IPAs are lame, and they are absolutely insipid.
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Just saw you were in Arlington, @EvanFriend - you should come to one of our DC area tastings (I live in Arlington as well). They are usually pretty easy going. Although I can’t promise there won’t be IPAs… haha
I disagree to some extent. For me Pilsner Urquell is pretty hoppy, and to an extent needs those hops to be much tastier than Corona, etc. I suspect that many beer drinkers aren’t fond of hops, but that many are also not fond of malt. I’m somewhat in the latter group as I find many USA ambers and browns disgusting. Low hop European dark beers are quite enjoyable tho. I agree to some extent that excessive hopping of styles like saisons isn’t the best approach. Tho the flavors don’t then fit the style, they are often tasty. As for the IPA mania, let’s blame Russian River for creating an IPA cult. And I think we can blame Westvleteren and/or Pierre Celis for creating a Belgian ale cult. And maybe Sierra Nevada for creating an APA cult. Style cults aren’t necessarily bad. They likely contributed strongly to the vast number of small breweries currently chugging along. And like any group of entrepreneurs those small brewers shouldn’t be excoriated for maximizing profits so long as no bodily harm is done to people. People seem to support a multiplicity of IPAs, and IPA production shouldn’t be blamed for unavailability of more esoteric styles. It’s the consumer. Try marketing a Grodziskie in the USA. Quick way to lose money no doubt. Possibly as “craft” beers have emerged from the dreck of macro brews, the more esoteric styles may eventually emerge from the IPA oceans. Time will tell.
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Love my bland, one dimensional IPA’s bro. You got yer sticky sweet malt bombs and sour and fruity shite. Drink up and quit yer hatin!
What turned you away from the IPA style anyways? Yer IPA ratings seem to show you enjoyed the style.
Paging CHEAP!! Love hearing him spew his hate of the style too!! 
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I may have overstated my case about hops somewhat. Yes, the hoppiness of a pils is certainly a selling point for the style - but compared to an IPA, it’s understated and delicate. The mild bitterness and the herbal notes which complement the malt background instead of kicking you in the mouth with a resin/citrus bomb.
I don’t know much about marketing, but I imagine that something like a Grodziskie would sell rather well - sessionable wheat beers certainly have a place in the market. I think a part of the reason why we don’t see any is the relative difficulty in brewing a 100% wheat beer compared to the price that people are willing to pay for session beers. Why brew something hard when you know there’s a market for something easy?
As far as cults, the only one that worries me is IPA. If I could find nothing but Belgians on the shelves, I might be worried about that (although I much prefer Belgian styles to most other styles). As for.the APAs, I like Sierra Nevada. A lot. It’s another good example of a beer that’s hoppy, but well balanced and not just a hop bomb. But most APAs these days are indistinguishable from the IPAs that I have a problem with.
I also find amber ales incredibly boring. As for browns, it’s one of my favorite styles when done right - the problem is that it’s rarely done right. The quest for a good brown ale is what got me into home brewing to begin with. As for easily available examples that are good, AleSmith’s Nut Brown is quite good, and during the fall, Bell’s Best Brown Ale is excellent.
