JBZ
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2003
- Messages
- 2,247
- Reaction score
- 17
Slight derail: I had my first IPA the other day, Goose Island's, and the pungency of the spices nearly knocked me down. It was like drinking a glass of potpourri. Are all IPA's like this?
The signature of an IPA is a high concentration of hops, which most likely accounts for the "pungency of spices" that you smelled and tasted. India Pale Ales were originally shipped from Britain to India during its period of colonialization. They were brewed with a lot of hops, because hops acted as a preservative so the ale would survive the long trip. I love IPA's, particularly in the summer. They are full bodied, but crisp.
To me, the best IPA's have a strong hoppy flavor, but also find a good balance between the hops and the malt. When push comes to shove, however, I'd rather have more hops than malt. Harpoon is one of my favorite IPA's. A lot of folks put forth the Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA as the gold standard, but I found it a bit too malty for my taste. There were a lot of hops, but the malt was still the overwhelming flavor. I see from the Dogfish Head website that the 90 Minute IPA is 9% alcohol by volume, which no doubt accounts for the big malty flavor. As I stated above, I generally don't like beers with big malty flavors (Pete's Wicked Ale was really popular a few years ago, but I couldn't stand it due to all of the malt). I'm going to try the Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA to see if I like it better. I'll probably give the 90 minute another go, too. I've never had Goose Island, so I can't offer an opinion.