some damn good IPA's out there

[Bromontana]

Celebrated with a Bayou night and they had Lagunitas' DayTime Fractional IPA. I forget the name of the type of hops that are in it, but a buddy mentioned it was some specific strain of hop.



The mahi tacos sucked btw.

[uglymoney]

A little fathers day treat from Decorah, IA.

[yeahman]

Icy Bay IPA from Alaskan Brewing Co. ...tasty.

[The AD]

I think IPAs are getting to the point of saturation and there will be an inevitable backlash. So what's going to be the new "trendy" beer style?

[glademaster]

I think IPAs are getting to the point of saturation and there will be an inevitable backlash. So what's going to be the new "trendy" beer style?

Pilsners or Sours will be the next craze. Probably Sours because there's more potential for a brewery arms race with that style than a pils.

[The AD]

Pilsners or Sours will be the next craze. Probably Sours because there's more potential for a brewery arms race with that style than a pils.

Yeah, I agree with this. There's only so much you can do with the pilsner style. Well, only so much you SHOULD do. That doesn't mean there won't be breweries trying to make a "double pils" or something! With sours the sky's the limit.

[Bromontana]

I think IPAs are getting to the point of saturation and there will be an inevitable backlash. So what's going to be the new "trendy" beer style?

Agreed, belgian style ales and pilsners are my go tos. Ipa'd out for over a year now, don't normally go past the session IPAs anymore.

[Binky]

Recently, I have enjoyed these brews

[GiBo]

I think IPAs are getting to the point of saturation and there will be an inevitable backlash. So what's going to be the new "trendy" beer style?

Totally agree. I knew IPA's officially jumped the shark when I saw a billboard for this a couple of days ago:

[Danno]

Oskar Blues Pinner session IPA is pretty damn good.

I too am sick of the trend, I'd love to see a greater selection in my liquor stores, not 50% or more IPA.

[glademaster]

I've really been enjoying some of the Pilsners craft breweries are releasing now. Many of them finally have their quality control dialed in well enough to produce a good example of such an unforgiving style. I don't care for most of the summer seasonals out there as they often have fruit, spices, or other shit that doesn't belong in beer (I'm a firm believer in Reinheitsgebot in most cases). I could do without beers like Pivo and Prima Pils, the style doesn't need to be Americanized (i.e. overhopped). I think I might shed a tear when I see double/imperial pilsners popping up on shelves.

Saranac brews a nice Pils, and Sierra Nevada Nooner has become my go-to as I live in the land of limited beer selection.

[uglymoney]

I could do without beers like Pivo and Prima Pils, the style doesn't need to be Americanized (i.e. overhopped). .

Interesting. We have a sixer of Prima Pils here right now but I'm only one bottle in. I like it.

As for the IPA thing hitting critical mass and imploding and replaced by a new trend...probably. Who cares? Maybe IPA's taking over liqour stores is a western thing because that isn't true here. The Intergalactic Warrior bomber from Toppling Goliath the other day was fantastic and that is really what it is all about...finding good local beers from local brewers...no matter the style du jour.

I bought some of the of the Oscar Blue's Pinner (session) IPA the other day...it is okay. I was hoping for something a little different that Founders All Day but to me they taste about the same so I'm a bit dissapointed.

[Name Redacted]

I've really been enjoying some of the Pilsners craft breweries are releasing now. Many of them finally have their quality control dialed in well enough to produce a good example of such an unforgiving style. I don't care for most of the summer seasonals out there as they often have fruit, spices, or other shit that doesn't belong in beer (I'm a firm believer in Reinheitsgebot in most cases). I could do without beers like Pivo and Prima Pils, the style doesn't need to be Americanized (i.e. overhopped). I think I might shed a tear when I see double/imperial pilsners popping up on shelves. .

The Reinheitsgebot probably killed of more varieties of good beer than prohibition. It was not a good thing for the brewers or drinkers, just the bakers. Double pilsners are definitely out there now, and some are quite good, Odell's is probably my favorite Boulevard too.

Sours are far to difficult to make on a large scale right now to be a threat, but once someone streamlines the process and can harness quality and consistency, they will take off. I would say that kettle soured beers like Berliner weisse will start trending soon though.

[The AD]

I would say that kettle soured beers like Berliner weisse will start trending soon though.

Great, thirst-quenching, summer beers. I'm also seeing more gose beers. Never even heard of this a few years ago.

[glademaster]

Interesting. We have a sixer of Prima Pils here right now but I'm only one bottle in. I like it.

As for the IPA thing hitting critical mass and imploding and replaced by a new trend...probably. Who cares? Maybe IPA's taking over liqour stores is a western thing because that isn't true here. The Intergalactic Warrior bomber from Toppling Goliath the other day was fantastic and that is really what it is all about...finding good local beers from local brewers...no matter the style du jour.

I bought some of the of the Oscar Blue's Pinner (session) IPA the other day...it is okay. I was hoping for something a little different that Founders All Day but to me they taste about the same so I'm a bit dissapointed.

Different beers of the same style appeal to different people, that's the beauty of the craft market as a whole these days. Everybody can find something that really satisfies their tastes.

I was browsing for beer in upstate New York last week and had to go to three stores before I could find a selection that ranged people macro swill, IPA/DIPA and summer seasonals. It's been a long time since I've stared at a wall of beer before concluding there was nothing there I wanted to drink, so the IPA overload is perhaps bi-coastal.

Shedgnar, I suppose it's good the Reinheitsgebot isn't law here, I enjoy beers that don't adhere to it, in addition to those that do. There is beauty in the simplicity of an exquisitely brewed Pils or Kolsch, and I appreciate that as much as I do stouts with 17 different ingredients, Gueuze/Gose (actually one of my favorite styles, I love a good briny brew), and weird, high alcohol brews which use added sugars to get there.

[Danno]

As for the IPA thing hitting critical mass and imploding and replaced by a new trend...probably. Who cares? Maybe IPA's taking over liqour stores is a western thing because that isn't true here. The Intergalactic Warrior bomber from Toppling Goliath the other day was fantastic and that is really what it is all about...finding good local beers from local brewers...no matter the style du jour.

In one sense I don't care, there's still plenty of choice when I go to the liquor store or bar, and you're right, if beer is good it's good. OTOH, I would have even more choice if there wasn't so much focus on IPAs. Every new brewery that tries to get its beer on the shelves has to make one of those beers an IPA, and more often than not, more than one are an IPA (eg, an IPA and an imperial IPA). And that goes beyond just what's in the liquor store. The new brewery has to brew and focus on IPAs if it wants to make it in this market (generalization, I know there are exceptions). There's a bar near here that has about 20 taps, and at least 10 are devoted to something in the IPA style (plus stuff like pale ales and ESBs, that share some characteristics). I like them, but I also like porters, reds, browns, wheats, stouts, etc, and I wish there was some selection of those.

[The AD]

Very well said and spot on, Danno.

[Mustonen]

My palate is obviously less nuanced than yous guys'.

All I want is IPA. Big hoppy IPA. Hopslam and 2 hearted and centennial and ruination and green flash IPA. Or a good black IPA. When half the shelf is IPAs, I'm only browsing half the shelf. They're all different, and I get a kick out of tasting the clean bracing bitter of the ruination or the tangy/sweet back of the centennial. The nutty bite of the dark penance....

What I'm saying, I guess, is that there's a really wide range within IPAs that you can't match (IMO) with a red, brown, or wheat. I have zero interest in ever drinking another red ale or wheat ale (ugh). I'll throw in an imperial stout or a Belgian from time to time, and if I haven't tried a highly rated iteration of a style I'll give her a go.

I'm stoked by the trend, and there are still too many restaurants and bars that I walk into that don't even have a good IPA, much less several to choose from.

Edit: I should say that I only have 1 or 2 beers at a sitting, virtually ever. If I was looking to kill a 6-pack, I wouldn't choose hopslam. If the beer selection is shit (no good ipa, stout, or Belgian) I'll just have water, thanks. Hard enough to not get fat without choking down beer I don't really love.

[G. Gordon Liddy]

If you're looking to step away from the IPA train try this guy. It's a light alcohol Gose (sourish lighter beer from Germany). This is my new go-to summer beer. 4.2% so it's perfect for the long summer nights too!

[Mustonen]

If you're looking to step away from the IPA train try this guy. It's a light alcohol Gose (sourish lighter beer from Germany). This is my new go-to summer beer. 4.2% so it's perfect for the long summer nights too!

Go start a sour beer thread.

No seriously, it's a style I'm looking to explore.

[Captain Awesome]

Pilsners or Sours will be the next craze. Probably Sours because there's more potential for a brewery arms race with that style than a pils.

The Czech pilsner I brew brew every year at the local micro (Zlaty Rhino, at Lost Rhino) will be available in August. I actually dig traditional Czech pilsners, but perhaps I'm biased.

Great, thirst-quenching, summer beers. I'm also seeing more gose beers. Never even heard of this a few years ago.

FWIW, Lost Rhino is releasing a gose this summer, and it's DELICIOUS. It was a style that had more or less disappeared, but was brought back within the last 20, and is now "hot" among craft brewers. I saw a few at Savor this year, after never seeing any there...

[Todd Zander]

If you're looking to step away from the IPA train try this guy. It's a light alcohol Gose (sourish lighter beer from Germany). This is my new go-to summer beer. 4.2% so it's perfect for the long summer nights too!

They also make good ipa's, stopped by the brewery in september to break up the wine trail stops.

[Name Redacted]

Salty and sour, Gose is not a style that I've latched onto yet, but I'm working on it. AV has their shit dialed though so I'm sure it's good.

[~mikey b]

Summer Solstice party included A 5 each of Ballast Point Sculpin IPA and grapefruit Sculpin. FKNA!

[Bromontana]

Can't complain. This thread inspired me too snag some decent beers and classy-ish wine. Non IPA selection seemed bigger than last summer.